Elite - Let Nas Down lyrics

[Produced by J. Cole & Nate Jones] [Intro] 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 n***as 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 n***a 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 striking out for months, 9th inning feeling fear Jeter under pressure, made the biggest hit of my career But at first, that wasn't clear, n***as had no idea Dion called me when it dropped, sounded sad but sincere Told me Nas heard your single and he hate that sh** Said you the one, yo why you make that sh** [Hook] 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, f** it [Refrain] 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 I.D. my mentor now let the story begin [Verse 2] 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 I 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, study they hearts I had a feelin' I was k**in', and this music we were spillin' out Would change lives forever, f** the label, put it out Friday Night Lights blew, that was cla**ic number 2 Now it seemed as if the Nas comparisons was coming true Still no release date from the label, are they insane Gucc told me play the game to change the game [Hook] But on the way I let Nas down I got no one to blame I'm a shame, I let Nas down But this is God's plan, you can never understand, f** it [Refrain] 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 I.D. my mentor now let the story begin [Verse 3] I always believed in the bigger picture If I could get them n***as to listen outside my core then I can open up doors Reintroduce 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 sh** you n***as bought For the past decade If I should pa** 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 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 n***a that said that Hip-Hop was dead I went to Hell to resurrect it, how could you fail to respect it [Hook] 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, f** it [Refrain] 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 I.D. my mentor now let the story begin