I Gave You Power Lyrics
Damn! Look how muh-fuckers use a nigga
Just use me for whatever the fuck they want
I don't get to say shit
Just grab me, just do what the fuck they want
Sell me, throw me away
Niggaz just don't give a fuck about a nigga like me right?
Like I'm a f... I'm a gun, shit
It's like I'm a motherfuckin gun
I can't believe this shit....
Word up.. (word up..)
They grab and me bullets spray
They use me wrong so I sing this song 'til this day
My body is cold steel for real
I was made to kill, that's why they keep me concealed
Under car seats they sneak me in clubs
Been in the hands of mad thugs
They feed me when they load me with mad slugs
Seventeen precisely, one in my head
They call me Desert Eagle, semi-auto with lead
I'm seven inches four pounds, been through so many towns
Ohio to Little Rock to Canarsie, livin harshly
Beat up and battered, they pull me out
I watch as niggaz scattered, makin me kill
But what I feel it never mattered
When I'm empty I'm quiet, findin myself fiendin to be fired
A broken safety, niggaz place me in shelves
under beds, so I beg for my next owner to be a thoroughbred
Keep me full up with hollow heads
It's that shit that moves crowds makin every ghetto foul
I might have took your first child
Scarred your life, crippled your style
I gave you power
I made you buck wild
Always I'm in some shit, my abdomen is the clip
The barrel is my dick, uncircumcised
Pull my skin back and cock me, I bust off when they unlock me
Results of what happens to niggaz shock me
I see niggaz bleedin runnin from me in fear, stunningly tears
fall down the eyes of these so-called tough guys, for years
I've been used in robberies, givin niggaz heart to follow me
Placin peoples in graves, funerals made cause I was sprayed
I was laid in a shelf, with a grenade
Met a wrecked-up tech with numbers on his chest that say
Five-two-oh-nine-three-eight-five and zero
Had a serial defaced, hopin one day, police would place
where he came from, a name or some sort of person to claim him
Tired of murderin, made him wanna be a plain gun
But yo I had some other plans, like the next time the beef is on
I make myself jam right in my owner's hand
Yo, weeks went by and I'm surprised
Still stuck in the shelf with all the things that an outlaw hides
Besides me it's bullets, two vests and then a nine
There's a grenade in a box, and that tech that kept cryin
Cause he ain't been cleaned in a year, he's rusty as clear
He's bout to fall to pieces, cause of his murder career
Yo, I can hear somebody comin in, open the shelf
His eyes bubblin, he said, "It was on"
I felt his palm troubled him shakin
Somebody stomped him out, his dome was achin
He placed me on his waist, the moment I've been waitin
My creation was for blacks to kill blacks
It's gats like me that accidentally, go off, makin niggaz memories
But this time, it's done intentionally
He walked me outside, saw this cat
Cocked me back, said, "Remember me?"
He pulled the trigger but I held on, it felt wrong
Knowing niggaz is waiting in hell for 'im
He squeezed harder, I didn't budge, sick of the blood
Sick of the thugs, sick of wrath of the, next man's grudge
What the other kid did was pull out, no doubt
A newer me in better shape, before he lit out, he lead the chase
My owner fell to the floor, his wig split so fast
I didn't know he was hit, it's over with
Heard mad niggaz screamin, niggaz runnin, cops is comin
Now I'm happy, until I felt somebody else grab me
Damn!
This song goes way beyond the personification of the gun and Nas' ability to make it seem more like a human, that's not very innovative at all. I think the brilliant part of this song is how it's a social commentary by nature. Nas chose to use the gun because it represents something violent and emotionless to reflect the state of mind had by most underprivelaged youths during the period (and today). Nas isn't talking about a gun with feelings, the gun represents the hood as a whole and our current society isn't structured to provide any positives or benefits to people in the ghetto. In actuality, society is designed so that these groups of people fail and that's what Nasir means when he uses the gun metaphor. He condemns prison with the line: "I was laid in a shelf, with a grenade Met a wrecked-up tech with numbers on his chest that say Five-two-oh-nine-three-eight-five and zero Had a serial defaced, hopin one day, police would place where he came from, a name or some sort of person to claim him Tired of murderin, made him wanna be a plain gun"
The shelf is prison and the wrecked up tec and grenade are felons (the ghetto dwellers all take on a dangerous object when being personified) and the serial number on the tecs chest is his prison number. Prison is a place where we send people that society doesn't want to deal with, not for rehabiliation but for punishment. The tec hopes someday "someone will claim him" or he will find some stability or structure in the world. Nas declares that he's tired of murderin' and wants to be a plain gun, echoing the fact that the plight of the ghetto that produces so many fuck ups is not directly related to the individuals, it's the society they're placed in that causes them to murder, rob, steal, etc. This song is incredibly deep and I could honestly analyze every single lyric but I ain't got that kinda time (although I'd love to). This is probably my favorite song of all time, not just rap song, but song in general.
wow, i like how you put this. very nice and yes, VERY powerful.
wow, i like how you put this. very nice and yes, VERY powerful.
