Great Performances

-Next, on "Great Performances"... -This is what it's about. Thank you for givin' me 20 years of your ears! -Two decades after the release of his groundbreaking record "Illmatic," hip-hop superstar Nas teams up with the National Symphony Orchestra to re-envision his iconic album in a special anniversary performance a the Kennedy Center. - I max like -- or flex like sex in ya Stereo sets, Nas'll catch rec I used to hustle, now all I do is relax and strive When I was young... -A New York City native, Nas's lyrical portrait of growing up in the Queensbridge Houses was quickly acclaimed as one of the greatest achievements in hip-hop. Join us as we go behind the scenes with Nas as he reflects on his career and performs a lush, new, symphonic interpretation of "Illmatic" with the National Symphony Orchestra.

Cheering and applause

Orchestra tuning

- Nas, too real, Nas, true king Nas, too real, Nas, true king There's great actors with stories like mine. There's -- I'm sure some presidents with stories like mine. I doesn't matter what you do, just don't ever let no one tell you, you can't be this because of that. You know, no one writes books about this. You can't write that book. They don't green-light movies about that. You can't make that movie. Those people there are the worst people to ever listen to. We gotta get out there and just -- and strike, no matter what.

Cheering and applause

Orchestra playing

Na-na-nas, too real, Nas, true king Na-na-nas, too real Nas, true king Nas, too real, Nas, true king Na-na-nas, too real, Nas, true king

Cheering and applause

Na-na-nas, too real Na-na-nas, too real, Nas, true king -D.C.!

Cheering and applause

Yeah. Turn my mics up, yes. It's so good to be here tonight with you.

Cheering and applause

Na-na-nas, too real Nas, true king Yes. Nas, too real, Nas, true king

Music stops

So many people read these different books, "Outliers," "Bounce," the kind of books that tell you how the most successful people became. And outside of those books, you notice the people have a lot of privilege. They are born into the right families and they go to the right schools, and they have the right people guiding them to be great. I didn't go to the schools that I wanted to go to. I didn't graduate high school, but I was determined, I was focused, and I had some ideas. -The people respect tonight, because somebody from Queens brought it live tonight. You see a lot of Bronx acts, a lot of Brooklyn acts, but you never see Queens acts in the theater really. But Nasty Nas, one of the youngest artists out right now, who's doing his thing, new artist, is keeping it live, keeping it real. Been under a rock for the last year almost, this is Nasty Nas, and the whole Queensbridge Masters. Can I say that? -Nas is on the run. He's on the run, no question. He's on the run. That's gonna be one of our top-notch Queensbridge MC's. -You could say I had a foresight about where I would be, where I should be, where I had to be. You know, before there was a fan base or a crowd or audience, I was the fan base, the mirror was my audience. Myself, in a room by myself, was all I needed. What was I thinking? 1992. Why? I was just trying to get in the rap game, the incredible rap game. It's all a dream. It's time. And when that time came, I took it. Yeah. Rappers, I monkey flip 'em With the funky rhythm I be kickin' Musician, inflictin' composition of pain Scarface sniffin' cocaine Holdin' an M16, with the pen I'm extreme Now, bullet holes left in my peepholes Suited up with street clothes Hand me a 9 and I'll defeat foes Y'all know my steelo with or without the airplay I keep some E&J, sittin' bent up in the stairway Or either on the corner bettin' grants with cee-lo champs Laughin' at baseheads tryna sell some broken amps G-packs get off quick, forever niggas talk Reminiscin' about the last time the task force flipped Yo, they be runnin' through the block shootin' Time to start a revolution Catch a body, head for Houston They caught us off-guard, MAC-10 was in the grass Ran like a cheetah with thoughts of an assassin Picked the MAC up, told brothers, "Back up!" The MAC spit, lead was hittin' niggas, one ran I made him backflip, heard a few chicks scream My arm shook, couldn't look Gave another squeeze, heard it click Yo, my -- is stuck! It wouldn't shoot, now I'm in danger Pull my -- back, had three bullets Caught up in the chamber Now I'm running through the building lobby It was full of children prob'ly, couldn't see as high as I be The game ain't the same Got younger niggas pullin' the triggers Bringin' fame to they name Claim some corners, crews without guns are goners Broad daylight, stick-up kids, they run up on us 45's and gauges, MAC's in fact Same niggas will catch you back-to-back Snatchin' your cracks in black It's a snitch on the block gettin' niggas knocked So hold your stash 'til the coke price drop I know this crackhead say she got to smoke nice rock If it's good, she'll bring you customers in measuring pots But yo, you gotta slide in on a vacation Inside information, large niggas erasin' And their wives basin', it drops deep As it does in my breath, I never sleep 'Cause sleep is the cousin of death I lay puzzle as I backtrack to earlier times Nothing's equivalent to the New York state of mind New York state of mind New York state of mind Where I live New York state of mind Where I'm at New York state of mind Be havin' dreams I'm a gangsta Drinkin' Moets, holdin' TEC's Makin' sure the cash came correct, then I stepped Investments in stocks, sewin' up the blocks To sell rocks, winnin' gunfights with mega-cops But just a nigga walkin' with his finger on the trigger Make enough figures until my pockets get bigger I ain't the type of brother made for you to start testin' Give me a Smith & Wesson, I have brothers undressin' Thinkin' of cash flow, buddha and shelter It get frustrated, I a hijack Delta In the PJ's, my blend tape plays, bullets are strays Young b..., each block is like a maze Full of black rats trapped plus the Island is packed From what I hear in all the stories When my peoples come back Black, I'm livin' where the nights is jet-black The fiends fight to get crack I just max I dream I can sit back and lamp like Capone With drug scripts sewn, or the legal luxury life Rings flooded with stones I got so many rhymes, I don't think I'm too sane It's parallel to Hell, but I must maintain And be prosperous, though we live dangerous Cops could just arrest me, blamin' us We're held like hostages It's only right that I was born to use mics And the stuff that I write even tougher than dykes Taken rappers to a new plateau Through rap slow, my rhymin' is a vitamin Held without a capsule The smooth criminal on beat breaks Never put me in your box if your -- eats tapes The city never sleeps, full of villains and creeps Where I learned to do my hustle, had to scuffle with freaks I'm an addict for sneakers 20's of buddha Bitches with beepers in the streets I can greet ya About blunts I teach ya Inhale deep like the words of my breath I never sleep, 'cause sleep is the cousin of death I lay puzzle and backtrack to earlier times Nothing's equivalent to the New York state of mind New -- New York state of mind New York state of mind Where I live New York state of mind Where I'm at New York state of mind

