Nas – “Y’all My Niggas” [Audio, Lyrics]

Throwback to Nas’ 2008 piece, titled “Y’all My Niggas” and produced by J. Myers. Listen, stream, read the lyrics, buy the song.

Nas Y’all My Niggas

Certain artists aren’t afraid to push boundaries when it comes to the packaging of their albums. As recently reported, Halsey made a powerful statement about the policing of womens’ bodies by exposing her breast on her forthcoming album cover, and more than a decade, Nas attempted to do something similar with the title of his ninth studio album.

Originally titled N*gger, Nas’ 2008 album was conceptualized to be an exploration of Blackness and a rallying cry against oppression worldwide, but upon backlash, the now-Grammy-winning rapper opted to just drop it as an untitled album. Released on July 15, 2008, Nas’ Untitled celebrates its 13-year anniversary, and although it typically gets placed in the bottom of pretty much ever Nas album ranking, we revisit the album’s 13th track, “Y’all My N*ggas,” in honor of the politically charged project.

Nas – Y’all My Niggas (prod. J. Myers)

Lyrics

[Intro: sample]
We use the word everyday
Now we don’t know the capacity of this word
Are we headed for conflict or not? (Yes sir)
Because we did not break down the capacity
Of the same what (the same word)
Brothers and sisters, this is why we hung up the consciousness
We’ve been taught wrong

[Verse 1]
Find a room to lock yourself in and close the door
It’s some heavy concepts that we gotta explore
We gotta, strip the word down rugged and raw
The rhetoric of Martin King just ain’t around no more
Du Bois ain’t here, James Baldwin neither, they all were leaders
But they ain’t help me get this Porsche two seater
A lawyer left the hood, he never looked back
To be a Fortune 500 CEO, it took rap
So what if my pants sag with my hat turned back?
The same swag got our merchandise flying off the rack
Marketing companies is hiring blacks
Fresh hip-hop lingo for your campaign ads
Controversy surrounds who could say it and when
Some niggas are full time, some play and pretend
So fuck that, no apologies on the issue
If it offends you, it’s meant to, it’s that simple

[Chorus]
Tryna erase me from y’all memory
Too late, I’m engraved in history (I’m here my niggas!)
Speak my name and breathe life in me
Make sure y’all never forget me (’cause y’all give me life!)
‘Cause y’all use my name so reckless
Whether to be accepted or disrespected (and I love it!)
And I love it, especially when y’all do it in public
And I’m the subject, ’cause y’all my niggas

[Verse 2]
Yo, I was thinking a little bit
What would it take to authenticate my nigganess?
Ball ridiculous? 26 inches when I call up the dealership?
Aww, that’s some nigga shit
We only out for our own benefit?
We having too many kids? We Claudines? Welfare recipients?
The infamous free clinics is the sickest shit
Make me think what the hell they clean they syringes with
Everybody bleeding, the cops are the demons
Courtrooms full of goons, jail buses leaning
Handcuffs squeezed too tight on youth life
If you fight, they just give in, people used to do sit ins
They got Nigeria and Niger, two different countries
Somehow Niger turned to nigga, and shit got ugly
The problem is we started thinking like the colonists
‘Til Noble Drew Ali started dropping that consciousness

[Chorus]
Tryna erase me from y’all memory
Too late, I’m engraved in history (I’m here my niggas!)
Speak my name and breathe life in me
Make sure y’all never forget me (’cause y’all give me life!)
‘Cause y’all use my name so reckless
Whether to be accepted or disrespected (and I love it!)
And I love it, especially when y’all do it in public
And I’m the subject, ’cause y’all my niggas

[Verse 3]
My father was not a banker, neither was my neighbor
When it came to getting paper, who the hell was gon’ train us?
Oppression couldn’t escape us through the ages
We changed the basis of derogatory phrases
And I say it’s quite amazing
The use of ghetto terms developed our own language
No matter where it came from
It’s celebrated, now people are mad if they ain’t one

[Interlude: sample]
Every word we use, it has a capacity
And if you don’t understand the words you’re using
And understand the capacity of it
You are using words that is creating a destiny for you
That you don’t even know, or even conscious of

[Chorus]
Tryna erase me from y’all memory
Too late, I’m engraved in history (I’m here my niggas!)
Speak my name and breathe life in me
Make sure y’all never forget me (’cause y’all give me life!)
‘Cause y’all use my name so reckless
Whether to be accepted or disrespected (and I love it!)
And I love it, especially when y’all do it in public
And I’m the subject

Tryna erase me from y’all memory
Too late, I’m engraved in history
Speak my name and breathe life in me
Make sure y’all never forget me
‘Cause y’all use my name so reckless
Whether to be accepted or disrespected
And I love it, especially when y’all do it in public
And I’m the subject, ’cause y’all my niggas