Memory Lane (Sittin’ In Da Park) Lyrics

[Produced by DJ Premier]

[Intro]
Aight, fuck that shit! Word, word
Fuck that other shit, y'know what I'm sayin'?
We gonna do a lil somethin' like this
Y'know what I'm sayin'?
(Stay up on that shit)
Keep it on and on and on and on and
Know'm sayin'? Big Nas
Grand Wizard, God, what is it?
(It's like…) Haha, you know what I'm sayin'?
Yo, go ahead and rip that shit, dun!

[Verse 1]
I rap for listeners, blunt heads, fly ladies and prisoners
Hennessy-holders and old-school niggas
, then I be dissin' a
Unofficial that smoke Woolie Thai

I dropped out of Cooley High, gassed up by a cokehead cutie pie
Jungle survivor, fuck who's the live-r
My man put the battery in my back, a difference from Energizer
Sentence begins indented with formality
My duration's infinite, money-wise or physiology
Poetry, that's a part of me, retardedly bop
I drop the ancient manifested hip-hop straight off the block

I reminisce on park jams, my man was shot for his sheep coat
Choco blunts'll make me see him drop in my weed smoke

It's real, grew up a trife life, the times of white lines, the high pipes
Murderous night times and knife fights invite crimes

Chill on the block with Cognac, cold strapped
With my peeps that's into drug money market interact

No sign of the beast in the blue Chrysler, I guess that means peace
For niggas, no sheisty vice to just snipe ya

Start off the dice-rollin' match, from craps to cee-lo
With side-bets, so roll a deuce, nothin' below

(Peace, God!) Peace, God! Now the shit is explained
I'm takin' niggas on a trip straight through memory lane
It's like that, y'all…
[Chorus]
"Now, let me take a trip down memory lane"
"Comin' outta Queensbridge"
"Now, let me take a trip down memory lane"
"Comin' outta Queensbridge"
"Now, let me take a trip down memory lane"
"Comin' outta Queensbridge"
"Now, let me take a trip down memory lane"
"Comin' outta Queensbridge"

[Verse 2]
One for the money
Two for pussy and foreign cars
Three for Alizé, niggas deceased or behind bars

I rap divine, God
Check the prognosis — is it real or showbiz?

My window faces shootouts, drug overdoses
Live amongst no roses, only the drama

For real, a nickel-plate is my fate, my medicine is the ganja
Here's my basis; my razor embraces many faces
Your telephone blown, black, stitches or fat shoelaces

Peoples are petro, dramatic, automatic .44 I let blow
And back down po-po when I'm vexed, so

My pen taps the paper, then my brain's blank
I see dark streets, hustlin' brothers who keep the same rank
Pumpin' for somethin' — some'll prosper, some fail

Judges hangin' niggas, uncorrect bails for direct sales
My intellect prevails from a hangin' cross with nails
I reinforce the frail with lyrics that's real

Word to Christ, a disciple of streets, trifle on beats
I decipher prophecies through a mic and say "Peace!"

I hung around the older crews while they sling smack to dingbats
They spoke of Fat Cat; that nigga's name made bell rings, black

Some fiends scream about Supreme Team, a Jamaica Queens thing
Uptown was Alpo, son, heard he was kingpin
Yo, fuck, rap is real! Watch the herbs stand still
Never talkin' to snakes 'cause the words of man kill
True in the game, as long as blood is blue in my vein
I pour my Heineken brew to my deceased crew on memory lane

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About

Genius Annotation

Over a soulful loop from Reuben Wilson’s “We’re In Love” mixed with vocal samples from Juice Crew members Craig G and Biz Markie, Nas reminisces about the fast life he was living as an adolescent, causing him to feel like a grown man when he was just a teenager.

Nas said the following about the song’s concept:

‘Memory Lane’ is just how I saw the world growing up, and I miss it.

DJ Premier provided some background information on the track in an interview with XXL:

Nas wanted to help me pick a sample for that, and he heard the Reuben Wilson sample [from “We’re in Love”], and he was like, “That’s it.” I wasn’t really into that one. But he was like, “Yo, that’s it, Preem. Cook that up.” So I just hooked it up, because he asked me to. I was in competition with the other producers on the album, so I wanted to be funkier than what they had.

He wrote it right on the spot. Once we cut the vocals, I heard what he was saying. I wasn’t mad at it. I wasn’t against it, I just thought I could have done better.

Q&A

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

What did Nas say about "Memory Lane (Sittin’ In Da Park)"?
Genius Answer

Nas told XXL:

I just felt like all the shit I saw in Queensbridge, it meant something. For some reason, I knew this ain’t the average shit a kid my age is supposed to be seeing. I knew it was something special about what I was seeing, and it wasn’t all good. This was real life. It’s situations—whether it’s welfare, or my friends’ havin’ dope-fiend parents, or teenagers being chased by cops.

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Mastering Engineer
Recorded At
D&D Studios (New York City)
Release Date
April 19, 1994
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