Remixing

But tonight, tonight Yeah, in a D.C. state of mind Yeah, yeah Yeah Nasty Nas, come on Nasty Nas, what Nasty Nas, whoa Whoa

Cheering and applause

Thank you. When I found out I was doing the show with Nas, I called my son, who's 19, and I said, "Do you, by any chance, have 'Illmatic' on your iPod?" And his response was, "Which version?" So, of course, he plays it for me, and I've been playing it ever since, and now my very favorite line is, "Life's a bitch, and then you die. That's why we get high, 'cause you never know when you're gonna go." -This life is crazy. I realize we're all here for a purpose. I was lucky to find mine. I didn't come from a privileged family. We just rise, right? With no help, we can just rise, in a way. For me, I needed more than just money, though. I wanted to be heard, man. Twenty years, a blessin', essence of adolescence Let my body fresher, physical frame celebrated 'Cause I made it one quarter through life Some godly-like thing created Got rhymes 365 days annual, plus some Load up the mic and bust one, cuss while I pus from My skull, 'cause it's pain in my brain vein, money maintain Don't go against the grain, simple and plain When I was young I used to do my thing hard Robbin' foreigners, take they wallets, they jewelry Rip they green card Dipped to the projects, flashin' my quick cash Got my first piece of ass, smokin' blunts with hash Now it's all about cash in abundance Niggas I used to run with are rich Or doin' years in the hundreds I switched my motto; instead of sayin', "Tomorrow!" That buck that bought a bottle could've struck the lotto At times I look back, loose cracks produce stacks Cooked up, cut small pieces to get my loot back Time is illmatic, keep static like wool fabric Pack a 4-matic to crack your whole cabbage Life's a bitch and then you die That's why we get high 'Cause you never know when you're gonna go Life's a bitch and then you die That's why we get high 'Cause you never know when you're gonna go Life's a bitch and then you die That's why we puff la 'Cause you never know when you're gonna go Life's a bitch and then you die That's why we get high 'Cause you never know when you're gonna go

Cheering and applause

Shout out to my father, Olu Dara. This is his horn part right here, he wrote. Can we hear the horn? He played that so right. Life's a bitch and then you... Why we get high, never know, that's real, right? Life's a bitch and then you die That's why we puff la 'Cause you never know when you're gonna go Life's a bitch and then you die That's why we get high 'Cause you never know when you're gonna go Life's a bitch and then you die Y'all making me high right now. I don't need no weed. Yeah. Oh!

