[Hook] A Mastermind - Sees it coming before it comes A Mastermind - Before he go to war he counts his ones A Mastermind - Everything planned out perfect In case y'all niggas got to get murdered A Mastermind - Sleeps at night real easy A Mastermind - Cause everything he does is by the book A Mastermind - Never do a thing irrational Lives forever, these tales are classical
[Nas] Velvet bow ties, bulletproofs in the tux, when I roll by In a car similar to Osama's, in my diamonds And my principal is to study drama Look what happened in Manhattan A couple of years ago when guns started clappin' Two of my dogs fell, two of my niggas ran They was amateurs in beef with a grown man It taught me the lessons of how the strong stand And how the weak end up in a coffin Play it cool, that's the old school rule, man Keep your ears to the street, you'll never lose man Make your enemies believe there's love there Cause in war, belief is all fair Rock them to sleep, shots in your jeep And you ain't never know the plot was from me It's from my Masterminds
[Hook]
[Nas] It ain't a game it's the life Think it's a game, you lame And I'm nice on that black stone merlot Toast to my hero Nat Turner Weather below zero, gave the keys to Kelis Whispered in her earlobe, "drive home" Cause she the wife and they the freaks The underneath my girl caliber They smiled at her and said "Goodbye" With niggas who thug or die, they wild as us My bodyguards in my Denali truck Knowing that I'm surrounded by OGs that I don't really get down with
They got a separate table for their freaks bought them drinks So we could talk man-to-man so real niggas could link I knew, they kill hoes too like Rae Carruth They used to spray troops, now they managing groups The main nigga Sonny had big money since '82 Had two of my dogs whacked, nothing I could do That was back when I had no crew, I switched that Now I'm strong with niggas who feel Sonny was wrong My money's long, his money is weak, he's losing sleep Trying to feel me out, to see what it's gonna be But I'm a Mastermind
[Hook]
[Nas] I live a clean life, I don't even steal cable I speak for myself, my niggas will slay you Lucky us, this rap done worked out fine Feds, check me out, it's no dirt y'all find This King Of New York shit only last 15 minutes Every nigga get burned, but it's what you did with it Niggas who brilliant, came in and killed it Made millions every three months, new jury I'm low, smoking blueberry with a ho That know a few scary individuals, eerie as she get into it Squares, they into voodoo She says a Hail Mary, then she said she knew who Would come and try to kill you too