Freedom or jail, clips inserted, a baby's bein' born
Same time my man is murdered; the beginning and end
As far as rap go, it's only natural, I explain
My plateau, and also what defines my name
[Refrain]
Yeah, long live the idols, may they never be your rivals
'Pac was like Jesus, Nas wrote the Bible
Now what you 'bout to hear is a tale of glory and sin
No I.D. my mentor, now let the story begin
[Verse 1]
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 them in awe
Then he dropped Stillmatic, rocked the cleanest velour
Fast forward, who'd a thought that I would meet him on tour
I'm earnin' stripes now, a nigga got Adidas galore
Backstage I shook his hand, let 'em 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, feelin' 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?