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  1. Tracks
  2. Nas
  3. Illmatic XX
  4. Halftime
Halftime by Nas

SINGLE

Nas

Halftime

Release date: 14th April 2014

From Illmatic XXTrack 54:21
Hip-Hop/RapMusicEast Coast RapGangsta Rap
Spotify Apple Music More on Nas

About This Track

'Halftime' was Nas's debut solo single, released in October 1992 and included on the Zebrahead soundtrack before appearing on his landmark album Illmatic. The track positioned him as hip-hop's next great MC well before a full-length was ready, though it charted only at number eight on the Hot Rap Singles chart.

Produced by Large Professor, the song is a declaration of technical prowess and streetwise intelligence. Nas moves through internal rhymes and pop-culture references with ease, from Malcolm X to the Jackson 5, from childhood shyness in the parks to commanding every stage. The delivery is confident without showboating, the wordplay dense but never laboured.

The title marks the midpoint of a game, but the song itself feels like an opening statement, a young MC announcing his arrival with the kind of clarity that would define a generation of New York rap.

"Halftime" is a single by Nas, from the album Illmatic XX, released 14th April 2014. The track is 4:21 long. It's filed under Hip-Hop/Rap. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 2 articles about Nas.

About the Artist

Nas

Nas

Lyrics

Halftime

Check me out y'all
Nasty Nas in your area
About to cause mass hysteria

Before I blunt, I take out my fronts
Then I start to front; matter of fact, I be on a manhunt
You couldn't catch me in the streets without a ton of reefer
That's like Malcolm X catching the Jungle Fever
King poetic. Too much flavor, I'm major
Atlanta ain't Brave-r, I'll pull a number like a pager
Cause I'm an ace when I face the bass
40-side is the place that is giving me grace
Now wait, another dose and you might be dead
And I'm a Nike-head, I wear chains that excite the Feds
And ain't a damn thing gonna change
I'mma performer strange, so the mic warmer was born to gain
Nas, why did you do it
You know you got the mad fat fluid when you rhyme, it's halftime

It's halftime
This is how it feel, check it out, how it feel

It's like that, you know it's like that
I got it hemmed, now you never get the mic back
When I attack, there ain't an army that could strike back
So I react never calmly on a hype track
I set it off with my own rhyme
Cause I'm as ill as a convict who kills for phone time
I'm max like cassettes, I flex like sex
In your stereo sets, Nas'll catch wreck
I used to hustle - now all I do is relax and strive
When I was young I was a fan of the Jackson 5
I drop jewels, wear jewels, hope to never run it
With more kicks than a baby in a mother's stomach
Nasty Nas has to rise cause I'm wise
This is exercise 'til the microphone dies
Back in '83 I was an MC sparkin'
But I was too scared to grab the mics in the parks and
Kick my little raps cause I thought nigga wouldn't understand
And now in every jam I'm the fuckin' man
I rap in front of more niggas than in the slave ships
I used to watch "CHiPs", now I load Glock clips
I got to have it, I miss Mr. Magic
Versatile, my style switches like a faggot
But not bisexual, I'm an intellectual
Of rap I'm a professional and that's no question, yo
These are the lyrics of the man, you can't near it, understand?
Cause in the streets, I'm well-known like the number man
Am I in place with the bass and format
Explore rap and tell me "Nas ain't all that"
And next time I rhyme, I be foul
Whenever I freestyle I see trial, niggas say I'm wild
I hate a rhyme-biter's rhyme
Stay tuned, Nas soon - the real rap comes at halftime

It's halftime
This is how it feel, check it out, how it feel

I got it going on, even flip a morning song
Every afternoon, I kick half the tune
And in the darkness, I'm heartless like when the NARC's hit
Word to Marcus Garvey: I hardly sparked it
Cause when I blast the herb, that's my word
I be slayin' them fast, doing this that and the third
But chill, pass the Andre, and let's slay
I bag bitches up at John Jay, and hit a matinee
Putting hits on 5-0
Cause when it's my time to go, I wait for God with the .44
And biters can't come near
And yo: "go to hell" to the foul cop who shot Garcia
I won't plant seeds, don't need an extra mouth I can't feed
That's extra Phillie change, more cash for damp weed
This goes out to Manhattan, the island of Staten
Brooklyn and Queens is living fat and
The Boogie Down, enough props, enough clout
Ill Will, rest in peace, yo, I'm out

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From Illmatic XX

4:212014Single
Listen
Album
Illmatic XX
Illmatic XX
Nas
15th April 2014
Track number
5
Release year
2014
  1. 1The Genesis
    1:45
  2. 2N.Y. State of Mind
    4:54
  3. 3Life's a Bitch (feat. AZ & Olu Dara)
    3:31
  4. 4The World Is Yours

More from Nas

Albums & EPs

Magic 3
Magic 3
2023
Magic 2
Magic 2
2023
One Mic, One Gun
One Mic, One Gun
2022
Made You Look: God's Son (Live, 2002)
Made You Look: God's Son (Live, 2002)
2022
Magic
Magic
2021
It Was Written (Expanded Edition)
It Was Written (Expanded Edition)
2021

Explore

More tracks by Nas

  1. 3rd ChildhoodLight-Years
  2. GiT ReadyLight-Years
  3. Intro Commentary
  4. It's TimeLight-Years
  5. JunkieLight-Years
  6. Living To DieNas: The Lost Scrolls 2 (Mixtape)
  7. My Life Is RealLight-Years
  8. My Story Your StoryLight-Years
  9. Nas speaks on AZ
  10. Nas speaks on Big L

Showing 10 of 20

If you like Nas

JAY-Z

JAY-Z

Mobb Deep

Mobb Deep

AZ

AZ

Big L

Big L

Raekwon

Raekwon

Gang Starr

Gang Starr

4:51
  • 5Halftime
    4:21
  • 6Memory Lane (Sittin' in da Park)
    4:08
  • 7One Love (feat. Q-Tip)
    5:26
  • 8One Time 4 Your Mind
    3:19
  • 9Represent
    4:13
  • 10It Ain't Hard to Tell
    3:22
  • —The World Is Yours - Tip Mix
    4:29
  • —It Ain't Hard to Tell (The Laidback Remix)
  • —One Love (feat. Sadat X) - One L Main Mix
    5:43
  • —Life's a Bitch (feat. AZ) - Arsenal Mix
    3:30
  • —It Ain't Hard to Tell - Remix
    2:50
  • —One Love (feat. Q-Tip)
    5:26
  • —The World Is Yours
    4:51
  • —Represent
    4:13
  • —The World Is Yours (Tip Mix)
  • —I'm a Villain
  • —The Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Show on WKCR October 28, 1993
  • —Halftime (Butcher Remix)
  • —It Ain't Hard to Tell (Stink Mix)
  • —One Love (One L Main Mix)
  • Credits

    Production & Engineering

    Writer
    Galt MacDermot, Gary Byrd, Gerome Ragni, James Rado, Large Professor, Nas
    Producer
    Large Professor
    Co-Producer
    Nas
    Engineer
    Kevin Reynolds
    Assistant Engineer
    Luis Tineo
    Bass Guitar
    Anton Pukshansky
    Mastering Engineer
    Tony Dawsey
    Mixing Engineer
    Kevin Reynolds
    Remixer
    Joe “The Butcher” Nicolo
    READ MORE ABOUT NASREAD MORE ABOUT NASREAD MORE ABOUT NASREAD MORE ABOUT NAS
    READ MORE ABOUT NASREAD MORE ABOUT NASREAD MORE ABOUT NASREAD MORE ABOUT NAS
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