Lyrical Understanding

The song that I chose to analyze is called Got Ur Self A.., by Nas. I chose this song because it has a lot of meaning that is still relevant today. On top of that, Nas makes sure to make the song great with his lyrics and beat to let many people hear the problems that are happening in the US. Nas starts the song by saying "Got yo'self a gun" and repeating it as the chorus throughout the song because he wants to hammer in the point that a gun is a necessity in the impoverished areas where crime is abundant and where you need to protect yourself. He uses the chorus with "You from the hood I hope you (got yo'self a gun) You want beef? I hope ya (got yo'self a gun)" to say that if you are in the hood, he hopes you have a gun as protection because of how it is. He also says that he hopes you have a gun if you have conflict because things could escalate. Another significant lyric is when he says "Yo, I'm the N the A to the S-I-R And If I wasn't, I must've been Escobar." This is important because he is saying that if he was not successful or talented in rap as he is now, than he would be a person like Escobar. Escobar is know for dealing drugs so he would most likely become a drug dealer as his way of life because of the harsh environment he grew up in.