Cover art for Mastermind by Nas

Mastermind

Nas
Track 10 on God’s Son 

Produced by

Dec. 13, 20021 viewer42.6K views

Mastermind Lyrics

[Chorus]
(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

[Verse 2]
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 gon' be
But I'm a mastermind
[Chorus]
(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

[Verse 3]
I live a clean life, I don't even steal cable
I speak for myself, my niggas'll 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, it's 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

[Chorus]
(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

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Have the inside scoop on this song?
Sign up and drop some knowledge

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

Credits
Produced By
Written By
Recording Engineer
Mixing Engineer
Mastering Engineer
Phonographic Copyright ℗
Performance Rights
Recorded At
Electric Lady Studios (New York City)
Release Date
December 13, 2002
Songs That Sample Mastermind
View Mastermind samples
Tags
Comments