Untitled
Y'all My Niggas
Nas
Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis
9
End
149
Internal
99
Multi
214
Slant
5
Chain
Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Chorus]
Tryna✦ erase✦ me from y'all memory✦
Too late, I'm engraved✦ in history✦ (I'm here, my niggas)✦
Speak my name and breathe life in me
Make sure y'all never✦ forget✦ me ('Cause y'all give me life)
'Cause y'all use my name so reckless✦
Whether✦ to be accepted✦ or disrespected✦ (And I love it)
And I love it, especially✦ when y'all do it in public✦
And I'm the subject✦ 'cause y'all my niggas✦
[Verse 2]
Yo, I was thinking✦ a little bit
What would it take to authenticate my nigganess?
Ball ridiculous?✦ Twenty-six inches✦ when I call up the dealership?
Aww, that's some nigga✦ shit
We only✦ out for our own benefit?
We having✦ too many✦ kids? We Claudines? Welfare recipients?
The infamous✦ free clinics is the sickest shit
Make me think what the hell they clean they syringes with
Everybody bleeding, the cops are the demons✦
Courtroom's full of goons, jail buses✦ leaning
Handcuffs squeezed too tight on youth life
If you fight, they just give in, people used✦ to do sit ins
They got Nigeria and Niger,✦ two different countries
Somehow Niger✦ turned✦ to nigga✦ and shit got ugly✦
The problem is we started✦ thinking✦ like the colonists
'Til Noble Drew Ali started✦ dropping that consciousness
[Chorus]
Tryna✦ erase✦ me from y'all memory✦
Too late, I'm engraved✦ in history✦ (I'm here, my niggas)✦
Speak my name and breathe life in me
Make sure y'all never✦ forget✦ me ('Cause y'all give me life)
'Cause y'all use my name so reckless✦
Whether✦ to be accepted✦ or disrespected✦ (And I love it)
And I love it, especially✦ when y'all do it in public✦
And I'm the subject✦ 'cause y'all my niggas✦
[Verse 3]
My father✦ was not a banker,✦ neither was my neighbor
When it came to getting paper,✦ who the hell was gon' train us?
Oppression couldn't escape✦ us through the ages✦
We changed the basis of derogatory✦ phrases
And I say it's quite amazing
The use of ghetto✦ terms developed our own language
No matter✦ where it came from
It's celebrated, now people are mad if they ain't one
[Interlude: Sample]
Every✦ word we use, it has a capacity✦
And if you don't understand✦ the words you're using✦
And understand✦ the capacity✦ of it
You are using✦ words that is creating a destiny for you
That you don't even✦ know or even✦ conscious✦ of
[Chorus]
Tryna✦ erase✦ me from y'all memory✦
Too late, I'm engraved✦ in history✦ (I'm here, my niggas)✦
Speak my name and breathe life in me
Make sure y'all never✦ forget✦ me ('Cause y'all give me life)
'Cause y'all use my name so reckless✦
Whether✦ to be accepted✦ or disrespected✦ (And I love it)
And I love it, especially✦ when y'all do it in public✦
And I'm the subject✦
Tryna✦ erase✦ me from y'all memory✦
Too late, I'm engraved✦ in history✦
Speak my name and breathe life in me
Make sure y'all never✦ forget✦ me
'Cause y'all use my name so reckless✦
Whether✦ to be accepted✦ or disrespected✦
And I love it, especially✦ when y'all do it in public✦
And I'm the subject,✦ 'cause y'all my niggas✦
Technical Breakdown
7.4
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 / Rhythm6.5
Flow variation and timing (data-driven)
Vocabulary Complexity7.0
Range and depth of words used (data-driven)
Delivery / Breath Control7.0
Performance and control
Computed Score7.40
Production
— J. MyersBe the first to rate the production
Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™
Nas masterfully balances sociopolitical commentary with linguistic deconstruction, utilizing the phonological evolution of a slur as a vehicle for historical critique.
B+
9.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
6.5
Cadence / Flow
7
Vocabulary
7.5
Wordplay
7
Delivery
Multisyllabic internal rhyme stringsEtymological wordplaySociopolitical observationEnjambment for rhythmic tension
Rhyme Architecture: A complex, dense structure focusing on long-vowel A-sounds (i-uh-ness, i-uh-ship, i-uh-shit) that anchor the flow across multisyllabic clusters.
Verified Doubles & Entendres
"We Claudines? Welfare recipients?"
① A reference to the 1974 film 'Claudine', centering on a Black single mother navigating the welfare system.② A direct critique of how media and societal stereotypes conflate the Black experience with state dependency.
"They got Nigeria and Niger, two different countries / Somehow Niger turned to nigga and shit got ugly"
① A historical/linguistic observation of the transition from geographical nomenclature to a racialized slur.② A biting commentary on how colonialism and semantic shift can distort identity and foster systemic ugliness.
High density of internal rhymes
Effective transition from personal introspection to systemic analysis
Intellectual rigor in deconstructing the origin of racial epithets
The delivery occasionally feels measured rather than explosive
The rapid-fire critique of social issues leaves little room for sonic variation