Cheering and applause

Thank you for that. -The upcoming album, "Illmatic", is the latest creation from rapper Nas. -It's like a person like him only comes along once in lifetime. -The 20 year old Nas is a product of one of the largest and toughest housing projects in New York City, Queensbridge Houses, aka "The Bridge." -The Bridge is very well, 365 days a year. -This the foundation right here, you know what I'm saying? My foundation. It's where I started out. It's where I grew up at, 40 side of Vernon. You know, it took one day for it to click to go, we're in the projects. You know, you had TV shows like "Good Times," and they had similar buildings, and Cabrini-Green in Chicago, so they would mention, "We in the projects," and we'd be like -- but nobody was bad as Cabrini-Green, you know, you look at that show, and you be like, "Wow, that was --" You know what I mean? But that was really what was happening around in my neighborhood, in reality, so those things hadn't sank in. But, before that all sunk in, it was a beautiful neighborhood. For me, I feel like I was really blessed, lucky, whatever you wanna call it, to grow up in the inner city of New York -- I mean, what more can you ask for, especially during that time? I was blessed. I was lucky with that. It's yours It-it-it-it's yours I sip the Dom P, watchin' Gandhi 'til I'm charged Writin' in my book of rhymes, all the words past the margin Behold the mic I'm throbbin' My movement understandable smooth That murderers move with, the thief's theme Play me at night, they won't act right The fiend of hip-hop got me stuck like a crack pipe The mind activation, react like I'm facin' Time like Pappy Mason, with pens I'm embracin' Wipe the sweat off my dome, spit the phlegm on the streets Ralph Lauren on my feet makes my cipher complete Whether cruisin' in a Six cab or Montero Jeep I can't call it, the beats make me fallin' asleep I keep fallin', but never fallin' six feet deep I'm out for presidents to represent me Presidents to represent me President Barack Obama, he represents me! The world is yours It's mine, it's mine, it's mine -- who? The world is yours, the world is yours Can you believe it? It's your world It's yours! It's mine, it's... Can you believe that? I said the world is yours Believe it, yeah To my man Ill Will God bless your life To my peoples right here God bless your life I trip, we box up crazy bitches Aimin' guns in all my baby pictures Beef with housing police Release scriptures that's maybe Hitler's Yet I'm the mild, money-gettin' style, rollin' foul The versatile, honey-stickin', wild, golden child Dwellin' in the Rotten Apple, you get tackled Or caught by the devil's lasso There's no days for broke days We sell it, smoke pays While all the old folks pray to Jess Soakin' their sins in trays of holy water Odds against Nas are slaughter Thinkin' a word best describin' my life to name my daughter My strength, my son, the star will be my resurrection Born in correction, all the wrongs that I did He'll do a right direction, how ya live? Large or broke, charge cards are mediocre You flippin' coke, playin' spit, spades, and strip poker? What you want soldier? I thought I told ya It's mine, it's mine Whose world? The world, the world Up top It's your world It's mine, it's mine Whose world? The world is yours, the world is yours Unh Watch what you listen to! I been listening lately a lot of you niggas ain't real If I must say so myself All right check it I'm the young city bandit, hold myself down single-handed For murder raps, I kick my thoughts alone, get remanded Born alone, die alone; no crew to keep my crown or throne I'm deep by sound alone, caved inside, 1,000 miles from home I need a new nigga for this black cloud to follow 'Cause while it's over me it's too dark to see tomorrow Tryin' to maintain, I flip, fill the clip to the tip Picturin' my peeps not eatin' can make my heartbeat skip And I'm amped up, they locked the champ up Remember that Mike Tyson back in the days Stabbin' women like the Phantom The crew is lampin', Big Willie style Check the chip-toothed smile, plus I profile wild Stash loot in fly clothes Burnin' dollars to light my stove Boppity-bop, checkin' dames plus the games people play Bust the problems of the world today It's yours It's mine, it's mine Whose world? I said, the world is yours, the world is yours Whose world? It's yours Whose world? I said the world is yours, the world is yours To my Queensbridge crew, the foundation The world is yours To my peoples in B-more The world is yours The world is yours -- all my peoples in VA The world is yours, The world is yours In the nation's capital, you know the world is yours The world is yours Unh Da-da-da, da-da-da Yeah, smooth it out like Da-da-da, da-da-da

