God's Son
Heaven
Nas
Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis
21
End
147
Internal
75
Multi
215
Slant
8
Chain
Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Chorus: Saukrates & Jully Black]
If Heaven✦ was a mile away✦
Would I pack up my bags and leave this world behind?✦
If Heaven✦ was a mile away✦
Or save it all for you?
If Heaven✦ was a mile away✦
Would I fill the tank up, put gas
And be out the front door in a (Flash?)
Before✦ reconsidering✦ this hell with you
It ain't you, it's the things you do (Do)
It's tearing✦ my heart in two
I would've fell with you, to Hell with you
[Verse 2: Nas]
Nigga,✦ what you think, I'ma✦ stop building?
I'ma✦ stop feelin'✦ like I'm Amistad's great-great-grandchildren?
How I'm not gonna✦ want to make millions
Since the quarter water✦ days, in the hallways
Makin'✦ fake gold caps
With the Reese's✦ Pieces✦ wrapper in my mouth all day
But then my style has quite a while
That same type as Ill and Al Skratch
Game time took 'em cats, never✦ looked✦ back
Cristal, blowin'✦ dub sacks
That's when it all just hit me: you see, the broads and Bentleys
Is nothin'✦ unless my niggas✦ spend it all with me
I'd give it all away✦ quickly
Just to hear them all about✦ some new kicks
Free of any✦ autographs, and not to be recognized, forgive me
It's becomin' unbearable, makin'✦ hits is easy✦
Put a famous bitch on a hook, there you go with a platinum CD
I know you heard the noise, preachers touchin' on altar✦ boys
Sodomizin',✦ not realizin'✦ God is watchin', before✦ the Lord
How could they do the Devil's work?
A man give another✦ man head in Church
Hell, it hurts just to fathom the thought, wishin'✦ that I fled the Earth
[Chorus: Saukrates & Jully Black]
If Heaven✦ was a mile away✦
Would I pack up my bags and leave this world behind?✦
If Heaven✦ was a mile away✦
Or save it all for you?
If Heaven✦ was a mile away✦
Would I fill the tank up, put gas
And be out the front door in a (Flash?)
Before✦ reconsidering✦ this hell with you
It ain't you, it's the things you do (Do)
It's tearing✦ my heart in two
I would've fell with you, to Hell with you
[Outro: Nas]
You trapped in your own hell
Every✦ day I wake up I'm blessed✦
Every✦ day you wake up and breathe another✦ breath, you blessed✦
To all them niggas✦ runnin'✦ around✦
Talkin'✦ about,✦ "I'm fucked✦ up," "I got to get on," "I got to-"
"I'm in the grind," "I'm fucked✦ up"
Yeah, we all in the grind
But look at the beautiful✦ shit around✦ you, it's a beautiful✦ life
All my niggas✦ locked✦ up, keep ya heads up
Heaven's just a mile away✦
I'm talkin'✦ Heaven✦ on Earth, ain't got nothin'✦ to do with money✦
Got nothin'✦ to do with nothin'✦ material
I'm talkin'✦ about✦ Heaven✦ in your own heart
In your own world, baby,✦ in your own existence
To my moms, look at me, baby✦
I love you, girl, your boy's shinin',✦ God's son
Technical Breakdown
8.3
Multisyllabic Rhymes9.5
Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)
Internal Rhymes9.5
Rhymes within a line (data-driven)
Wordplay / Double Entendres7.5
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 Score8.33
Production
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Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™
Nas utilizes personal historical nostalgia to ground abstract philosophical themes of success and spiritual progress, blending socioeconomic identity markers with precise cadence.
A
9.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
8.5
Cadence / Flow
7
Vocabulary
7.5
Wordplay
8
Delivery
Multisyllabic internal rhyme chainsHistorical allusionSocioeconomic characterizationEnjambment
Rhyme Architecture: Dense internal rhyme structures utilizing assonance and consonance, particularly in the -ilding/-ildren and -allways/-all-day sequences, maintaining momentum through the transition from memory to introspection.
Verified Doubles & Entendres
"Amistad's great-great-grandchildren"
① Literal reference to the historical slave ship and the lineage of enslaved people.② A metaphorical assertion of intergenerational struggle and the inherent drive for liberation/wealth that persists in the psyche.
"quarter water days"
① Reference to cheap, colorful fruit-flavored drinks popular in urban neighborhoods.② A metonym for a specific period of childhood poverty and the starting point of his journey toward success.
Authentic delivery of period-specific cultural references
Strong structural continuity between personal history and thematic introspection
Commanding presence through rhythmic variation
Some references (Ill and Al Skratch) rely heavily on niche era-specific context
Occasional dependency on list-based narrative progression