Level 7
While I like looking a decade back and penning some paragraphs just as long, this blog will also aim to update with new songs. After all, say what you will about Nas, but he's not exactly the hibernating, stagnant type; he may not be on a Pac-level with the amount of time he's spending in a studio, but it seems like, more often than not, he's consistently got a new joint around the corner, solo, featured, freestyle, or otherwise. Today's bit of brand new finds him splitting spitting duties with Nashawn aka Millennium Thug aka Cocaine aka Crack Baby aka rappers have beautifully ig'nant names sometimes aka the other guy on Last Words.
Here, like tag team drug addicts, Nas and Nashawn trade lines back and forth in a brief and energetic style. Nashawn's cleaned up his voice and took a little bit of the whine out, while Nas plays a proper wingman. It's not major, but it's good enough.
NAS = N
NASHAWN = N2
[HOOK]
[N]Take a picture, cherish it
[N]I'm God Son, heaven sent
[N]This is Level 7, with gangstas and mobsters stepping
[N2]Take a picture, cherish it
[N2]It's Nashawn, my features is heaven sent
[N2]For the bitches, this is Level 7
[VERSE 1]
[N]Number 1, uh, what does it take to have a woman sprung?
[N2]Intelligence leave their mind done
[N]But what about shopping and copping expensive things?
[N2]Take them on yachts, and lobster, rocks and rings
[N]Teddy Pendergrass crashed with a transvestite on his best night
[N]But nigga, not me, on a hot night
[N]I'm with a sister who's thick as shit and she knock me
[N2]You hit her off properly and then let her get on top of me
[N2]Level 2 is elementary stage
[N]The first thing a slave learned in this country's amazing
[N2]They separated the families on every plantation
[N]Fiending for that black pussy, slave masters chase 'em
[N2]Chased the women like they're chicken feet
[N2]Violating, raping 'em, rip their clothes, let their niggas see
[N]And that's the start of the first black pimp's history
[N2]Told his queen if they want to fuck, make 'em a pay a fee
[HOOK]
[VERSE 2]
[N]Level 3, God answer me, is there any devil in me?
[N2]Nah, that's thug and this rebel in me
[N]Hood life, ghetto tears falling down my eyes
[N2]Hop out the staircase, kill 'em with a surprise
[N]I'm willing to live and willing to die
[N2]Kill a man for a cause, I'm willing to fry
[N]Why my peoples in this fucked-up predicament?
[N2]We taught the wrong things in the school, learned ignorance
[N]Now my religion is the almighty dollar
[N2]Thereby you making this money, turned the street game to pimp game scholar
[N]Level 4, never make a whore into a housewife--with my charisma
[N2]It take a special kind of dude just to pimp her
[N]Level 5, I learnt the ways of the streets when I was only 9
[N2]Turn nothing into a dime, beer into wine
[N]Wine into champagne, Cris', Level 6
[N2]Only millionaire's shit, buying buildings and real estate
[N2]Me and my gorillas chilling selling homes and weight
[N]Went from savage to humane
[N]Welcome to Level 7, you entered the life of true game
Nashawn f/ Nas: Level 7
posted by Fletch at 1:37 AM
5 Comments:
3.5-4/5
solid mixtape-level cut
no real lyrical shortcomings, quick and kept its tempo
plus, you gotta love the Ghetto Prisoners reference.
hot song. I'm loving it. It's on repeat.
As a huge Nas fan, I've really liked reading your blogs. Keep writing, it's refreshing to hear an intelligent and seemingly well researched take on the songs.
My favourite of the blogs was for Silent Murder, as I enjoyed learning about all the many references Nas used that I didn't understand. I think you should do more blogs like this.
My only suggestion is that you upload the songs in Megaupload, or something that will hold the link for longer than 7 days. I have most of the songs you've upped, but for the few I hadn't, it was frustrating to read your take on the songs and not be able to hear them because the link was too old.
Anyway I've rambled enough! Great site.
Here's the yousendit thinking:
I don't know if it's an unspoken code or not, but it seems like in audioblogs there's usually a 7-10 day limit for songs to be up. I mean, I guess it still violates copyright laws, but it's less flagarant that way. Sites like Megaupload or Rapidshare usually only expire 30 days after the last download, so that's too long (and I don't want to go through the hassle of "kill codes" for the links).
Yousendit links last that aforementioned 07 days, and if they expire before then, I'll make concessions to reup.
Hey yo just wanna say I've been visiting this blog since the beginning, and gotta give props where it's due - your doing a hell of a job here. It is refreshing to read such a well-constructed and researched view on some classic and rare Nas tracks, coupled with the fact that you clearly enjoy writing about it. Keep up the good work.
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