Cheering and applause

This is crazy. 20 years later, after making this album, here I am, National Symphony Orchestra, playing my album, "Illmatic." It's crazy, you know, I wrote this in the projects of New York City, you know, and here we are, in the capital, you know, of America -- Washington, D.C., and, you know, a bunch of white people with strings and all of that, you know, playin' -- playing this album. And -- and they feelin' it. -When the idea came about, of collaborating with Nas and the National Symphony Orchestra, of course it was something I felt was very, very exciting, but at the same time, a little daunting, because this was the first time, me, as a classical orchestra conductor, was gonna branch out into the realm of doing, you know, hip-hop music and rap music. And the idea of finally tackling this genre was something I was really looking forward to do. - Yeah, be what I wanna be I think I'm gonna do the chorus first. If I work hard at it I'll be where I want to be, yeah I know I can What I wanna be If I work hard at it I'll be where I wanna be Oh man, I hope the audience look at me like, "Yo, look at this kid from the hood, on the stage, where he belongs," because there are lots of great artists and writers and vocalists and whoever -- pianists and musicians -- that never make it to a stage like this. So when you see one of them that do, you know, you gotta say that, you know, this guy's doing it for everybody who didn't make it there. I like that. Nasty Nas in your area About to cause mass hysteria Before a blunt, I take out my fronts Then I start to front; matter of fact I be on a manhunt You couldn't catch me in the streets Without a ton of reefer That's like Malcolm X catching the Jungle Fever King poetic; too much flavor, I'm major Atlanta ain't Braver, I'll pull a number, like a pager And I'm an ace when I face the bass 40-side is the place that is giving me grace Now wait, another dose and you might be dead And I'm a Nike-head I wear chains that excite the Feds And ain't a damn thing gonna change I'm a performer, strange So the mic warmer was born to gain Nas, why did you do it? You know You got the mad-phat fluid when you rhyme It's halftime C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, C'mon, c'mon, c'mon Halftime C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, C'mon, c'mon, c'mon Halftime C'mon, c'mon, c'mon; C'mon, c'mon, c'mon Halftime Yeah, yeah I said it's like that, you know it's like that I got it hemmed, now you never get the mic back When I attack, there ain't an army that could strike back So I react never calmly on a hype track I set it off with my own rhyme 'Cause I'm as ill as a convict who kills for phone time I'm max like -- I flex like sex In your stereo sets, Nas'll catch wreck I used to hustle; now all I do is relax and strive When I was young I was a fan of the Jackson 5 I rock jewels, wear jewels, hope to never run it With more kicks than a baby in a mother's stomach Nasty Nas has to rise, 'cause I'm wise This is exercise 'til the microphone dies Back in '83 I was an MC sparkin' But I was too scared to grab the mics in the parks And kick my little raps 'Cause I thought niggas wouldn't understand And now in every jam I'm the -- man I rap in front of more niggas than in the slave ships I used to watch "CHiPS", now I load Glock clips I got to have it, I miss Mr. Magic Rest in peace Mr. Magic Tragic Check, I'm an intellectual And that's no question, yo These are the lyrics of the man You can't near it, understand 'Cause in the streets I'm well-known Like the number man Am I in place with the bass and all that Explore rap and tell me, "Nas ain't all that" And next time I rhyme, I be foul Whenever I freestyle I see trial Niggas say I'm wild, oh I hate a rhyme-biter's rhyme Stay tuned, I assume; the real rap comes at halftime Check, check, it's halftime Wait, lookin' at my Rolly, it's about that time Oh C'mon, c'mon You hear that soul to soul in there C'mon Some of y'all know I got it going on, even flip a morning song Every afternoon, I kick half the tune And in the darkness, I'm heartless Like when the narcs hit, word to Marcus Garvey I hardly sparked it 'Cause when I pass the herb, that's my word I be slayin' them fast, doing this that and the third But chill, pass the Andre, and let's slay I bag ladies up at -- and hit a matinee Putting hits on 5-0 'Cause when it's my time to go I wait for God with the.44 And biters can't come near So go to hell to the foul cop who shot Garcia I won't plant seeds Don't need an extra mouth I can't feed That's extra Phillie change, more cash for damp weed This goes out to Manhattan, the island of Staten Brooklyn and Queens is living fat And The Boogie Down, enough props, enough clout Ill Will, rest in peace! We was out C'mon, c'mon, c'mon Halftime Hold up Looking at my Rollie its about that time Oh! Half, half It's halftime Yeah, check Hey, yo, it's halftime Not even half of the show, though Not even half

