the light is there.
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
let`s go!... hey-hey-hey-hey
tipperary 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
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
greatest man alive (yeah, turn it up!)
gre-gre-gre-gre-greatest man alive!
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
i was born mississippi
i was young and runnin` wild
move to 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
greatest man – the great-greatest man alive
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
i been to saudi arabia, mozambique
madagascar, paris, greece
the middle africa is where we lived
better known as queenbridge
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
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
