[Chorus: Kevin Rudolf]
In the city of dreams, you get caught up in the schemes
And fall apart in the seam tonight
That boy, he used to bomb from B.K. to the Bronx
And it's the fortunate one, who dies

[Interlude: Nas]
New York, we ready

[Verse 1: Kevin Rudolf]
He moved from LES to SoHo
A few blocks for those who don't know
Down the hall, punched a hole in the wall
Bounced out on the rent control
Certified son of a gun, learns life lesson 101
Don't fly too high on your own supply
Get burnt by the sun

[Chorus: Kevin Rudolf]
'Cause in the city of dreams, you get caught up in the schemes
And fall apart in the seam tonight
That boy he used to bomb from B.K. to the Bronx
And it's the fortunate one, who dies

[Verse 2: Kevin Rudolf]
He was NY's talk of the town
Heard out to the LI sound
He started dating models and he figured it out
He used to be a nice guy, then he cut that shit out
Bonified sex machine, no better than a vowy fiend
She wanted a ride to the Upper East Side
But he dropped her ass off in queens

[Chorus: Kevin Rudolf]
'Cause in the city of dreams, you get caught up in the schemes
And fall apart in the seam tonight
That boy would play his guitar like he was ready for war
And then he'd lift up his voice to the sky

[Verse 3: Nas]
OK, my city, my town, my crown
Michael Bloomberg, forget what you heard
I'm thought of highly, shopping Louie, Gianni
Christian Lacroix shades, what can a boss say?
City, bus, the subway, cab, the runway
Ski masks and gunplay: my past at a young age
The illest city on the planet
Towers came down, Wall Street barely standing
We Crook Brothers, opposite of Brook Brothers
My footsteps of Scatman Crothers
It's just generations of style to get five luminous minutes with me
Interviews on how I flip sixty-twos
This isn't my style, I spit what I'm living right now
I'm out on the town, gold bars shutting it down
Bottles stacked from the floor to the ceiling
Then it's a loud fool, fifty-third street, right near the Hilton
I'm fighting the feeling I had when I was lighting up buildings
Now I'm writing for millions of listeners
Critics who just don't get it, they try dissing us
New York full of kings and queens, all the rest just mimic us

[Chorus: Kevin Rudolf]
'Cause in the city of dreams, you get caught up in the schemes
And fall apart in the seam tonight
That boy would play his guitar like he was ready for war
And then he'd lift up his voice to the sky