[Produced by Large Professor]
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[Intro: Nas & Grand Wizard]
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Yeah, its Illmatic (Yeah)
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Uh, its Illmatic (Yeah)
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Its Illmatic (Haha, haha, check it, uh)
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[Chorus: Grand Wizard & Nas]
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One time for your mind, one time (Yeah, whatever)
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One time for your mind, one time (Yo, whatever)
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One time for your mind, one time
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Ayo, Nas (What up, pah?) kick that fuckin rhyme (Check it out!)
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[Verse 1: Nas]
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When Im chillin, I grab the buddha, get my crew to buy beers
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And watch a flick, illin and rootin for the villain, huh
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Plus, every morning, I go out and love it sort of chilly
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Then I send a shorty from my block to the store for Phillies
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After bein blessed by the herbs essence
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Im back to my rest, ten minutes, some odd seconds
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Thats where I got the honey at, spends the night for sexin
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Keep lubrication, lifestyle protection
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Pickin up my stereos remote control quickly
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Ron Gs in the cassette deck — rockin the shit, G
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I try to stay mellow, rock, well, acappella rhymesll
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Make me richer than a slipper made Cinderella, fella
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Go get your crew, hops, Im prepared to bomb troops
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Yall niggas was born, I shot my way out my mom dukes
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When I was ten, I was a hip-hoppin shorty wop
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Known for rockin microphones and twistin off a 40 top, yeah
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[Chorus: Grand Wizard & Nas]
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One time for your mind, one time (Yeah, whatever)
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One time 4 your mind, one time (It sound clever)
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Ayo, Nas, fuck that, man, that shit was phat
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But kick that for them gangstas, man, fuck all that! (Right, right)
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[Verse 2: Nas]
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What up, niggas? How yall? Its Nasty, the villain
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Im still writin rhymes, but besides that, Im chillin
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Im tryin to get this money, God — you know the hard times, kid
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Shit, cold, be starvin make you wanna do crimes, kid
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But Ima lamp cause a crime couldnt beat a rhyme
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Niggas catchin 3-to-9s, Muslims yellin “Free the mind!”
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And Im from Queensbridge, been to many places
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As a kid, when I would say that outta town, niggas chased us
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But now I know the time, got a older mind, plus control a .9
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Fine, see, now I represent mine
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Im new on the rap scene, brothers never heard of me
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Yet Im a menace, yo, police wanna murder me
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Heini Dark drinker, represent the thinker
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My pen rides the paper, it even has blinkers
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Think Ill dim the lights, then inhale, it stimulates
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Floatin like Im on the North 95 Interstate
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Never plan to stop, when I write, my hand is hot
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And expand the lot from the Wiz to Camelot
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The parlayer, Ill make your heads bop, pah
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I shine a light on perpetrators like a cops car
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From day to night, I play the mic, and youll thank God
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I wreck shit so much, the microphonell need a paint job
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My brain is incarcerated
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Live at any jam, I couldnt count all the parks Ive raided
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I hold a MAC-11 and attack a reverend
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I contact eleven Ls and max in Heaven
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[Chorus: Grand Wizard & Nas]
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One time for your mind, one time (It sounds clever)
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One time for your mind, one time (Yeah, whatever)
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One time for your mind, one time
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Yo, from 92 to 99
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[Outro: Grand Wizard]
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Yeah, that shit was crazy phat, pah, know what I’m sayin?
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But check it, you got another verse for me
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I want you to kick it, you know what Im sayin?
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Kick that shit for the projects, know what Im sayin?
