Nastradamus
God Love Us
Nas
Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis
42
End
201
Internal
75
Multi
338
Slant
20
Chain
Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Chorus]
God love us hood niggas✦ (I know)
'Cause next to Jesus✦ on the cross was the crook niggas✦ (I know)
And the killers✦
God love us hood niggas✦ (I know)
'Cause on the streets is the hood niggas✦ (Uh)
And I know he feel us (Uh)
God love us hood niggas✦ (I know)
'Cause he be with us in the prisons✦
And he takes✦ time to listen✦ (Uh)
God love us hood niggas✦ (I know)
'Cause next to Jesus✦ on the cross was the crook niggas✦ (Uh)
But he forgive✦ us
[Verse 2]
Day by day by day, I sit back and pray
My thugs get packed✦ away✦ in a maxi-cage
They pass away,✦ they went off the casket✦ way
My gats will spray, but that won't bring 'em back today✦ (Come on!)
So long, my crimee is now gone for eternity
The team we got left on the set now turn to me
Can't speak; tears in my eyes, revenge in my mind
I ride past the church where they got his body✦ and find
They takin'✦ him to the hearse to put his body✦ in dirt
That's it; pay my respects, wipe my tears with my shirt
Now, it's time to do work, out of love and retribution
As loyalty, he would die for me, no excuses
Loadin'✦ clips up, countin' bullets carefully
For self, though it feels like he was there with me (Uh)
Saw the enemy,✦ I ate him (Uh)
Saw jakes✦ behind✦ me, they ain't knock me
It's obvious that God's watchin' me
[Chorus]
God love us hood niggas✦ (I know)
'Cause next to Jesus✦ on the cross was the crook niggas✦ (I know)
And the killers✦
God love us hood niggas✦ (I know)
'Cause on the streets is the hood niggas✦ (Uh)
And I know he feel us (Uh)
God love us hood niggas✦ (I know)
'Cause he be with us in the prisons✦
And he takes✦ time to listen✦ (Uh)
God love us hood niggas✦ (I know)
'Cause next to Jesus✦ on the cross was the crook niggas✦ (Uh)
But he forgive✦ us
[Verse 3]
Jealousy in the hood, felonies✦ in the hood
Thugs with guns become✦ celebrities✦ in the hood
Yo, it's beef in the hood; smoke trees in the hood
Little girls have seeds by OGs in the hood
It's food in the hood, it's drugs in the hood
You can choose if you would
Coke to sniff, dope to ooze in your blood
Parolees, ex-cons live in the hood
It's jobs in the hood, you can starve in the hood
Your best friends'll fuck your baby✦ moms in the hood
But it's good in the hood
I was raised✦ in the hood
Was taught how to walk and duck strays in the hood
I stays in the hood
Got my ways from the hood
Learned to play ball, go to the NBA in the hood
There's✦ AIDS (Uh) in the hood (What?)
Our lives✦ are the worst
On top of that, we broke
That's the main reason why God love us the most
[Chorus]
God love us hood niggas✦ (I know)
'Cause next to Jesus✦ on the cross was the crook niggas✦ (I know)
And the killers✦
God love us hood niggas✦ (I know)
'Cause on the streets is the hood niggas✦ (Uh)
And I know he feel us (Uh)
God love us hood niggas✦ (I know)
'Cause he be with us in the prisons✦
And he takes✦ time to listen✦ (Uh)
God love us hood niggas✦ (I know)
'Cause next to Jesus✦ on the cross was the crook niggas✦ (Uh)
But he forgive✦ us
God love us hood niggas✦ (I know)
'Cause next to Jesus✦ on the cross was the crook niggas✦ (I know)
And the killers✦
God love us hood niggas✦ (I know)
'Cause on the streets is the hood niggas✦ (Uh)
And I know he feel us (Uh)
God love us hood niggas✦ (I know)
'Cause he be with us in the prisons✦
And he takes✦ time to listen✦ (Uh)
God love us hood niggas✦ (I know)
'Cause next to Jesus✦ on the cross was the crook niggas✦ (Uh)
But he forgive✦ us
Technical Breakdown
8.4
Multisyllabic Rhymes7.5
Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)
Internal Rhymes9.5
Rhymes within a line (data-driven)
Wordplay / Double Entendres6.5
Clever language, metaphors, punchlines
Cadence / Rhythm10.0
Flow variation and timing (data-driven)
Vocabulary Complexity5.0
Range and depth of words used (data-driven)
Delivery / Breath Control8.5
Performance and control
Computed Score8.44
Production
— Dame GreaseBe the first to rate the production
Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™
Nas utilizes a highly emotive, narrative-driven delivery to ground theological justification for street life, using repetitive rhyme chains to mirror the cyclical nature of loss and incarceration.
A
7.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
10
Cadence / Flow
5
Vocabulary
6.5
Wordplay
8.5
Delivery
monorhyme-driven narrativeconsonance-heavy internal clustersemotive cadence modulationcyclical imagery
Rhyme Architecture: The verse employs an AAAA rhyme structure utilizing 'ay' vowel sounds to establish a sense of uniformity and resignation, followed by a transition into conversational, jagged delivery to emphasize grief.
Verified Doubles & Entendres
"they went off the casket way"
① Physical act of dying and being placed in a casket.② A fatalistic lifestyle trajectory that leads inevitably to death.
"my thugs get packed away in a maxi-cage"
① Incarceration in a maximum-security prison.② The dehumanization of young men who are 'packed' like inanimate cargo into state facilities.
High emotional resonance and authenticity
Consistent thematic focus
Masterful use of pacing to convey mourning
Effective marriage of theological justification with street realities
Vocabulary is intentionally simplified to favor narrative clarity
Lack of complex metaphorical density
Rhyme scheme remains relatively static throughout the verse