Distant Relatives
Dispear
Nas
Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis
26
End
152
Internal
76
Multi
210
Slant
8
Chain
Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Hook 2: Damian Marley]
Hey
I say...
This Spear, huh!
Shaka✦ Zulu,✦ Bobo✦ Shanti,✦ Man a Gideon
Man a Mau Mau Warrior✦
Despair,✦ eh
Fear and desperation✦ no depression✦ can't tarry✦ ya
This Spear, hey
Through the hands of time and cruel men
It has slew more than a billion✦
Despair,✦ eh
It keep on suppressing the humble man's opinion✦
[Verse 2: Nas]
This land of the Swiss cheese
When the fifth squeeze, misled✦
The media✦ misleads
Scares✦ you to the point where you miss sleep
With that said
This lead with this Ruger✦
And that shooter, sub-machine gun
Ratta✦ tat through you, copper✦ tops
Hollow✦ points will do ya something bad, our future✦
Is misled✦
Three strikes✦
There's✦ no school when a teacher strikes✦
This economy, this monopoly
Get no job, just own your property
Now it's back to what comes✦ natural
Must survive✦ any✦ how you have to
Despair,✦ Desperation✦
But I have no fear when I hold This Spear
[Intermission]
[Bridge: Damian Marley]
Make some boy know me nah smile
Cause this spear nah beg friends
Man a run racket✦
Man a run scheme
Man a run race
Man a run down Benz
Can't trust a she nor he nor we nor I
In a contact lense
Man a run from police✦
And a run down wealth
And dollars and nah make sense
[Verse 3: Damian Marley]
So
Rise up to my defense✦
Hollow✦ pointed is my preference✦
Should have been deterred,✦ don't know what you heard
Get referred✦ by the wrong reference✦
When this spear start dispense✦
It a fly and a tear through fence
Dismember your members and all of your limbs
Body✦ bust in enough segments
Well
Man a run drugs, man a run risk
Man all a run out a time and ends
Man a run up and down, and a run fi dem life
And a run down this month rent
Nutin' nah go a yard, and food the a road
Then man have to go touch pavement
Despair✦ was a tool, that was used✦ to enslave man
And make manservant
Escape✦ from Despair✦ and Desperation✦
Becomes more urgent✦
Mankind needs to cleanse and wash out dem soul
With spiritual detergent
A distant✦ army,✦ a distant✦ relative✦
Controlling the circumference✦
And any✦ man move with no permission✦
They're feeling the circumstance of
[Hook 3: Damian Marley]
This Spear, hey
Shaka✦ Zulu,✦ Bobo✦ Shanti,✦ Man a, eh
Man a Mau Mau Warrior✦
Despair,✦ eh!
Fear of your recession✦ and depression✦ can't tarry✦ ya
This Spear, hey
Inner✦ city✦ youth dem rise it up disguised as AK-47
This Spear, eh!
And anytime them clap it up the whole city✦ level✦
This Spear
Like Burning Spear
And such and such before✦ I
Who all fought for the cause and
This Spear, eh!
They can't ignore✦ me
No!
[Outro: Dennis Brown]
What do you think of Africa?✦
Africa,✦ Africa✦
Ha ha ha, Africa✦
Just, just the mention✦ of it
Just the mention✦ of it, man
It's like you call me name, man
Well you know Africa✦ is motherland
And Africa✦ is were we rightfully belong✦
And that's were I want to be
Technical Breakdown
7.4
Multisyllabic Rhymes7.5
Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)
Internal Rhymes8.5
Rhymes within a line (data-driven)
Wordplay / Double Entendres5.0
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 Control6.5
Performance and control
Computed Score7.39
Production
— Damian MarleyBe the first to rate the production
Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™
Nas employs aggressive, percussion-heavy multis and internal slant rhymes that prioritize rhythmic drive over dense lyrical complexity, functioning as a gritty social commentary on urban violence.
B+
7.5
Multisyllabic
8.5
Internal Rhymes
8.5
Cadence / Flow
7
Vocabulary
5
Wordplay
6.5
Delivery
Percussive multi-syllabic chainingInternal slant rhymesAlliterationStaccato phrasing
Rhyme Architecture: The scheme relies on tight, recurring phonetic clusters centered around the 'ee' vowel sound (cheese, squeeze, misled, misleads, sleep, leads) followed by rapid-fire consonance in the latter half of the verse.
Verified Doubles & Entendres
"This land of the Swiss cheese"
① A reference to urban neighborhoods being riddled with holes (bullet holes) like Swiss cheese.② A critique of the financial system or the 'wealthy' elite (implied connection to banking/Swiss accounts) contrasted against the reality of street violence.
"copper tops"
① Slang for bullets (referencing the copper jacket on hollow-point rounds).② A subversion of the Duracell battery brand mascot, implying the energy or 'power' of the weapon.
High level of internal rhythmic consistency
Effective use of staccato delivery to mirror the subject matter of gunfire
Coherent thematic focus on social decay and violence
Limited depth of metaphorical layers
The concluding rhyme feels slightly forced to close the segment
Lower lexical variance compared to peak Nas works