Life Is Good

Loco-Motive

Nas

Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis

16

End

101

Internal

51

Multi

177

Slant

4

Chain

Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Break: Large Professor]
Yo, what we talking✦ 'bout, niggas?✦
What we talking✦ 'bout, niggas?✦
This is Nas, what, Nas
What, Nasty,✦ what, recollect, motherfucker
[Verse 2: Nas]
Uhh, uhh, uhh
At seventeen, I made seventeen-thousand, living✦ in public housing
Integrity intact, repping hard
They asking,✦ "How he disappear✦ and reappear✦ back on top?"
Saying, "Nas must have naked✦ pictures✦ of God or something"✦
To keep winning is my way, like Francis
As long as I'm breathing, I'll take chances
A soldier coming✦ home, twenty✦ years old with no legs
Sayin' there's no sense to cry and complain, just go 'head
So much to write and say, yo, I don't know where to start
So I'll begin✦ with the basics and flow from the heart
I know you think my life is good, 'cause my diamond piece
But my life been good since I started✦ finding peace
I shouldn't even✦ be smiling, I should be angry✦ and depressed
I been rich longer✦ than I been broke, I confess
I started✦ out broke, got rich, lost paper,✦ then made it back
Like Trump being up, down, up, play with cash, huh
[Break: Large Professor]
My nigga's✦ like a locomotive
Nas, we pushed✦ it, mush it
Queensbridge to Bushwick
Harlem,✦ Bronx, all that
You ain't even✦ supposed to be out here
You know where you at?
[Verse 3: Nas]
At night, New York, eat a slice too hot
Use my tongue to tear the skin hanging from the roof of my mouth
Shit was felicissimo, melting pot, city✦ sweltering✦ hot
Staggering,✦ drunker than them cops that 2Pac shot
I was a crook by the train with that iron✦ thing concealed, reaching
Soon as I heard them iron✦ wheels screeching
When it came to a halt, whoever walked✦ off got caught
Token✦ man safe behind a locked✦ door for sure
Minor✦ thief shit, minor✦ league shit, beasting
Looking for the juks young, but now we older✦ chiefing
In my truck, play The Greatest Adventures✦ of Slick Rick
Bugging on how his imagination was so sick
It's ghetto✦ beef, sinister niggas✦ snicker through yellow✦ teeth
Alcohol aging✦ my niggas✦ faster✦ than felonies
How dare I, must be–something✦ in the air that corrupts me
Look at my up-keep,✦ owned✦ and sublease
I'm here y'all
[Outro: Nas]
This for my 'trapped✦ in the '90s' niggas✦
For my 'trapped✦ in the '90s' niggas✦
Ha, for y'all niggas✦

Technical Breakdown

7.6
Multisyllabic Rhymes8.5

Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)

Internal Rhymes9.5

Rhymes within a line (data-driven)

Wordplay / Double Entendres7.5

Clever language, metaphors, punchlines

Cadence / Rhythm6.5

Flow variation and timing (data-driven)

Vocabulary Complexity8.0

Range and depth of words used (data-driven)

Delivery / Breath Control8.0

Performance and control

Computed Score7.64

Production

— Large Professor

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Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™

Nas leverages autobiographical reflection to maintain thematic cohesion, utilizing personal history as a narrative anchor for intricate rhyme structures.

B+
8.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
6.5
Cadence / Flow
8
Vocabulary
7.5
Wordplay
8
Delivery
Multisyllabic enjambmentInternal slant rhymingAutobiographical narrative progressionThematic contrast (wealth vs. peace)
Rhyme Architecture: Predominantly AABB and AAAA couplet-based structures with dense, polysyllabic internal rhymes that bridge the end of one bar to the start of the next.
Verified Doubles & Entendres

"To keep winning is my way, like Francis"

① A reference to the winning streak or path of a person named Francis.② A linguistic play on 'Saint Francis' (of Assisi), implying a spiritual or humble 'way' of life despite the pursuit of victory.

"I been rich longer than I been broke, I confess"

① A factual statement regarding the duration of his career and financial status.② A subversion of the standard rags-to-riches trope, suggesting that his 'spiritual' or 'inner' wealth has been a constant, outlasting his periods of financial instability.

Exceptional rhythmic cadence that feels effortless

Compelling personal narrative that justifies the lyrical bravado

Strong use of contrast between external material success and internal state of mind

Some comparisons (e.g., the Trump reference) feel slightly dated in hindsight compared to the personal weight of other bars

The reliance on simple 'start/heart' terminal rhymes in the middle section dips in complexity

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