Bridging the gap
by Nas
lyricscopy.com
[Nas talking]
"The light is there."
[Intro: Olu Dara singing]
See I come from Mississippi
I was young and runnin´ wild
Ended up in New York City, where I had my first child
I named the boy Nasir, all the boys call him Nas
I told him as a youngster, he´ll be the greatest man alive
[Verse 1: Nas]
Let´s go!... Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey --
Tribrary of these rap skits, styles I mastered
Many brothers snatched it up and tried to match it
But I´m still number one, everyday real
Speak what I want, I don´t care what y´all feel
´Cause I´m my own master, my Pop told me be your own boss
Keep integrity at every cost, and his home was Natchez Mississippi
Did it like Miles and Dizzy, now we gettin´ busy
Bridging The Gap from the blues, to jazz, to rap
The history of music on this track
Born in the game, discovered my father´s music
Like Prince searchin´ through boxes of Purple Rain
But my Minneapolis was The Bridge, home of the Superkids
Some are well-known, some doin´ bids
I mighta ended up on the wrong side of the tracks
If Pops wouldn´t´ve pulled me back an said yo
[Olu Dara singing]
Greatest man alive (Nas: Yeah, turn it up!)
Gre-Gre-Gre-Gre-Greatest man alive!
[Verse 2: Nas]
The blues came from gospel, gospel from blues
Slaves are harmonizin´ them ah´s and ooh´s
Old school, new school, know school rules
All these years I been voicin´ my blues
I´m a artist from the start, Hip-Hop guided my heart
Graffiti on the wall, coulda ended in Spoffard, juvenile delinquent
But Pops gave me the right type´a tools to think with
Books to read, like X and stuff
´Cause the schools said the kids had dyslexia
In art class I was a compulsive sketcher of
Teachers in my homeroom, I drew pix to mess them up
´Cause none´a them would like my style
Read more books than the curriculum profile
Said, "Mr. Jones please come get your child
´Cause he´s writin´ mad poems and his verses are wild"
[Olu Dara singing]
Greatest man? The great-greatest man alive
[Verse 3: Nas]
Hey-Hey-Hey -- My Poppa was not a Rollin´ Stone
He been around the world blowin´ his horn, still he came home
Then he got grown, changed his name to Olu
Come on, tell ´em ´bout the places you gone to
[Olu Dara singing]
I been to Saudi Arabia, Mozambique
Madagascar, Paris, Greece
The Middle Africa is where we lived
Better known as Queenbridge
[Nas]
Nas, Nas you don´t stop
Olu Dara in the house, you don´t stop
Muddy Waters´ Howling Wolf you don´t stop
From the Blues to Street Hop you don´t stop
Tell ´em Pop
[Outro: Olu Dara singing / Nas adlibbing]
See I come from Mississippi (Let ´em know)
I was young and runnin´ wild (Runnin´ wild)
Ended up in New York City (Yeah!)
Where I had my first child (That´s me)
I named the boy Nasir (Yeah, Daddy!)
All the boys call him Nas (Luh ya, boy)
I told him as a youngster
He´ll be the greatest man alive (You the greatest, Pop)
Greatest man alive (You the greatest, Pop)
Gre-Gre-Gre-Gre-Greatest man alive!
Rest In Peace Ray Charles
"The light is there."
[Intro: Olu Dara singing]
See I come from Mississippi
I was young and runnin´ wild
Ended up in New York City, where I had my first child
I named the boy Nasir, all the boys call him Nas
I told him as a youngster, he´ll be the greatest man alive
[Verse 1: Nas]
Let´s go!... Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey --
Tribrary of these rap skits, styles I mastered
Many brothers snatched it up and tried to match it
But I´m still number one, everyday real
Speak what I want, I don´t care what y´all feel
´Cause I´m my own master, my Pop told me be your own boss
Keep integrity at every cost, and his home was Natchez Mississippi
Did it like Miles and Dizzy, now we gettin´ busy
Bridging The Gap from the blues, to jazz, to rap
The history of music on this track
Born in the game, discovered my father´s music
Like Prince searchin´ through boxes of Purple Rain
But my Minneapolis was The Bridge, home of the Superkids
Some are well-known, some doin´ bids
I mighta ended up on the wrong side of the tracks
If Pops wouldn´t´ve pulled me back an said yo
[Olu Dara singing]
Greatest man alive (Nas: Yeah, turn it up!)
Gre-Gre-Gre-Gre-Greatest man alive!
[Verse 2: Nas]
The blues came from gospel, gospel from blues
Slaves are harmonizin´ them ah´s and ooh´s
Old school, new school, know school rules
All these years I been voicin´ my blues
I´m a artist from the start, Hip-Hop guided my heart
Graffiti on the wall, coulda ended in Spoffard, juvenile delinquent
But Pops gave me the right type´a tools to think with
Books to read, like X and stuff
´Cause the schools said the kids had dyslexia
In art class I was a compulsive sketcher of
Teachers in my homeroom, I drew pix to mess them up
´Cause none´a them would like my style
Read more books than the curriculum profile
Said, "Mr. Jones please come get your child
´Cause he´s writin´ mad poems and his verses are wild"
[Olu Dara singing]
Greatest man? The great-greatest man alive
[Verse 3: Nas]
Hey-Hey-Hey -- My Poppa was not a Rollin´ Stone
He been around the world blowin´ his horn, still he came home
Then he got grown, changed his name to Olu
Come on, tell ´em ´bout the places you gone to
[Olu Dara singing]
I been to Saudi Arabia, Mozambique
Madagascar, Paris, Greece
The Middle Africa is where we lived
Better known as Queenbridge
[Nas]
Nas, Nas you don´t stop
Olu Dara in the house, you don´t stop
Muddy Waters´ Howling Wolf you don´t stop
From the Blues to Street Hop you don´t stop
Tell ´em Pop
[Outro: Olu Dara singing / Nas adlibbing]
See I come from Mississippi (Let ´em know)
I was young and runnin´ wild (Runnin´ wild)
Ended up in New York City (Yeah!)
Where I had my first child (That´s me)
I named the boy Nasir (Yeah, Daddy!)
All the boys call him Nas (Luh ya, boy)
I told him as a youngster
He´ll be the greatest man alive (You the greatest, Pop)
Greatest man alive (You the greatest, Pop)
Gre-Gre-Gre-Gre-Greatest man alive!
Rest In Peace Ray Charles