Stillmatic

The Rewind

Nas

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

End

154

Internal

Multi

181

Slant

Chain

Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight

Listen^✦ up gangstas and honeys with ya hair done

Pull up a chair hon' and put it in the air son

Dog, whatever they call you, god, just listen^✦

I spit a story^✦ backwards, it starts at the ending^✦

The bullet^✦ goes back in the gun

The bullet^✦ hole's^✦ closing this chest of a nigga^✦

Now he back to square one

Screaming, "Shoot don't please"

I put my fifth back on my hip

It's like a VCR rewinding a hit

He put his hands back on his bitch

My caravan doors open^✦ up

I jumped^✦ back in the van and closed^✦ it shut

Going reverse, slowly^✦ prepared

My nigga^✦ Jungle utters out something crazy^✦ like, "Go he there"

Sitting^✦ in back of this chair, we hitting^✦ the roach

The smoke goes back in the blunt, the blunt gets bigger^✦ in growth

Jungle unrolls it, put his weed back in the jar

The blunt turns back into^✦ a cigar^✦

We listen^✦ to Stevie, it sounded like heavy^✦ metal^✦ fans

I give my niggas^✦ dap, jump out the van back first

Back upstairs, took off the black shirt

I'm in the crib with the phone to my ear

Listen^✦ up so y'all can figure^✦ out the poem real clear

The voice on the phone was like, "Outside right we"

So with my mouth wide, holding my heat

Bullets I had plenty^✦ to squeeze, plenty^✦ for ya

'Cause Jungle said, "Block your on enemies the"

Hung up the phone, then the phone rang

I'm laid in the bed thinking 'bout this pretty^✦ young thing

Who left, she came back, her clothes just fell to the rug

She fell to my bed and gave me a hug

I told her, "No hell"

She talking^✦ 'bout, "Me kiss"

Bobbed^✦ her head then spit the nut back in my dick

Started sucking with no hands, a whole lotta^✦ spit

Then got up and put her bra back on her tits

Got fully^✦ dressed^✦ and told me, "Stressed^✦ really^✦ I'm"

Picked^✦ up her Gucci bag and left her nigga^✦ behind

Walking^✦ through the door, she rang the bell twice

I vomited Vodka^✦ back in my glass with juice and ice

The clock went back from three, to two, to one

And that's about^✦ the time the story^✦ begun^✦

That's when I first heard the voice mail on the cell

It said, "Son we found that nigga^✦ we gotta^✦ kill"

Hey yo son, hey yo son, you hear me, you hear me?

Listen^✦ man, this dude right on the block, right now, man

I found him, right now, I see him right now!

Let's kill him

"Yo, this Nas, leave it. Peace"

Technical Breakdown

8.7

Multisyllabic Rhymes8.5

Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)

Internal Rhymes9.5

Rhymes within a line (data-driven)

Wordplay / Double Entendres9.5

Clever language, metaphors, punchlines

Cadence / Rhythm9.0

Flow variation and timing (data-driven)

Vocabulary Complexity6.0

Range and depth of words used (data-driven)

Delivery / Breath Control9.0

Performance and control

Computed Score8.74

Production

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Critic Analysis

RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™

Nas achieves a rare feat of narrative technicality by utilizing reverse-chronological order while maintaining a consistent rhyme scheme, essentially writing an entire track as a palindromic linguistic exercise.

8.5

Multisyllabic

9.5

Internal Rhymes

Cadence / Flow

Vocabulary

9.5

Wordplay

Delivery

Reverse chronological narrativeMultisyllabic rhyme chainsInternal rhyme densityConceptual metaphor

Rhyme Architecture: Complex, fluid AABB and interlocking rhyme patterns that accommodate the logistical constraints of a reverse-storytelling format, maintaining flow despite the syntactical difficulty of 'rewinding' events.

Verified Doubles & Entendres

"It's like a VCR rewinding a hit"

① A literal reference to playing a video tape in reverse.② A double entendre on 'hit' as both a song/musical track and a violent act/murder.

"The bullet goes back in the gun"

① The physical action of the projectile re-entering the chamber.② A symbolic reset of the violent event, serving as the inciting incident for the reverse-time theme.

Unprecedented structural innovation for its era

High internal rhyme density that keeps the listener engaged despite the unconventional narrative arc

Seamless blending of mechanical 'rewind' imagery with standard street narrative

The narrative constraint occasionally forces awkward phrasing ('Go he there')

Vocabulary depth is sacrificed for the sake of strict chronological reversal

User Scores

Notes

Nas tells an entire story backwards. One of hip-hop's most inventive technical achievements