Cheering and applause

Yeah Halftime Yeah Halftime Yeah Halftime My neighborhood encouraged me and inspired me in a lot of ways. It's a lot of great energy there, catch an old guy on the bench feeding the pigeons and talk to him for a minute and see what he's talking about. You look at the cracks in the ground of the basketball court, the rusty rim without the net, you know what I'm sayin'? The bullet hole in the backboard, the good times I had hanging out on that block and stuff like that. It was just so much good. Yeah, yeah Brings me back. I used to come outside on the block, the basketball court was cracked, you still playing ball, shootin' on a rusty rim. I lived on the fifth floor. Wow, remember those days like yesterday. Memories, man, they feed the soul. Yeah. I rap for listeners, prisoners Hennessy-holders, old-school niggas Then I be dissin' unofficial that smoke Woolie Thai I dropped out of Cooley High Gassed up by a cokehead cutie pie Jungle survivor, who's the alive-er My man put the battery in my back, a difference From Energizer, sentence begins indented With formality, my duration's infinite Moneywise or physiology Poetry, that's a part of me Retardedly bop I drop the ancient manifested Hip-hop straight off the block I reminisce on park jams My man was shot for his sheep coat I can see him drop in my weed smoke It's real, grew up in trife times Murderous nights, white lines Pipe fights, yeah Chill on the block with Cognac, hold strap With my peeps that's into drug money market interact No sign of the beast in the blue Chrysler Guess that means peace for niggas No shysty vice to just snipe ya Start off the dice-rollin' mats for craps To cee-lo to roll a deuce, nothin' below Peace God, now the -- is explained Takin' all you on a trip back through memory lane Damn, it's like that, y'all It's like that, y'all It's like that, y'all Yeah, now let me take a trip down memory lane Comin' outta Queensbridge Now let us take a trip down memory lane Comin' outta Queensbridge Now let us take a trip down memory lane Comin' outta Queensbridge Now let us take a trip down memory lane Comin' outta Queensbridge Let me explain One for the money, two for a pussy and foreign cars Three for Aliz, niggas deceased or behind bars Rap divine, God, check the prognosis Is it real or showbiz? My window faces shootouts, drug overdoses Live amongst no roses, only the drama For real, a nickel-plate is my fate My medicine is the ganja Here's my basis, my razor embraces, many faces You're telephone blown, black, stitches or fat shoelaces Peoples are petro, dramatic automatic.44 I let blow and back down po-po when I'm vexed so My pen taps the paper, then my brain's blank I see dark streets Hustlin' brothers who keep the same rank Pumpin' for somethin', some'll prosper, some fail Judges hangin' niggas Uncorrect bail for direct sales My intellect prevails from a hangin' cross with nails I reinforce the frail, with lyrics that's real Word to Christ, a disciple of streets, trifle on beats I decipher prophecies through a mic and say "peace" I hung around the older crews While they sling smack to dingbats They spoke of Fat Cat That nigga's name made bell rings, black Some fiends scream about Supreme Team A Jamaica Queens thing Uptown was Alpo, son, heard he was kingpin Rap is real, watch the herbs stand still Never talkin' to snakes, 'cause the words of man kill True in the game, as long as blood is blue in my vein Pour my Heineken brew to my deceased crew on memory lane It's like that, y'all For memory lane Nothin' like the memories, boy Let me take a trip down memory lane Unh, comin' outta Queensbridge Let me take a trip down memory lane Comin' out of Queensbridge Remember looking out my window pane Comin' out of Queensbridge Now let us take a trip down memory lane Comin' out of Queensbridge Let me take a trip down memory lane Coming out of Queensbridge Comin' out of Queensbridge Queensbridge, Queensbridge, Queensbridge Thanks. Thank you. Wow. That's something for your mind. I was up in here in the studio one day, doing a song, and you, you know, when we hear it, we thinkin' like, damn, it's a blessing that we could be here working on this equipment and stuff like that, so then we wonder, what's going on back in the projects right now, some crazy probably going on, so then we go back around the way, and boom, it be a nigga -- I just came back on the block, and you see a nigga whole head just open, blood, you know what I'm sayin'? No disrespect to that brotha. Bless -- bless your life and all that, but it's ill. You know what I'm sayin'? Every one of us has people who lived and died for us to be here, and I think it's important to realize that, you know, it took a lot for you to get wherever you are, and it's always important to think about it, you know, think about what really got you here. I used to say I grew up like a Vietnam vet in my teenage years, you know, because of what I seen and stuff. So, seeing deaths around me at an early age, I thought it was unfortunate, but I thought that was life. I thought that was life. I knew there was another side of town where things were different, of course, but I didn't know that other side of town, so it was life.

