[Nas]
Uhh
Yo, yo-yo, y'all
Whattup? Whattup
It's time man (Word, it's time?)
Straight up, it's time man
Aight, set that [bad word] off
(Set it off then [bad word]  set it off)

Broken glass in the hallway, bloodstained floors
Neighbors, look at every bag you bring through your doors
Lock the top lock, momma shoulda cuffed me to the radiator
Why not? It might've saved later from my block
N.Y. cops, hookers crawlin off the stroll, coughin
stitches in they head, stinkin and I dread thinkin they be snitchin
But who else, could it be, shook at these, unmarked vans
Parked in the dark -- NARC's, where's your heart?
Hustlers starve; they bust a U-e I jog
to my building [bad word] out later wearin camouflage
See the sergeant and the captain -- strangle men
Niggaz gaspin for air; til they move no more and just stare
with dead eyes -- tired of riots, [bad word] is quiet
Simple-minded fools infiltrate grimy crews
Overcrowded cribs, uncles home from bids, sister's pregnant
father's on [bad word]  moms is smokin, beds is [bad word] infested
Had eight partners growin up, eight turned to seven
Seven turned to six niggaz, got two in heaven
Six of us, holdin it, now it's five rollin thick
The sixth one's parole flipped; five niggaz, went to fo' quick
when he went O.T., college life, converted into gangbangin
Four niggaz still hangin, years passed and slang changin
Three of us now, fourth [bad word] ain't around
We all thought he was real -- he did the snake [bad word] Fake [bad word] -- beat his [bad word] down, yo his mouth
could've got us all wasted, what a [bad word] clown
All I got left in the end is two of my best friends
And we all goin out, to the death for these ends, WHAT?

New York, New York (New York state of mind - [Rakim])
New York, New York (New York state of mind - [Rakim])
[repeat while Nas is talking]

You heard about it, you see about it
You read about it, it's in your papers
It's in your daily news (Get money!)
New York chronicles, every day
The crime rate, the murder rate
The money rate, the paper chase, youknowhatImean?
New York state of mind baby, check it out

[Nas]
I'm at the, gamblin spot, my hands on a knot
New York Yankee cap cover my eyes, stand in one spot
I take a [bad word] dough, send him home, to a shoebox
You lost that [bad word] I put your dollar in the jukebox
Hear my favorite song, all these niggaz sing along
All the ciggarette smoke's cloggin my lungs, hoodrats flashin they tongue
Young thugs blastin they gun, we got reputations [bad word] and niggaz both on parole or probation [bad word] is sick, niggaz got gats, army fatigues
I got my eyes glued on, whoever walk in the lead
Cause I ain't playin, [bad word] up in here and shoot up this [bad word] Stick yo' [bad word] up, niggaz'll find the loot in your kicks
Bunch of triple-cross niggaz, just New York niggaz
Lift you off your feet when they was just talkin with you
Some of these dudes the Feds be on em, you knew em for years
Be the type when you walk in a pub, they offer you beers
That ain't gangsta, niggaz is up North with tatted tears
Your name's on the affadavit, you ratted kid [bad word] [bad word] niggaz that be scared to do they bids [bad word] you, [bad word] you out of N.Y, you can't live
Got your quiet niggaz, that relocated down [bad word] back to floss, then you got the jealous loudmouths
All of a sudden we got Crips and Bloods, [bad word] round quick to split your mug, it's ea-sy to score
but it's hard to get the [bad word] off
Niggaz fightin over hundred sales, jump in the car and drive off
When the [bad word] around the block, happy as [bad word] Niggaz, mad cause they ain't get a piece of that sale
Cutthroat connivers, universal, ghetto survivors
Go to any hood that's live and make it liver
lot of niggaz scheamin, some real, some niggaz frontin
But I'm a big dreamer, so watch me co