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 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 I used to print out Nas raps and tape 'em up on my wall My niggaz 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 earning 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 asking where's the record that the radio can play And I was striking out for month, 9th inning feeling fear Jeter under pressure, made the biggest hit of my career But at first that wasn't clear, niggaz had no idea Dion called me when it dropped sounding sad but sincere Saying Nas heard your single and he hates that shit Said you the one yo why you make that shit [Hook] I can't believe I let Nas down 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 Mow what you 'bout to hear is a tale of glory and sin NO I.D. 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 telling me that was not up to par When I followed my heart Granted my heart was tainted by my mind that kept on saying "where's the hits?" You ain't got none You know Jay a 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, studied they hearts I had a feeling I was killing And this music we was spilling out Would change lives forever, fuck the label put it out Friday Night Lights, blew That was classic number 2 Now it seems as if the Nas comparisons was coming true Still no release date from the label are they insane Guc told me play the game to change the game [Hook] I always believed in the bigger picture If I can them niggas to listen outside my core then I can open up doors Re-introduce them 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 Dying for that fake shit you niggaz brought 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 sacrificing 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 walks amongst the evils 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 [Hook]