Cheering

Applause

Damn. What up, kid? You know it's rough after you slid When the cops came you shoulda slid to my crib Black, no time for lookin' back, it's done Plus, congratulations, know you got a son I heard he looks like ya, why don't your lady write ya Told her she should visit, that's when she got hyper Flippin', talkin' about he acts too rough He didn't listen, he be riffin' While I'm tellin' him stuff I was like, yeah, your girl don't care don't care She a snake too, messin' with them niggas From that fake crew that hate you But yo, guess who got shot in the dome-piece Jerome's niece, on her way home from Jones Beach It's bugged, plus little Rob is sellin' drugs on the dime Hangin' out with young thugs that all carry 9's More trife than ever What up with Cormega? Did you see him? Are y'all together? If so, then hold the fort down, represent to the fullest Say what's up to Herb, Ice and Bullet I left a half a hundred in your commissary You was my dog when push came to shove One, one, one -- One love! One love, one love We used to write letters to each other Now they email you from jail, right? One love, yeah One love, one love, one love, one love Yeah, one love, one love, one love, one love Unh Wow A lot of those dudes I wrote about on that album Have passed on In that song specifically Damn My man Draws, Marty, Yayo So many of them They left us here But I wish they knew we were in good company, all right Represent to the fullest Let's represent forever We gonna represent forever I will represent forever Yeah Say what? What you say? What we do? Represent Any day could be your last in the jungle Get murdered on a humble, guns'll blast, niggas tumble The corners is the hot spot, full of criminals Who don't care, guzzling beers, we all stare At the out-of-towners, they better break North Before we get the four pounders And tear they face off, the streets is real Undercovers, homicide chasing brothers D's on the roof tryin' to watch us and lock us Killer coppers even come through in helicopters Drink a little vodka, spark a L and hold a Glock for The fronters, wannabe ill niggas and spot runners Thinking it can't happen 'til I trap 'em and clap 'em And leave 'em done, won't even run about I don't believe in none of that, your facts are backwards Nas is a rebel of the street corner Pulling a TEC out the dresser, police got me under pressure Represent, represent Represent, represent Yeah, represent, represent Oh, represent, represent Yeah, they call me Nas, I'm not your legal type of fella Moet drinking, marijuana smoking street dweller Who's always on the corner, rolling up blessed When I dress, it's never nothing less than Guess Cold be walking with a bop and my hat turned back Love committing sins and my friends sell crack This nigga raps with a razor, keep it under my tongue The school drop-out, never liked that from day one Life ain't -- but stress, fake niggas, crab stunts I guzzle my Hennessy while pulling on mad blunts The brutalizer, Brutus-izer, accelerator The type of brother who be -- in your elevator Hey, yo, the rap game reminds me of the crack game Used to sport Bally's and Cazals with black frames Now I'm into fat chains, sex and TEC's Fly new whips, new chicks, Heine's and Beck's I represent, y'all Represent, yeah, I represent, y'all I represent, y'all See my stacks are fat, this is what it's about Before the BDP conflict with MC Shan Around the time when Shante dissed the Real Roxanne I used to chill up on the corner or the block Every day's a different, had us running from cops If it wasn't hanging out in front of cocaine spots We was at the candy factory, breaking the locks Nowadays, I need the cash in the hand Like the next man A yard, God, let me see a hundred grand Could use a gun, son, but -- being the wanted man But if I hit rock bottom I'ma be the Son of Sam Then call the crew to get live too, with Swoop Bokeem My brother Jungle, Big Bo cooks up the blow Mike'll chop it; Mayo, you count the profit It's on the streets, this way the Jakes'll never stop it Your brain on -- all fly ladies and thugs 'Nuff respect to the projects, we ghost, one love Represent, y'all, yeah Yeah, I represent, y'all Up top, I represent, y'all Up top, I represent, y'all Oh! Represent Let's move it out Represent Move it out To the Queensbridge crew The 40 side of Vernon The 41st side of Vernon To the goodfellas My man Cee-Lo from the Don Lanky the Kid My whole crew Big Bo, Mayo, wherever you at, I'm here baby To my whole crew from the North Side From the South Side Way out in Astoria Projects Can't forget Ravenswood The whole Long Island City We here baby, we here And of course to you, D.C.! Represent, represent Represent to the fullest

