1st VERSE (Nas)
There comes a day in your life
When you wanna kick back
Straw hat on the porch when you old perhaps
Wanna gather your thoughts have a cold one, brag
To your grandkids on how life is golden
So I'ma light a cigar in the corridor of the crib
Pictures on the wall of all the things that I did
All the money and fame, eight by tens
Of the whole Brat Pack inside of a big frame
Collidin' with big names that could've made your career stop
All that, and your man is still here and I'm still hot
Wow, I need a moment ya'll, see I almost felt a tear drop

CHORUS
(Nas)
When was the last time you heard a real anthem?
Nas, The Millionaire, The Mansion?
When was the last time you heard your boy, Nas, rhyme?
Never on schedule, but always on time
(Chrisette Michele)
These streets hold my deepest days
This 'hood taught me golden ways
Made me (truly, this is what made me)
Break me (not a thing's gonna break me)
These streets hold my deepest days
This 'hood taught me golden ways
Made me (truly, this is what made me)
Break me (not a thing's gonna break me)
Oh, I'm that history, I'm that block
I'm that lifestyle, I'm that spot
I'm that kid by the numbered spot
That's my past that made me hot
Here's my lifelong anthem... Can't forget about you

2nd VERSE (Nas)
Can't forget about the old school
Bam, Caz, Melly Mel, Flash
Rock Steady spinnin' on they back
Can't forget when the first rap Grammy went to Jazzy
Fresh Prince, Fat Boyz broke up
Rap hasn't been the same since
So irregular, how it mess you up when Mr. T became a wrestler
Can't forget about Jordan's retirement
The shot Robert Horry hit to win the game in the finals, kid
Some things are forever, some things are not
It's the things we remember that gave the world shock
They stay in a place in your mind so snug
Like who the person was with whom you first made love

CHORUS
(Nas)
When was the last time you heard a real anthem?
Nas, The Millionaire, The Mansion?
When was the last time you heard your boy, Nas, rhyme?
Never on schedule, but always on time
(Chrisette Michele)
These streets hold my deepest days
This 'hood taught me golden ways
Made me (truly, this is what made me)
Break me (not a thing's gonna break me)
These streets hold my deepest days
This 'hood taught me golden ways
Made me (truly, this is what made me)
Break me (not a thing's gonna break me)
Oh, I'm that history, I'm that block
I'm that lifestyle, I'm that spot
I'm that kid by the numbered spot
That's my past that made me hot
Here's my lifelong anthem... Can't forget about you

3rd VERSE (Nas)
Unforgettable, unsubmittable
I go by "N" now, just one syllable
It's the "N" 'cuz the game's tired, it's the same vibe
Good Times had right after James died
That's why the gangster rhymers ain't inspired
Heinous crimes help record sales more than creative lines
And I don't wanna keep bringin' up the greater times
But I'm a dreamer, nostalgic with the state of mind
The past the past, enough of it, 'aight then
But nothing gives me chills like Douglas and Tyson
Or Mike when his talk was live
Or when he first did the moonwalk on Motown 25

CHORUS
(Nas)
When was the last time you heard a real anthem?
Nas, The Millionaire, The Mansion?
When was the last time you heard your boy, Nas, rhyme?
Never on schedule, but always on time
(Chrisette Michele)
These streets hold my deepest days
This 'hood taught me golden ways
Made me (truly, this is what made me)
Break me (not a thing's gonna break me)
These streets hold my deepest days
This 'hood taught me golden ways
Made me (truly, this is what made me)
Break me (not a thing's gonna break me)
Oh, I'm that history, I'm that block
I'm that lifestyle, I'm that spot
I'm that kid by the numbered spot
That's my past that made me hot
Here's my lifelong anthem... Can't forget about you

OUTRO (Nat King Cole)
That's why darling
It's incredible
That someone so unforgettable
Thinks that I am unforgettable... too