Nas
One Mic (American Epic Session)
[Verse]
Yo, all I need is one mic‚ one beat‚ one stage
One  person front‚ face on the front page
Only  if I had one gun, one girl and one crib
One God to show me how to do things his son did
Pure, like a cup of virgin blood
Mixed  with 151‚ one sip probably'll make me flip
Write  my name on my hollow tips, plottin' shit
Mad violence, who I'm gon' body? This hood politics
Acknowledge  it‚ leave bodies chopped up in garbages
Seeds watch us, grow up, try to follow us
Police watch us, roll up, try knockin' us
One knee I ducked, could it be my time is up?
But  my luck, I got up, the cop shot again
Bus stop, glass burst, a fiend drops his Heineken
Ricochetin' between the spots that I'm hidin' in
Blackin' out as I shoot back—fuck gettin' hit!
This is my hood, I'ma rep to the death of it
'Til everybody come home, little n***as is grown
Hoodrats, don't abortion your womb
We need more warriors soon
Sent from the stars, sun and the moon
In this life of police chases, street sweepers, coppers
Stick-up kids with no conscience, leavin' victims with doctors
If you really think you ready to die
This is what Nas is 'bout
[Chorus]
Yo, all I need is one mic
All I need is one mic

[Verse 2]
All I need is one blunt, one page, one pen
One prayer, tell God forgive me for one sin
Matter of fact, more than one
Look back at all the hatred against me—fuck all of them!
Jesus died at age 33, 33 shots
From twin Glocks, there's 16 apiece, that's 32
Which means one of my guns was holdin' 17
27 hit your crew, six went into you
Everybody gotta die sometime
Hope your funeral never gets shot up
?? through the innocent
Nothin' is fair, my heart is racin'
Tastin' revenge in the air
I let this shit slide for too many years
Strapped up, too many MACs, too many 9s
If y'all n***as really with me, get busy, load up the semis
Do more than just hold it, explode the clip until it's empty
There's nothin' in our way: they bust, we bust, they rush, we rush
Lead flyin', feel it? I feel it in my gut
That we take these bitches to war, lie 'em down
'Cause we stronger now, the time is now!
[Chorus]
I need one mic
All I need is one mic

[Verse 3]
All I need is one life, one try, one breath, and one man
What I stand for speaks for itself, they don't understand
Don't wanna see me on top, too egotistical
Talkin' all that slick shit the same way these bitches do
Wonder what my secrets is
N***as'll move on you only if they know what your weakness is
I have none, too late to grab guns
I'm blastin' ‘cause I'm a cool n***a
Thought I wouldn't have your ass done? Fooled you n***as

[Chorus]
I need one mic
All I need is one mic
All I need is one mic
All I need is one mic