Hip Hop Is Dead

Still Dreaming

Nas

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

18

End

201

Internal

48

Multi

153

Slant

6

Chain

Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Verse 2: Nas]
How you a man, waiting for the next man to get rich?
Your plan is to stick out your hand real quick
So if he feed your family✦ and he serve you shit
Then he need that head you get and he deserve your bitch
Since you wishin'✦ cash fall from the sky all your life
Dwellin' on the past when you was alright
When you was getting✦ cash but wasn't too bright
Now your luck down, you feel like bustin'✦ them shells
Nobody✦ owe you, can't do nothin'✦ for self
Want niggas✦ to show you, how to come up with green
I schemed since I'm 14, what the fuck was your dream?
Rental✦ cars, little broads, saying you was seen
With little niggas✦ with a chain, you was doing your thing
How high was I? You the thousandth guy
That came around thinking we can see eye to eye
We on a different echelon
Could've got bread together, now you get skedded on
[Chorus: Kanye West, Chrisette Michele & Nas]
(Some people really)✦ So keep dreamin'✦
(Some people really,✦ some people really✦ are) Still dreamin'✦
(Still dreamin')✦ Wha-wha-wha-wha-one-two,✦ one two
Some dreams stay dreams, some dreams come true (Still, still dreamin')✦
(They are still dreamin')✦ Wha-wha-wha-wha-one-two,✦ one two
Some dreams stay dreams, some dreams come true (Still, still dreamin')✦
(Some people really)✦ Yeah, (Some people really)✦ y-y-yeah
(Some people really✦ are) Uh
[Verse 3: Nas]
She had several cars, she had credit✦ cards
A castle, large master✦ bathroom, getting✦ a pedicure
Bellinis by the glassful, said she been meaning to ask
"Who in need of Cash Rule, who could blast tools?"
And I'm eating✦ cashews, knew she was bad news
But we mad cool, nothin'✦ sexual✦ 'cause I knew her since high school
Grew up with my dudes,✦ like one of my crew, she worked✦ for Fox News
One of her mans that she lent her drop to
Won't come back with it, so she want him clapped in it
Says it's important that it looks like an accident
She was snorting, and her eyes had bags in it
She was recording, had a wire, askin'✦ shit
Four days before✦ I came by, she got bagged✦ with bricks
Crossed the line from her world of newscasting
To a world of entrapment (Uh) – a good girl gone backwards
[Chorus: Kanye West, Chrisette Michele & Nas]
(Some people really)✦ Still dreamin'✦
(Some people really,✦ some people really✦ are) Still dreamin'✦
(Still dreamin')✦ Wha-wha-wha-wha-one-two,✦ one two
Some dreams stay dreams, some dreams come true (Still, still dreamin')✦
(They are still dreamin')✦ Wha-wha-wha-wha-one-two,✦ one two
Some dreams stay dreams, some dreams come true (Still, still dreamin')✦
Yeah, y-y-yeah, uh
[Outro: Chrisette Michele]
They are still dreamin'✦
They are still dreamin'✦
They are still dreamin'✦

Technical Breakdown

7.6
Multisyllabic Rhymes8.5

Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)

Internal Rhymes9.5

Rhymes within a line (data-driven)

Wordplay / Double Entendres7.0

Clever language, metaphors, punchlines

Cadence / Rhythm7.5

Flow variation and timing (data-driven)

Vocabulary Complexity5.0

Range and depth of words used (data-driven)

Delivery / Breath Control8.0

Performance and control

Computed Score7.62

Production

— Kanye West

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Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™

Nas utilizes his trademark socio-economic critique combined with a sharp, dismissive cadence to deconstruct the parasitic nature of entitlement, prioritizing rhythmic punch over complex metaphorical abstraction.

B+
8.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
7.5
Cadence / Flow
5
Vocabulary
7
Wordplay
8
Delivery
Multisyllabic internal rhymingSocio-economic storytellingDirect address/conversational toneRhythmic syncopationEnd-line enjambment
Rhyme Architecture: The verse employs a sophisticated AABB and AAAA-variant scheme with heavy internal rhyming (e.g., 'rich/quick/shit/bitch' and 'life/alright/bright'), utilizing the end-rhymes to anchor a fast-paced, conversational flow.
Verified Doubles & Entendres

"Could've got bread together, now you get skedded on"

① Bread as currency/wealth-building potential through collaboration.② Bread as the literal 'breaking of bread' or communal partnership lost due to betrayal.

"How high was I? You the thousandth guy"

① A reflection on Nas's own level of success/elevation ('high').② A question regarding intoxication or detachment, underscoring the speaker's lack of interest in the listener's plight.

Consistent thematic focus on personal responsibility versus envy

Strong command of conversational cadence

Effective use of internal rhyme strings to maintain momentum

Polished delivery that balances disdain with instructional authority

Vocabulary breadth is standard for the era and lacks dense, multi-layered literary allusion

Relies heavily on aggressive posturing which, while effective, limits the range of the narrative's emotional resonance

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