Cheering and applause

I worked on my thing. I worked on my craft and I stuck to it. So, today, here, I think about how many people were wrong. I think about how many people, who didn't follow their heart, who believed what someone told 'em, or believed what society says, or what status quo was tellin' them. Don't believe nothin' but you. Don't believe in anything but you. I feel good up here.

Laughter and applause

Yeah, it's illmatic It's illmatic Let's go back a little bit and go one time for your mind One time, yeah, whatever One time for your mind, one time Yo, whatever, One time for your mind One time Hey yo, Nas? Kick that rhyme! Yeah, check, check it out When I'm chilling, I grab the buddha Get my crew to buy beers And watch a flick, illin' and root for the villain, yeah Then I go out, I find it, I find it sort of chilly Then I send a shorty from my block To the store for Phillies After being blessed by the herb's essence I'm back to my rest, ten minutes, some odd seconds That's where I got my honey at, spend the night for sexin' Keep lubrication, Magnum protection Picking up the stereo's remote control quickly Ron G's in the cassette deck, rocking the D I try to stay mellow, rock, well a cappella rhymes'll Make me richer than a slipper made Cinderella, fella Go get your crew, Hobbes, I'm prepared to bomb troops Rest in peace to my mom dukes When I was ten I was a hip-hoppin' shorty wop Known for rocking microphones and twisting off a 40 top One time for your mind, one time One time for your mind, one time One time for your mind, one time It sounds clever Okay, cello You know the hard times, kid Cold, be starving make you wanna do crimes kid But I'ma lamp, 'cause a crime couldn't beat a rhyme Muslims yelling "Free the mind" And I'm from Queensbridge, been to many places As a kid when I would say that out of town, people chased us But now I know the time, got a older mind Plus control a 9, fine, see now I represent mine I'm new on the rap game, niggas never heard of me Yet I'm a menace, why police wanna murder me Heine dog drinker, represent the thinker My pen rides the paper, it even has blinkers Think I'll dim the lights, then inhale, it stimulates Floating like I'm on the North 95 Interstate Never plan to stop, when I write my hand is hot And jam a lot from the Wiz to Camelot The parlayer, I'll make your heads bop, pa I shine a light on perpetrators, like a cop's car From day to night, I play the mic and you'll thank God I wreck so much the microphone will need a paint job See, my brain is incarcerated Live at any jam I couldn't count all the parks I've raided I hold a MAC-11, and attack a reverend I contact eleven L's and max in heaven One time for your mind, one time One time for your mind, one time One time for your mind, one time Ah

Cheering and applause

I hope that you could look through the dream with me, and see the journey I took, to be on the stage with an orchestra. When it came to every song that we did, hearing it the way I've always heard it, from studio to wax to the radio, and then the National Symphony puttin' it down their way, I knew it was bigger than just what was on the record. I knew you had more legs than what I already saw you running with, record. I'm talking to my record. I knew you had different legs too, and it ran off into the air, and the sounds and the notes was bouncing off the walls and hittin' the lights, and landing on people's hearts and minds and eyes, right there on that stage, and it was like, this is what it's about. Thank you for giving me 20 years of your ears.

