Song: Hate Me Now ~~ 1999 ~~ 4:18
Artist: Nas featuring Puff Daddy
LP/CD: I Am ~~ Columbia ~~ 1999
Composers: Jones~Marchand

Escobar Ceasar has returned

It’s been a long time
Ben a long time comin’
Looks like the death of me now
But you know, there’s no turning back now
This is what makes me
This is what I am

You could hate me now (QB)
But I won’t stop now (Real n****s)
‘Cause I can’t stop now (Brave hearts)
You could hate me now (Come on)
But I won’t stop now {You gonna hate me, I’mma hate you too, simple as that}
‘Cause I can’t stop now {Die motherf***er die motherf***er die}
You could hate me now {You don’t give a f***, I don’t give a f***}
You could hate me now {It could go down any way you want it to go down}

Do it now {Weak, jealous motherf***ers}, do it now, do it now (F*** y’all)

Don’t hate me, hate the money I see, clothes that I buy
Ice that I wear, clothes that I try, close your eyes
Picture me rollin’ sixes, money foldin’
Chicken, honeys that swollen the riches, Nas get in ya
Most critically acclaimed Pulitzer prize winner
Nest storyteller, thug narrator, my style’s greater
Moderator, big threat to a lot of you haters
Commentators ringside try watchin’ my paper
Almost a decade, quite impressive
Most of the best is in the essence
For this rap stuff that I stand for
Expandin’ more to the big screen, Bill Gates dreams
But it seems you’d rather see me in jail with state dreams
Want me off the scene fast, but good things last
Like your favorite MC still makin’ some mean cash
First rapper to bring a platinum plaque back to the projects
But you still wanna hate, be my guest, I suggest

{Money is power, motherf***er}
{I got millions of thugs on salary}
Do it now

You could hate me now (I won’t stop)
But I won’t stop now (I can’t stop)
‘Cause I can’t stop now (You could hate me)
You could hate me now (I hate you too)
But I won’t stop now (You could hate me now)
‘Cause I can’t stop now (Come on)
You could hate me now (You could hate me now)
You could hate me now

Do it now, I told you, do it now
(Let’s go)

You wanna hate me, then hate me, what can I do
But keep gettin’ money, funny I was just like you
I had to hustle hard, never give up until I made it
Now y’all sayin’ that’s a clever n****, nothin’ to play with
Hate on me, I blew, but I’m the same old G
People warn me, when you’re on top there’s envy
Took my people out the hood, but you doubt on us
Sayin’ we left the hood, but can’t get it out of us
My bad, should I step out my shoes, give ‘em to you
Here’s my car and my house, you can live in that too
Criticize when I flow for the street, hate my dress code
Gucci this, Fendi, what you expect, yo’
Nickname Esco, took this game to it’s threshold
Best flow, I bet the whole US know
Try to make it like you the realest, but who the illest
Think we all know the answer to that ‘cause n****s feel us, right

{You think I’mma come this far and let you n****s stop me now}
{I hate you too} Now

You could hate me now (I won’t stop)
But I won’t stop now (I can’t stop)
‘Cause I can’t stop now (You could hate me)
You could hate me now (I hate you too)
But I won’t stop now (You could hate me now)
‘Cause I can’t stop now
You could hate me now (You could hate me now)
You could hate me now

Do it now, do it now

{I like this, I like the way this feels}
Wassup

It’s a thin line between paper and hate
Friends and snakes, growin’ old on early grave
Hell or the pearly gates, I was destined to come
Predicted, blamed God, he blew breath in my lungs, second to none
Wicked turn wives to widows
Shoot through satin pillows, the desolate one
Took a little time to claim my spot
Chairman of the board until this game stop
And I side with the Lord, ride for the cause
While drivin’, n****s shot out my doors
Plottin’, I’m sure they catch me with they glocks to my jaw
Tried stickin’ my up but I flipped on these ducks
Instead of me, ambulances were pickin’ ‘m up
People fear what they don’t understand, hate what they can’t conquer
Guess it’s just a theory of man
Became a monster, on top of the world, never fallin’
I’m as real as they come from day one, forever ballin’, come on

{Hey, y’all can’t see a n**** like me ever in your life}
{That’s what you can’t understand}

You could hate me now (I won’t stop)
But I won’t stop now (I can’t stop)
‘Cause I can’t stop now (You could hate me)
You could hate me now (I hate you too)

But I won’t stop now (You could hate me now)
‘Cause I can’t stop now
You could hate me now (You could hate me now)
You could hate me now (You could hate me now)

You could hate me now (You could hate me now)
But I won’t stop now (But I won’t stop now)
It ain’t never gonna stop, y’all (I can’t stop)

Transcribed by: Char Star
Uploaded on: May 5, 1999