The Firm
Desperados
[Intro: Nas]
You ever dance with the Devil under the pale moonlight?
Desperados travelin'
What the fuck's up, son?
We could do this, word up, we could do this

[Chorus: Nas]
Spent too many nights on the Henny, gettin' right
Breakin' big face Bennies, bettin' against the friendly dice
I can't call it, it's goin' too good to spoil it
Tell it like it is, the raw shit never recorded
Spent too many nights on the Henny, gettin' right
Breakin' big face Bennies, bettin' against the friendly dice
I can't call it, it's goin' too good to spoil it
Tell it like it is, the raw shit never recorded

[Verse 1: Canibus]
At a thousand-degrees Celsius, I make MC's melt
FUCK my record label, I appear courtesy of myself
Let me explain how I maintain thresholds to pain
I walk across the Sun barefoot, lookin' for shade
I rearrange your rib-cage like a 12-gauge at close range
And change the position of your brain
My hard raps penetrate through your hardhats
And all that, n***a! Get ya wig peeled back
I scalp you like the Indians on horseback
Running Bull will hit you harder than running back
Stunnin' man with brave and cunnin' raps
Swiftly runnin' laps around 48 tracks
Like uncut crack, you fiends keep comin' back
Heads is flippin' like acrobats on gym mats
From wax to analogue tapes to digital DATs, it's critical, black
The Canibus is ill like that!
In fact, perhaps you should quit rap
Instead of always tryna diss back
If n***as keep tellin' you that your shit's wack
I rip raps, hardcore raps wrestle you to the floor mat
Put you in the figure-four, break your thorax
Jump off the top turnbuckle and land on your back
'Til I hear it snap or crack, or the ref says, "Chill, black!"
You get clapped bringin' the wrong raps to combat
Like bringin' a paint gun to a shootout with real gats
Y'all n***as is wack, rappin' over microphone feedback
My intelligence begins where yours peaks at
From Fox Boogie in the see-through brassiere to Nasty Nasir
My n***a Nature'll explain it further if it's not clear
[Break: Nas & Foxy Brown]
Millionaire — look at the sky, make sure it's still there
Ice grill stares and my jewellery is in every year
Pierre Cardin back in the Dapper Dan time
Now I flex Avirex, Foxy rock Anne Klein

[Pre-verse x2: Nas]
Initiated to the Firm shit, real thugs learn quick
Sit back and feel the ultimate hit

[Verse 2: AZ]
Yo, lock in, do the knowledge, follow the doctrine
We clockin', on your airwaves, keepin' it rockin'
Blaze up, make fire, light your Purple Haze up
Betcha tired bitch-ass n***as need to be caged up
So raze up! Fuck the playin', I'm sick of layin'
I can picture sprayin' off a SK, shells ricochetin'
Snatched up, in Supreme Court, eyes half-shut
Co-defendant caught a life sentence, see him cracked up
React what?! Who will bail two mill'?
N***a, cool, still bet I'll be home before the news will
Blast you's, the rebirth of Frank Matthews
Perhaps you confuse the concept, black — cash rules!
Incog', another homo, D’s involved
Known freeze, condo seize, seven ki's dissolved
Daily routines, speakin' up for n***as who sling
Hand-to-hand on them street corners, claimin' you king
It's time to lock this, join with us, let your Glock spit
Guzzle the toxic, only fake n***as dry snitch
Get your guns out, it don't take much for me to dumb out
Play one route, lay ya shit down and run south!
[Verse 3: Nature]
What's the cause of this shit? More statistics
Deeper than the laws of physics
Malibu sand and gorgeous bitches
Weed from 1-2-5, my whole crew live
A true Desperado, one that never choose sides
Or shows sympathy, just QB, an entity
Stock exchange, top of the game, watch you mention me
Image is nothin', just obey your thirst
I blaze the Purple Haze, sit in a daze then display a verse
For those concerned or just eager to learn, I speak for The Firm
When zonin', keep the cheeba to burn
Stashin' my riches, pass traditions like Olympics pass the torch
Flip shit so y'all could picture my thoughts
I'm driftin', it's type ill wakin' up, lookin' like Phil
Twenty years younger, same hunger, same ice grill
Genetically, form grade A pedigree
Born to carve rhymes, a swift tongue helped to set it free
Theoretically, peep how we bless this, young and restless
Guns and Westerns, learnin' to connect through lessons
From Kufis to caps, n***as shoot back
It's a proven fact — '97's mine, y'all n***as move back!

[Chorus: Nas]
Spent too many nights on the Henny, gettin' right
Breakin' big face Bennies, bettin' against the friendly dice
I can't call it, it's goin' too good to spoil it
Tell it like it is, the raw shit never recorded