Cheering and applause

Thank you. Thank you. So, we now conclude with the final song of "Illmatic." This was the end of the cassette.

Audience member

What?! -It was just nine songs. Yeah. This song right here -- I got you though. This was my joint, 'cause I'm a big Michael Jackson fan, and he... I tell you something I never said, on my album cover, you see me with the Afro. That was kinda inspired by Michael Jackson, the little -- the little kid picture, right? So, I never told nobody that before. So this is, uh, "It Ain't Hard to Tell." Yeah Yeah Yeah, I see y'all over here. Yeah It ain't hard to tell I excel, then prevail The mic is contacted The mic check is life or death Breathin' a sniper's breath Exhale the yellow smoke of buddha through righteous steps Deep like The Shining, sparkle like a diamond Sneak a Uzi on the island in my... Hit the Earth like a comet, invasion! Nas is like the Afrocentric -- - Asian -- half-man, half-amazin' - In my physical I'll express through song Delete stress like Motrin, extend strong Drink Moet with Medusa, get my shotguns in Hell From the spliff that I lift and inhale - It ain't hard to tell -Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. It ain't hard to... Some of y'all were like 5 years old when this album came out! The buddha monk's in your trunk, turn the bass up Not stories by Aesop Place your loot up Nas, I analyze Inhale from the L School a fool well You feel it like Braille, it ain't... Kick a skill, like Shaquille holds a pill Vocabulary spills, I'm Ill plus Matic I freak beats, slam it, like Iron Sheik Jam like a TEC with correct technique They analyze me, surprise me Can't magnetize me Scannin' while you're plannin' ways to sabo-- I leave 'em froze, like heroin in your nose Nas will rock well - It ain't hard to tell -Yeah!

Cheering and applause

Audience member

Yeah! If you was down with me in '94, make some noise.

Cheering and applause

Audience member

I love you for that. This rhythmatic explosion Is what your frame of mind has chosen I'll leave your brain stimulated, niggas is frozen Speak with criminal slang, begin like a violin End like Leviathan, it's deep Wisdom be leakin' out my grapefruit, troop I dominate break loops, givin' mics men-e-strual cycles Street's disciple, I rock beats that's mega trifle And groove even smoother than moves by Villanova You're still a soldier, I'm like Sly Stone in Cobra Packin' like a Rasta in the weed spot Vocals will squeeze Glocks, MC's eavesdrop Though they need not to sneak, my poetry's deep I never fell, Nas' raps should be locked in a cell It ain't hard to tell Na-na-na-na-nas It ain't hard to tell It ain't hard to tell Twenty years! Yes! Special thanks to everybody up in here! I thank you from the bottom of my bravehearts!

Cheering and applause

Audience member

Thank you. Special thank you to the National -- to the National Symphony Orchestra.

Cheering and applause

Audience member

We thank you from the bottom of our brave hearts, for keeping it Illmatic with me through the years. Thank you for looking beautiful tonight. I love you forever, man. Stay real.

Cheering and applause

Audience member

I sip the Dom P, watching Gandhi 'til I'm charged Writing in my book of rhymes, all the words past the margin To hold the mic I'm throbbing, mechanical movement Understandable smooth that murderers move with The thief's theme, play me at night, they won't act right A fiend of hip-hop, it's got me stuck like a crack pipe The mind activation, react like I'm facin' time like Pappy Mason with pens I'm embracin' Wipe the sweat off my dome, spit the phlegm on the streets And the Nikes on my feet keep my cipher complete Whether cruising in a Sikh's cab, or Montero Jeep I can't call it, beats make me falling asleep I keep falling, but never falling six feet deep I'm out for presidents to represent me I'm out for presidents to represent me I'm out for dead presidents to represent me - Whose world is this The world is yours -To find out more about this and other "Great Performances" programs, visit PBS.org/greatperformances. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. - Whose world is this - The world is yours, to mine in lockdown With new plans - Whose world is this The world is mine, holding a stolen cop's Glock With G-notes in my hand to my man Ill Will God bless your life