THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

526-Nas-One Mic.

2002-It has never charted in the UK.

Best Bit-At 1.18. Too often all ‘Rap’ is tarred with the same brush. There are those who brag about the six figure sums they have just been paid, the amount of bitc#es they have taken to bed, and the size of their genitalia, and then there are the ‘keeping it real’ Rappers, with a real message.

Nas was born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, on September 14th, 1973, in Brooklyn, New York City, United States, to date he has sold in excess of 25 million records worldwide, and in many compiled lists of the best Rappers, and lyricists, he continuously appears in the all time top 10. Nas whose father is the Jazz musician Olu Dara, began his music career in 1989 as ‘Nasty Nas,’ and was first heard on record when guesting on the 1991 track ‘Live at the Barbecue,’ by the ‘East coast Hip-Hop’ group ‘Main Source.’ Nas then went on to record his debut Album ‘Illmatic’ in 1994, which is considered by many music critics to be one of the greatest ‘Hip-Hop’ Albums of all time. The American music journalist Peter Shapiro has written about Nas, saying that he creates a ‘Devastating match between lyrics and production.’ There have also been comparisons made between Nas and ‘Rakim’ (see also best songs 856.)

The discography of Nas includes 17 studio Albums released between 1994-2023, and 79 singles released between 1992-2024, there is also one collaborative Album, one group Album, four mixtapes, and five official compilation Albums available. In America on the Billboard Hot 100, as the lead artist, he has had three top 40 entries, with ‘I Can’ from 2003, peaking the highest at Number 12, while ‘One Mic’ reached Number 43. On Billboard as a featured artist Nas has had seven top 40 hits, with ‘Hot Boyz,’ by Missy Elliott, featuring Lil’ Mo, Nas, Eve, and Q-Tip, making Number 5 in 1999. In the UK, Nas has charted within the top 40 as the lead artist on nine occasions, with both ‘If I Ruled the World (Imagine That’) featuring Lauryn Hill, (1996) and ‘Street Dreams’ (1996) both peaking the highest at Number 12. As the featured artist in the UK, Nas has had eight top 40 chart entries, with I’m Gonna Be Alright,” the Track Masters Remix,’ by Jennifer Lopez, featuring Nas, charting the highest at Number 3 in 2002.

‘One Mic’ was the last of four singles released from ‘Stillmatic,’ which is the fifth studio Album released by Nas, from December 2001. ‘One Mic’ was co-written, and co-produced by Nas, and Chucky Thompson, and contains samples from the songs ‘In the Air Tonight,’ by Phil Collins, and ‘I’m Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby,’ by Barry White, although neither of those artists receive songwriting credits. Chucky Thompson was born Carl Edward Thompson Jr. on July 12th, 1968, in Washington D. C. United States, he died of complications of COVID-19, on August 9th, 2021, at the age of 53. Chucky Thompson worked as a music producer for ‘Bad Boy Entertainment’ ‘Hitmen,’ where he produced tracks for their rosta of artists, including The Notorious B.I.G.’s, Big Poppa, (see also best songs 307) from his ‘Ready To Die’ Album, (1994) and the Faith Evans tracks, ‘You Used to Love Me,’ and ‘Soon As I Get Home,’ from her Album ‘Faith’ (1995.)

‘One Mic’ is a ‘Hip-Hop’ track, that can also be filed under the musical sub-genre of ‘Conscious Hip-Hop.’ ‘Conscious Hip-Hop’ is a sub-genre of ‘Hip Hop’ that challenges the dominant cultural, social, political, philosophical, and economic consensus, and/or comments on, or focuses on, social issues and conflicts. Some themes of ‘Conscious Hip-Hop’ include’ social conscience, Afro-centricity, religion, culture, the economy, depictions of the struggles of ordinary people, and aversion to, or commentary on, crime and violence. ‘Conscious Hip-Hop’ often seeks to raise awareness of social issues, sometimes leaving the listeners to form their own opinions rather than advocating for certain ideas and demanding actions like another sub-genre of ‘Hip-Hop,’ called ‘Political Hip-Hop.’ ‘Conscious Hip-Hop’ artists often use their music to express their views on a wide range of topics, including politics, race, poverty, and the environment. Other examples of ‘Conscious Hip-Hop’ in this ‘1000 Best Songs’ list include, ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, (see also best songs 290) and ‘Fight the Power,’ by Public Enemy, (see also best songs 578) these songs could also be filed under ‘Political Hip-Hop.’

In ‘One Mic,’ Nas tells us of his experiences growing up in the ghetto. He tells us of his desire to lead a simple and positive life, with the guidance of God. Nas has said, ‘I’m a huge fan of Phil Collins, and I just wanted to take the vibe from In the Air Tonight. One Mic is just about the power. It’s almost like ‘Hip Hop is Dead’ (2006-Nas Album) in its infant stages, saying how much this is a blessing to be out here, speaking about what’s happening in my neighbourhood, having the whole world understand and relate. One Mic just gives me the ability, no matter how much ignorant people are mad that I’m exposing or talking about our country, no matter what the language is, I’m talking in a language that the people can hear, I’m not sugar-coating it. So if it scares people and people feel guilty, people feel like they’ve got to make up excuses to why the world’s this way, no matter what they say, like they’ve got their mic, I’ve got mine, and that’s what that song’s about.’

All I need is one mic, that’s all I need, that’s all I need. There’s nuttin’ else in the world, that’s all a nig#a need to do his thing.’