King Nas

## Song by Lupe Fiasco

"**King Nas**" is a song by Lupe Fiasco, released as the 21st track from his album *Drogas Wave* (2018). He clarified over Reddit that it was not about rapper Nas, but instead, a song he "wrote dedicated to and inspired by" his "two nephews named King & Nas as they journey into manhood." He added, "I always dedicate songs to my family."

He recalled in an interview with *The Ringer* that he was in the studio with Nas, pre-Covid. He continued, "Nas was like, 'Yo, that song, 'King Nas'—Erykah Badu hit me and let me know that you know that you had a nephew named King and a nephew named Nas and that that's what it's about.' And he mentioned this one line in the record. He says he was telling his homies, 'This Lupe, I don't know how he did that...' And I looked him in the face and was like, 'Bro that's *you*. That's me doing you. That ain't me."

## Personnel

* Anthony Perkin – piano
* Charles "Chilly" Patton – executive producer
* Chris Athens – masterer
* Crystal "Røvél" Torres – additional trumpet
* Jon Content – producer, keyboards
* Rudolph "Soundtrakk" Lopez – writer, producer
* Runere Brooks – upright bass
* Wasalu "Lupe Fiasco" Jaco – vocals, writer, executive producer

## Lyrics

**Lyrics**
[Intro]

Ghetto, uh, uh

Ghetto, ghetto (Yeah)

Ghetto (Uh) ghetto

[Verse 1]

Ghetto mythologies colonize my mind constantly

To shine sonically in the Chi, Divine Comedy

I vibe consciously to override suicide inside

Honestly 'cause they don't wanna honor me and honesty

Black king poetic with Nat King's aesthetic

Half-dream, half-machine where the black queens get naked

For a dollar from a scholar like me

Not at all bothered with what a sodomite see, flippant

A thousand grams get dissolved in the kitchen

Heart wrenchin', part played, took away from my ascension

Crooked ways brought from car lookaways from tooken Js

But it's too late for your prevention 'cause I'm playin' my position

[Chorus]

I'm the man now

I'm the man, now

I'm the man, now

If you the man, let me see your fuckin' hands now

Not the man then keep your motherfuckin' hands down

Man now

I'm the man, now

[Verse 2]

Uh, killer friends, dope dealers concealing sins

Sin and swim in my trunk like jumps in deeper ends

We the gems, your daughter, we'll teach her hymns

From the annals of crime channels that dismantle her wants for weaker men

Send 'em back, a livin', I'm feelin' trapped

We no religion but brimmin' with brilliant facts

So we map cast distorted role of a lady

With no control, let her go whole on a baby

I wanna see it all, never half asleep some n\*\*\*as can't see the walls

'Cause of the masterpiece my data breach like hacker leaks

Delete the McAfees and slam the backdoors in back of me

Social engineer, peers stare at it, give a chat to me happily

Actually activated off accolades of my apogee

And act yakkity then deeply speak it back to me

Then move it further, we can have a junta or a jerga

I smurf it and spoof the server, reboot and produce a cursor

[Chorus]

I'm a man now

I'm the man, now

I'm the man, now

If you the man, let me see your fuckin' hands now

Not the man then keep your motherfuckin' hands down

Man now (Ghetto, ghetto)

I'm the man, now

[Verse 3]

Deny the service and a little blue from the boycott

Advertise rum, space available on my toy box

But no sleepin' on me, dig deeper than reachin' shorties

Scheme for giant green, getting CREAM sweeter than bein' corny

Know the difference between bein' in love and bein' horny

Bein' hated, bein' human, bein' a teen but bein' forty

They like to get 'em young like I'm Brigham's son

Be more man and my attitude' no lad, I'd rather have a youth

Flag the OGs pullin' Benzos out

They make 'em put they pussies out like Fred Flintstone's house

Heart blacker than the back of Fred Flintstone mouth

Or maybe more like Baba Kwesi, take the TEMBO route

To be

[Chorus]

A man now

I'm the man, now

I'm the man, now

If you the man, let me see your fuckin' hands now

Not the man then keep your motherfuckin' hands down

Man now (Ghetto, ghetto, ghetto)

I'm the man, now

[Outro]

From the ghetto, ohh

Qul a'uudhi bi rabbin naas

Malikin naas, Ilaahin naas

Min sharril wawaasil khannas

Alladhee yuwaswisu fee suduurin naas

Minal Jinnati wa naas

Ghetto

From the ghetto

Ghetto (Ghetto, ghetto)

From the ghetto

Ghetto (Ghetto, ghetto)

Not goin' down to the ghetto, the ghetto

When we gon' bring back God to the ghetto?

You're the man, now, yeah, yeah

You're the man, now

You are, the man now

You the man

You're the man, now (Now, now)

Huh, whatcha lookin' at?

Huh, whatchu lookin at?

Huh, whatchu lookin at?

## References

1. ↑ Thompson, Paul (August 2, 2022). ""Rappers Don’t Fall Off": Lupe Fiasco on Aging in Hip-Hop, Drill Music, and the Audience". *The Ringer*.