Nas
Nairobi State of Mind [Demo Version]
[Intro]
Yeah, straight out the 254
You die slow, haha...
Yeah, I'm bout to take it one by one, check it

[Verse 1]
I'm rich, deep and black like the Murumbi Gallery
With or without a salary, I gotta feed my family
Still reminiscing on my brothers killed in front of me
I stay gazing at the spectacle of shattered dreams
On the scene, a hero like Denzel
Leave your face blue from the magic I expel
Full of all the good stuff you usually can't sell
Determine my worth? Twenty auditors can't tell
Essential plus all the special credentials that make you wanna smile right in my face like "My man!"
When I'm rhyming I examine and cross-vet my projects
The thought process is more complex than yolk sacs
Kicking jokes back in the closed shack with my Purple Circle
Homies with whom I smash the shackles of poverty
That hold us back like revolvers cocked
A bar from me hits all the spots, like Roger Scott
Here in Kenya, we need lyricists to kill this shit
All you rapper crews I'm coming ham at you to damage you
Quit ya gimmicking, all your wack crap is sickening
Solo rappers stay silent too, or I'ma minus two
S's from the blessed, and make 'em negative ones
Put your whole damn career in a state of jeopardy, son
Abandon y'all standing small, feeling stupid on the pulpit
With screaming preachers breathing scriptures tryna woo me
On every bus ride, but half the time
They only wanna touch the dimes below the tuck line
I'm a convict walking free, regulated by disease, tax, surveillance cams
Fuck Section 43 of the Constitution
Rights and freedoms are illusions when suspected thugs get direct persecution- it's some bullshit
So while you eat and while you're sleeping
Itching to make a difference in the cities that you live in
Remember that whatever the route I may be taking
I must reach my destination in one piece
You're only as strong as you rock it, plus your profits
Ladies taking charge of they cockpit, now they locking it
Find that solo space, launch my Monospace and write a rhyme
They think I'm wasting my time but instead of wishing away the heavy sins stuck in my brain
I think of life in a Nairobian's State Of Mind

[Hook]
Nairobi State Of Mind... (X6)

[Verse 2] (Sheng + English)
Hii verse ya pili ni ya ma-gangster
Walafi, watanashati, mababi hata wanati
Wa kuchana mogoka kwa vibanda za mboga
Wakipanga ma-robbery, na fimbo za mahogany (hmm!) skiza rhymes
Kikulacho ki nguoni kidalipo Mr. Nice
Hii ni hip-hop, n***a- si pop sugar, Mac Muga
Drop lugha ki-computer
Lines zimesimama ka ukuta, utashukwa
Futa macho kukuta
Huyu poko ana-dream kuwa rich ka Mavoko
But Afande amepita na coins zake Koinange
Machokoch nyuma yako wako slow na wako hungry
But still wako determined kuku-follow ka ma-zombie
Sleki uchapwe keki ya proteins kwa forehead
Mwaga mshahara hapa down kwa barabara
Ama utang'ara ni ka umehara kwa kipara
Raundi hii vijana tumevuta bangi nyingi sana
Nipate na Erico na Mammito tukikagua mizigo kwenye beach kama KPA
Nigei DJ ni-set it straight na ma-theory heavyweight ka zile za Claude Henri Saint
Funga sukuma huku nakuja na ka-unga na supu
Mistari 32 kama mbuku ya Kasuku ya A4
Only 7K niwe na rifle, ndio utaji-julia si za ma-Tyson
Veni, vidi, vici
Ningekuwa Oliech ningekuwa na ma-Pichichi za kutinga ma free-kick
But instead najipata kwa city ya wadhii wanajibanza wakisaka ma-ANSWERS
Artur na Sargsyan wanaweza enda raundi Saddam
Wakikam ku-recover returns (mamluki)
Mami looking smashing in her outfit
She's a hella sight in her high heels and leather tights
Hips swinging side by side as she climbs the ride
Stunning me gracefully, she slay to kill
Got the crime department studying the hiding patterns of her killer breed tangled in the fabric of society
Optimized my SEO, income is crazy, yo
Making more paper than I ever made before
Leapfrogging these soggy guys as I rise
My hopes suffer wear and tear from daily grind
As we find ways, the days will fly by
And time will drag by as we labour through tough times
But there's too many flies in a journalist's cam to picture life through a Nariobian's hazy eyes

[Hook]
Nairobi State Of Mind... (X6)