J. Cole - Let Nas Down lyrics

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

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 ID 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 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?"

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

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 ID 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 that kept on sayin'
"Where's the hit's?" You ain't got none
You know Jay'll never put your
Album out without none
And, dog, you know how come
Labels are archaic
Formulaic with they outcome
They don't know, they just study the charts
Me, I studied the shows, the fans
Study they 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 two
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
I got no one to blame
I'm ashamed, I let Nas down
But this is God's plan
You can never understand, fuck it
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 ID 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 the 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?

Letting 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

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 ID my mentor, now let the story begin