Distant Relatives

Patience

Nas

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

24

End

173

Internal

84

Multi

209

Slant

9

Chain

Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Chorus]
Sabali,✦ sabali,✦ sabali✦ yonkote✦
Sabali,✦ sabali,✦ sabali✦ kiye
Ni kêra môgô
Sabali,✦ sabali,✦ sabali✦ yonkote✦
Sabali,✦ sabali,✦ sabali✦ kiye
Ni kêra môgô
[Interlude: Nas]
Yeah, Sabali.✦ Thats patience.✦ That's what the old folks told me
Discovering the World before✦ this World. A World buried✦ in time
Uncover with rhymes.✦ It gets no realer✦
[Verse 2: Damian Marley]
Huh, we born not knowing,✦ are we born knowing✦ all?
We growing✦ wiser,✦ are we just growing✦ tall?
Can you read thoughts? can you read palms?
Huh, can you predict the future?✦ can you see storms, coming?✦
The Earth was flat if you went too far you would fall off
Now the Earth is round
If the shape change again✦ everybody✦ woulda✦ start laugh
The average man can't prove of most of the things
That he chooses to speak of
And still won't research and find out
The root of the truth that you seek of
Scholars teach in Universities✦ and claim that they're smart and cunning✦
Tell them find a cure when we sneeze
And that's when their nose start running✦
And the rich get stitched up, when we get cut
Man a heal dem broken✦ bones✦ in the bush with the wet mud
Can you read signs? can you read stars?
Can you make peace? can you fight war?
Can you milk cows, even✦ though you drive cars? huh
Can you survive?✦ Against all odds, now?
[Chorus]
Sabali,✦ sabali,✦ sabali✦ yonkote✦
Sabali,✦ sabali,✦ sabali✦ kiye
Ni kêra môgô
Sabali,✦ sabali,✦ sabali✦ yonkote✦
Sabali,✦ sabali,✦ sabali✦ kiye
Ni kêra môgô
[Interlude: Nas]
It's crazy✦ when you feed people the truth you don't know how they're gonna✦ react
You're scared✦ of wrong doers, people that just ignorant
You're scared✦ of the truth, be patient for now
[Verse 3: Nas]
Who wrote the Bible? Who wrote the Qur'an?✦
And was it a lightning storm
That gave birth to the Earth
And then dinosaurs were born? damn
Who made up words? Who made up numbers?
And what kind of spell is mankind under?✦
Everything✦ on the planet✦ we preserve and can it
Microwaved it and try it
No matter✦ what we'll survive✦ it
What's hue? What's man? What's human?✦
Anything✦ along✦ the land we consuming
Eatin',✦ deletin', ruin
Trying to get paper✦
Gotta✦ have land, gotta✦ have acres✦
So I can sit back like Jack Nicholson
Watch niggas play the game like the Lakers✦
In a world full of 52 fakers✦
Gypsies,✦ seances, mystical prayers
You superstitious? throw salt over✦ your shoulders
Make a wish for the day cuz
Like somebody✦ got a doll of me
Stickin' needles in my arteries✦
But I can't feel it
Sometimes it's like 'part of me, but I got a real big spirit'✦
I'm fearless,✦ I'm fearless✦
Don't you try and grab hold of my soul
It's like a military soldier since seven✦ years old
I held real dead bodies✦ in my arms
Felt their body✦ turn cold, oh
Why we born in the first place
If this is how we gotta✦ go?
Damn
[Outro: Nas]
This goes to all the wisdom and knowledge seekers of the World
Sabali,✦ Patience,✦ yeah

Technical Breakdown

8.1
Multisyllabic Rhymes8.5

Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)

Internal Rhymes9.5

Rhymes within a line (data-driven)

Wordplay / Double Entendres6.5

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 Control8.0

Performance and control

Computed Score8.12

Production

— Stephen Marley

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Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™

Damian Marley utilizes a Socratic, inquiry-based flow that prioritizes philosophical density and rhythmic interrogation over complex multis, effectively using cadence shifts to mimic a lecture-style delivery.

A
8.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
8.5
Cadence / Flow
7
Vocabulary
6.5
Wordplay
8
Delivery
Socratic questioningSyncopated meterInternal rhyme chainsEpistemic contrast
Rhyme Architecture: Predominantly AABB coupled with frequent internal assonance in the mid-bar clusters (e.g., 'grow-ing/know-ing/tall/all'), moving into a more conversational, rhythmic prose style in the latter half.
Verified Doubles & Entendres

"are we growing wiser, are we just growing tall?"

① A literal question regarding physical maturation as a side effect of aging.② A philosophical critique questioning whether the accumulation of time and experience equates to actual intellectual or spiritual wisdom.

"The Earth was flat if you went too far you would fall off"

① A historical reference to the pre-Copernican belief regarding the physical shape of the planet.② A metaphor for the fragility of 'knowledge,' suggesting that common consensus or 'facts' are subject to change based on the depth of one's exploration.

Excellent rhythmic pocket management

Thematic consistency throughout the inquiry-based verse

Natural conversational cadence that maintains a high-brow tone

Some rhyme pairings are relatively simplistic (e.g., 'smart/cunning' near-rhyme reliance)

Lack of dense multi-layered wordplay compared to the high technical rhyme score

User Scores