It Was Written

Take It in Blood

Nas

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

End

186

Internal

107

Multi

294

Slant

Chain

Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight

[Chorus]

I made it like that, I bought it like that, I'm livin'^✦ like that

For you wack MC's

[Verse 2]

Currency is made in the trust of the Messiah. I'm spendin' it to get higher^✦

Earth, Wind and Fire singin'^✦ "Reasons" why I'm

Up early,^✦ trustworthy as a nine that bust early^✦

Sunshine on my grill, I spill

Remy^✦ on imaginary graves,^✦ put my hat on my waves^✦

Latter^✦ Day Saints say religious^✦ praise

I, dolo.^✦ Challenge any^✦ team or solo^✦

You must be buggin'^✦ out — new to my shit. Home on a furlough

Ask around who's laid up, sharp and straight up

Mafioso, gettin'^✦ niggas'^✦ wakes^✦ sprayed up

Skies are misty,^✦ my life predicted by a gypsy^✦

I'll one day walk into^✦ shots, drunk off champagne from Sicily^✦

This be the drama,^✦ I'ma^✦ pause like a comma^✦ in a sentence

Paragraphs indented

Bloodshot red eyes, high. Yellow^✦ envelopes of lye

Openin'^✦ cigars,^✦ let tobacco fly

Condos^✦ are tune-proof. We're lookin'^✦ out the sky's moon roof

Shittin' like gin and prune juice

Yo, the system^✦ wants the coon's noose. Hang 'em high

Courtrooms filled^✦ up. It's off the hook while I

Just wrote a statement,^✦ like I'm facin'^✦ twenty-years in the basement^✦

Chillin' on a VI with Mumia^✦

For wearin'^✦ chrome. I told the judge snakes^✦ slither like Sharon^✦ Stone

But like Capone,^✦ I'm thrown. Yo

[Chorus]

I made it like that, I bought it like that, I'm livin'^✦ like that

For you wack MC's

I made it like that, I bought it like that, I'm livin'^✦ like that

(Lyrical,^✦ ly-lyrical^✦ shine)

I made it like that, I bought it like that, I'm livin'^✦ like that

For you wack MC's

[Verse 3]

Yo, the time is wastin',^✦ I use the mind elevation^✦

Dime sack lacin'.^✦ Court pen pacin'^✦

Individual, lyrical^✦ math abrasion^✦

Psychic evaluation,^✦ the foulest nation^✦

We livin'^✦ in. Dangerous^✦ lives,^✦ mad leak and battered wives^✦

A lifestyle on bad streets is patternized

Wise men build and destroy

While the Real McCoy dope fiend named^✦ Detroit is still dealin'^✦ boy

Coke suppliers actin'^✦ biased^✦

'Cause rumors^✦ say that niggas^✦ wear wires^✦ and we liars

But every^✦ night, the gat's fired.^✦ And everyday,^✦ a rat's hired^✦

I still remain^✦ the mack flyest in the phat Kani,^✦ it's

Just the killer^✦ in me. Slash drug dealer,^✦ MC

Ex-slug^✦ filler,^✦ semi^✦ mug peeler.^✦ Demi^✦

Bottles of Mo'. Yo, simply^✦ follow^✦ me flow

Put poetry^✦ inside^✦ a crack pot and blow

Rough hoes pull crack out pussies and butt-holes

Bring the G's and the D's roll, they can't touch those

Why shoot the breeze about^✦ it when you could be about^✦ it?

My degrees are routed^✦ toward^✦ the peasy-haired brick housing

And studded-up, thick medallions^✦

Rich niggas^✦ transportin' thousands

Foreign cash exchange amountin' to millions^✦

Doors is locked,^✦ rocks is chopped, watch the cameras in the ceilings

Trick bitches catchin' mad feelings

Peelin'^✦ off in a Lex Jeep, techniques is four-wheelin'

I bet it be some shit when we connect with Stretch

When we catch them sex niggas^✦ with the TECs you blessed

Word! So now, it's on. Never^✦ wasted^✦ a slug

Time is money.^✦ When it comes^✦ to mine, take it in blood

[Chorus]

I made it like that, I bought it like that, I'm livin'^✦ like that

For you wack MC's

I made it like that, I bought it like that, I'm livin'^✦ like that

For you wack MC's

[Outro]

Yeah. Capone-N-Noreaga

Yeah, yo. Οfficial Queensbridge murderers

Mobb Deep keep it real, though

Motherfuckin' AZ, yo

Mega,^✦ (Yo!) Mega,^✦ whatever

Scarlett O'Hara,^✦ Fox Boogie

East New York

Yambo,^✦ Brownsville

Wizard,^✦ Far Rockaway^✦

Big Bo, Jersey^✦

Connecticut, DC, Sudan

VA, NC, LA

So on and so on

Big Ha, Houston Fifth Ward

Black Ed, keep it real, Moe

Technical Breakdown

8.7

Multisyllabic Rhymes9.5

Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)

Internal Rhymes9.5

Rhymes within a line (data-driven)

Wordplay / Double Entendres8.5

Clever language, metaphors, punchlines

Cadence / Rhythm8.5

Flow variation and timing (data-driven)

Vocabulary Complexity7.0

Range and depth of words used (data-driven)

Delivery / Breath Control9.0

Performance and control

Computed Score8.67

Production

— Live Squad, Top General Sounds, Lo Ground

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Critic Analysis

RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™

Nas demonstrates masterful internal rhyme density and existential narrative pacing, elevating street-life vignettes into high-art poetry through sophisticated multi-syllabic construction and thematic cohesion.

9.5

Multisyllabic

9.5

Internal Rhymes

8.5

Cadence / Flow

Vocabulary

8.5

Wordplay

Delivery

Internal multisyllabic rhymingAssonance and consonantal repetitionStaccato phrasingExistential ironyEnjambment-based rhythmic pauses

Rhyme Architecture: Extremely dense, non-linear internal rhyme scheme that frequently breaks standard AABB or ABAB patterns to prioritize internal sonic connections and rhythmic tension, specifically utilizing long vowel chains across mid-line positions.

Verified Doubles & Entendres

"trustworthy as a nine that bust early"

① The speaker is as reliable as a 9mm handgun.② A 9mm pistol that misfires (busts early) is paradoxically 'reliable' in its frequency of malfunction, mirroring the speaker's own unpredictable nature.

"I'ma pause like a comma in a sentence"

① A literal description of a rhythmic pause in the rapper's cadence.② A reflection on the temporary nature of life within the 'sentence' (life/prison term) he is serving, suggesting he is merely a brief interruption in a grander design.

"Shittin' like gin and prune juice"

① A visceral, vulgar metaphor for the potency of his impact.② A chemical allusion to a laxative, implying his flow and presence act as a purgative force on the rap industry.

Unmatched internal rhyme density for 1996

Sophisticated vocabulary integration

Vivid, cinematic scene-setting

Masterful use of silence and pauses (e.g., 'pause like a comma')

Some metaphors require heavy contextual lifting

High density occasionally creates a claustrophobic atmosphere that may be abrasive to non-technical listeners

Take It in Blood

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

Technical Breakdown

Production

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