Welcome to the Underground

[Intro: Ralph McDaniels & Nas] Okay, we gotta go deep, deep, deep to the underground Take every breath out of my body if I don't stay real For life Yeah Turn it up! Turn it up! Yeah [Verse 1: Nas] Welcome to the underground; that basement life Way underneath the earth, dig up dirt, termites and baby mice Scatterin’ Below the surface, we deep in the soil, we jackhammerin' To the core of it all, avoidin' the laws Outside, the corner stores with the raw Take mе back again, before ice surround mе On stage performin’ while they fightin' around me Later somebody gun pop, the good old days. We from the streets Makin' plays, either you grind or you incomplete Open the year '86 Lafite For the time that the team was confined to four walls, and now, we meet (Now, we meet) How 'bout it for the real? Now, I could fly to Saudi doin' deals Comin' back, whole fam' showered in souvenirs If my kids are nepo babies, it was destined And they blessed, let ’em go crazy Healin’ is important, live it if you talk it Children get the short end of the stick, let's make better choices And everything costs, there’s a price just to breathe Everything gets taxed, nothing in life's free So ain't nobody stealin' my peace, I’m still a beast If I gotta put a piece in somebody, grill and release Figurative speech Picture me, a civilian, packin' heat Back in the days, waves, immature naivete ('te) By the tender age of twelve, around some men who made Made it through situations that was inhumane Eatin' twelve course dinners, look how the menu changed But the men ain't changed, yeah Welcome to the underground [Chorus: Ice Cube] "Comin' straight from the underground" "Comin' straight from the underground" (Underground, underground) [Verse 2: Nas] A twenty-four karat gold award addict Manic, way beyond boss status I need a room with the walls padded, about mine Cops used to pat us down, old straps we got passed down From old legends, let us hold they weapons They saw in us the coldest That was in they essence Hear the street confessions If you kill a legend, now you a legend The one who take out a legend, he next to be a legend, allegedly (Yeah) Enamored, feel it I channel through the annals of the life of Ali, my spirit animal Feel his ice grill your camera crew Epitomize, personify an open letter To multiple golden eras that ended, I go forever (Forever) Official tissue, life changin' masterpiece theater (Theater) Fuck your candy-ass Grammy grabs I open fire like Panthers behind sand bags With my comrades, onslaught Turn you corny niggas to cornstarch I lead and you just go with it The one who clash with the whole system Since I entered the scene, I just roll different Now, they code switching, they soul missing A Catholic priest appears in your mirror Y'all awaited Preem and Nas like it's Detox Forget the drum machine when Preem could just do the beatbox Or bang on the top of a table, let his house key knock And I can freestyle, they can't see Nas Welcome to the underground [Chorus: Ice Cube] "Comin' straight from the underground" "Comin' straight from the underground" (Underground, underground, underground, underground)