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 It's only 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 shaked his hand, let him know that he's the man When he said he was a fan it was too 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? Gucc told me play the game to change the game but on the way
I let Nas down, (damn) I got no one 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 just heard's a tale of glory and sin No I.D. my mentor now let the story begin
