Let Nas Down - J. Cole
Freedom or jail, clips inserted
A baby's bein' born same time a man is murdered
The beginning and end, so far as rap goes
only It's natural, I explain my plateau
And also what defines my name
Yeah, long live the idols
may they never be your rivals
Pac was like Jesus
Nas wrote the Bible
Now what you're 'bout to
hear's a tale of glory and sin
No I.D. my mentor now let the story begin
I used to print out Nas raps and tape 'em up on my wall
My niggas thought they was words
but it was pictures I saw
And since I wanted to draw
I used to read 'em in awe
Then he dropped Stillmatic
rocked the cleanest Velour
Fast forward, who thought
that I would meet him on tour?
I'm earnin' stripes now nigga
got Adidas galore
Backstage I shook his hand
let him know that he's the man
When he said he was a fan
it was to hard to understand
No time to soak up the moment though
cause I was in a jam
Hov askin' where's the record
that the radio could play
And I was strikin' out for months
9th inning feeling fear
Jeter under pressure
made the biggest hit of my career
But at first, that wasn't clear
niggas had no idea
Dion called me when it dropped
sounded sad but sincere Told me Nas heard
your single and he hate that shit
Said you the one, yo why you make that shit?
I can't believe I let Nas down
Damn, my heart sunk to my stomach
I can't believe I let Nas down
I got defensive on the phone
resentment was in my tone, fuck it
Yeah, long live the idols
may they never be your rivals
Pac was like Jesus
Nas wrote the Bible
Now what you're 'bout to
hear's a tale of glory and sin
No I.D. my mentor now let the story begin
I couldn't help but think
that maybe I had made a mistake
I mean, you made "You Owe Me" dog
I thought that you could relate
But while I shot up the charts
you mean tellin' me
That I was not up to par
when I followed my heart
Granted, my heart was tainted by my mind
I kept on sayin'
Where's the hits?
You ain't got none
You know Jay would never
put your album out without none
And dog, you know how come
Labels are archaic
formulaic with their outcomes
They don't know
they just study the charts
Me, I study the shows
the fans, study their hearts
I had a feelin' I was killin'
and this music we were spillin' out
Would change lives forever
fuck the label, put it out
Friday Night Lights blew
that was classic number 2
Now it seemed as if
the Nas comparisons was comin' true
Still no release date from the label
are they insane?
Gooch told me play the game
to change the game but on the way
I let Nas down, I got noone to blame
I'm ashamed I let Nas down
But this is God's plan
you could never understand, fuck it
Yeah, long live the idols
may they never be your rivals
Pac was like Jesus
Nas wrote the Bible
Now what you're 'bout to
hear's a tale of glory and sin
No I.D. my mentor now let the story begin
I always believed in the bigger picture
If I could get them niggas
to listen outside my core
then I can open a door
Reintroduce 'em to honesty
show 'em that they need more
The difference between
the pretenders and the Kendrick Lamars
And so, I took the fall like the son of the Lord
On the cross
dyin' for that fake shit you niggas bought
For the past decade
if I should pass please let this be my last essay
Therefore I write from the heart
Apologies to OG's for sacrificin' my art
But I'm here for a greater purpose
I knew right from the start
I'm just a man of the people
not above but equal
And for the greater good
I walk amongst the evil
Don't cry mama
this the life I choose myself
Just pray along the way
that I don't lose myself
This is for the nigga
that said that hip-hop was dead
I went to Hell to resurrect it
how could you fail to respect it?
Lettin' Nas down
I got the phone call
quietly I mourned dog
I let Nas down
Yeah, and on this flight
may I never lose sight, fuck it
Yeah, long live the idols
may they never be your rivals
Pac was like Jesus
Nas wrote the Bible
Now what you're 'bout to
hear's a tale of glory and sin
No I.D. my mentor now let the story begin