Nas - Halftime

Before a blunt, I take out my fronts,
Then I start to front, matter of fact I be on a manhunt,
You couldn't catch me in the streets without a ton of reefer,
That's like Malcolm X catchin' the Jungle Fever,
King poetic, too much flavor, I'm major,
Atlanta ain't Brave-r, I'll pull a number like a pager,
‘Cause I'm an ace when I face the bass,
40-side is the place that is givin' me grace,
Now wait, another dose and you might be dead,
And I'm a Nike-head, I wear chains that excite the feds,
And ain't a damn thing gonna change, I'm a performer, strange,
So the mic warmer was born to gain,
Nas, why did you do it?
You know you got the mad-phat fluid when you rhyme,
It's halftime.


[Hook]
(Right...) It's halftime,
(Right...) Ayo it's halftime,
(Right...) It's halftime,
(Right...) Yeah, it's about halftime,
This is how it feel, check it out, how it feel.


It's like that, you know it's like that,
I got it hemmed, now you never get the mic back,
When I attack, there ain't a army that could strike back,
So I react never calmly on a hype track,
I set it off with my own rhyme,
‘Cause I'm as ill as a convict who kills for phone time,
I'm max like cassettes, I flex like sex,
In your stereo sets, Nas'll catch wreck,
I used to hustle, now all I do is relax and strive,
When I was young I was a fan of the Jackson 5,
I drop jewels, wear jewels, hope to never run it,
With more kicks than a baby in a mother's stomach,
Nasty Nas has to rise ‘cause I'm wise,
This is exercise 'til the microphone dies,
Back in '83 I was an MC sparkin',
But I was too scared to grab the mics in the parks and,
Kick my little raps ‘cause I thought niggas wouldn't understand,
And now in every jam I'm the fuckin' man,
I rap in front of more niggas than in the slave ships,
I used to watch "CHiPs", now I load Glock clips,
I got to have it, I miss Mr. Magic,
Versatile, my style switches like a faggot,
But not bisexual, I'm an intellectual,
Of rap I'm a professional, and that's no question yo,
These are the lyrics of the man, you can't near it, understand?
‘Cause in the streets I'm well-known like the number man,
Am I in place with the bass and format?,
Explore rap and tell me, "Nas ain't all that.",
And next time I rhyme, I be foul,
Whenever I freestyle I see trial, niggas say I'm wild,
I hate a rhyme-biter's rhyme,
Stay tuned, I assume, the real rap comes at halftime.


[Hook]
(Right...) It's halftime,
(Right...) Exhale, check it, it's halftime,
(Right...) It's halftime,
(Right...) It's real in the field,
Word life, check it.



I got it goin' on, even flip a morning song,
Every afternoon, I kick half the tune,
And in the darkness I'm heartless like when the NARC's hit,
Word to Marcus Garvey, I hardly sparked it,
‘Cause when I blast the herb, that's my word,
I be slayin' them fast, doin' this that and the third,
But chill, pass the Andre, and let's slay,
I bag bitches up at John Jay and hit a matinee,
Puttin' hits on 5-0,
‘Cause when it's my time to go, I wait for God with the .44,
And biters can't come near,
And yo, go to hell to the foul cop who shot Garcia,
I won't plant seeds, don't need an extra mouth I can't feed,
That's extra Phillie change, more cash for damp weed,
This goes out to Manhattan, the island of Staten,
Brooklyn and Queens is livin' fat and,
The Boogie Down, enough props, enough clout,
Ill Will, rest in peace, yo I'm out.


[Hook]
(Right...) It's still halftime,
(Right...) To the Queensbridge crew,
To the Queensbridge crew, you know it's halftime,
(Right...) Ninety-two, it's halftime,
(Right...) Yo police, police man, yo let's get ghost,
Halftime...