I cannot BELIEVE no one had anything to say about this song. This is one of my favorite Nas songs. It just showcases how talented he is as a storyteller. My goodness. The song is super self explanatory because he is just that talented. It was Written is one of the greatest CDs!
This song goes way beyond the personification of the gun and Nas' ability to make it seem more like a human, that's not very innovative at all. I think the brilliant part of this song is how it's a social commentary by nature. Nas chose to use the gun because it represents something violent and emotionless to reflect the state of mind had by most underprivelaged youths during the period (and today). Nas isn't talking about a gun with feelings, the gun represents the hood as a whole and our current society isn't structured to provide any positives or benefits to people in the ghetto. In actuality, society is designed so that these groups of people fail and that's what Nasir means when he uses the gun metaphor. He condemns prison with the line: "I was laid in a shelf, with a grenade Met a wrecked-up tech with numbers on his chest that say Five-two-oh-nine-three-eight-five and zero Had a serial defaced, hopin one day, police would place where he came from, a name or some sort of person to claim him Tired of murderin, made him wanna be a plain gun"
The shelf is prison and the wrecked up tec and grenade are felons (the ghetto dwellers all take on a dangerous object when being personified) and the serial number on the tecs chest is his prison number. Prison is a place where we send people that society doesn't want to deal with, not for rehabiliation but for punishment. The tec hopes someday "someone will claim him" or he will find some stability or structure in the world. Nas declares that he's tired of murderin' and wants to be a plain gun, echoing the fact that the plight of the ghetto that produces so many fuck ups is not directly related to the individuals, it's the society they're placed in that causes them to murder, rob, steal, etc. This song is incredibly deep and I could honestly analyze every single lyric but I ain't got that kinda time (although I'd love to). This is probably my favorite song of all time, not just rap song, but song in general.
In this song Nas shows the world just how much of a talented Song Writer he is. He made something that is not alive almost close to being human. This is one of his most imaginitive songs.
This song goes way beyond the personification of the gun and Nas' ability to make it seem more like a human, that's not very innovative at all. I think the brilliant part of this song is how it's a social commentary by nature. Nas chose to use the gun because it represents something violent and emotionless to reflect the state of mind had by most underprivelaged youths during the period (and today). Nas isn't talking about a gun with feelings, the gun represents the hood as a whole and our current society isn't structured to provide any positives or benefits to people in the ghetto. In actuality, society is designed so that these groups of people fail and that's what Nasir means when he uses the gun metaphor. He condemns prison with the line: "I was laid in a shelf, with a grenade Met a wrecked-up tech with numbers on his chest that say Five-two-oh-nine-three-eight-five and zero Had a serial defaced, hopin one day, police would place where he came from, a name or some sort of person to claim him Tired of murderin, made him wanna be a plain gun"
The shelf is prison and the wrecked up tec and grenade are felons (the ghetto dwellers all take on a dangerous object when being personified) and the serial number on the tecs chest is his prison number. Prison is a place where we send people that society doesn't want to deal with, not for rehabiliation but for punishment. The tec hopes someday "someone will claim him" or he will find some stability or structure in the world. Nas declares that he's tired of murderin' and wants to be a plain gun, echoing the fact that the plight of the ghetto that produces so many fuck ups is not directly related to the individuals, it's the society they're placed in that causes them to murder, rob, steal, etc. This song is incredibly deep and I could honestly analyze every single lyric but I ain't got that kinda time (although I'd love to). This is probably my favorite song of all time, not just rap song, but song in general.
Ghostface, that's an interesting take on the song, but I think it's wrong.
It's easy to see that he's talking about a gun simply by listening to the last line of the hook-- "I gave you power, I made you buck wild." You can see that the hook is told in first person, the gun as the narrator.
To me, it's a song about a gun with feelings, and it is genius, not because he's just using personification, it's what he's trying to say.
I think Nas is flipping is giving the gun the point of view because so many people use guns, but, God, imagine how a gun would feel about its usage and you can see how horrific and senseless some acts commited by people that use guns can be.
It's just a way to show how insane it all can be.
sick lyricism. Old Nas was the shit. Too bad he had to marry Kelis and start sucking his own dick at the same time