[Intro: AZ & Nas]
Ayo, what's up, what's up?
Let's keep it real, son, count this money
You know what I'm sayin'? (Yeah, yeah)
Ayo, put the Grants over there in the safe
You know what I'm sayin'?
'Cause we spendin' these Jacksons (Yeah, yeah)
The Washingtons go to wifey, you know how that go
I'm sayin' that's what this is all about, right?
Clothes, bankrolls, and hoes
You know what I'm sayin'?
Yo, then what, man, what?!
[Verse 1: AZ]
Visualizin' the realism of life in actuality
Fuck who's the baddest, a person's status depends on salary
And my mentality is money-orientated
I'm destined to live the dream for all my peeps who never made it
'Cause yeah, we were beginners in the hood as Five Percenters
But somethin' must've got in us, 'cause all of us turned to sinners
Now some restin' in peace and some are sittin' in San Quentin
Others, such as myself, are tryin' to carry on tradition
Keepin' this Schweppervescence street ghetto essence inside us
'Cause it provides us with the proper insight to guide us
Even though we know, somehow we all gotta go
But as long as we leavin' thievin', we'll be leavin' with some kind of dough
So, until that day we expire and turn to vapors
Me and my capers will be somewhere stackin' plenty papers
Keepin' it real, packin' steel, gettin' high
'Cause life's a bitch and then you die
Life's a bitch and then you die, that's why we get high
'Cause you never know when you're gonna go
Life's a bitch and then you die, that's why we puff lye
'Cause you never know when you're gonna go
Life's a bitch and then you die, that's why we get high
'Cause you never know when you're gonna go
Life's a bitch and then you die, that's why we puff lye
[Verse 2: Nas]
I woke up early on my born day; I'm twenty, it's a blessin'
The essence of adolescence leaves my body, now I'm fresh and
My physical frame is celebrated 'cause I made it
One quarter through life, some godly-like thing created
Got rhymes 365 days annual, plus some
Load up the mic and bust one, cuss while I pus from
My skull, 'cause it's pain in my brain vein, money maintain
Don't go against the grain, simple and plain
When I was young at this I used to do my thing hard
Robbin' foreigners, take they wallets, they jewels and rip they green cards
Dipped to the projects, flashin' my quick cash
And got my first piece of ass, smokin' blunts with hash
Now it's all about cash in abundance
Niggas I used to run with is rich or doin' years in the hundreds
I switched my motto; instead of sayin', "Fuck tomorrow!"
That buck that bought a bottle could've struck the lotto
Once I stood on the block, loose cracks produce stacks
I cooked up and cut small pieces to get my loot back
Time is illmatic, keep static like wool fabric
Pack a 4-matic to crack your whole cabbage
Life's a bitch and then you die, that's why we get high
'Cause you never know when you're gonna go
Life's a bitch and then you die, that's why we puff lye
'Cause you never know when you're gonna go
Life's a bitch and then you die, that's why we get high
'Cause you never know when you're gonna go
Life's a bitch and then you die, that's why we puff lye
'Cause you never know when you're gonna go
Life's a bitch and then you die
[Trumpet Outro: Olu Dara]
About
Life’s a bitch and then you die
Can’t say it much better than that. Nas and AZ get existential and reflect on their lives and life in general.
As well as being AZ’s debut on wax, this song is notable for the trumpet solo at the end, performed by Nas’s father, Olu Dara.
Nas wanted to sample Mtume’s “Juicy Fruit” but producer L.E.S. brought The Gap Band’s “Yearning For Your Love” instead, which was fortunate since The Notorious B.I.G. would use the Mtume sample on his single “Juicy” released the same year.
L.E.S. provided some background information about the track in an interview with XXL:
AZ was there. Nas was like, ‘A, you got something for this?’ A just went in the booth and spit it, and Nas came right behind him. AZ had a chorus. They vibed, and before I even blinked, I left the studio, went back to the projects, and niggas was like, ‘We love that Nas joint.’ I was like, ‘Damn. Word? How they get that?’
AZ added:
After the hook was there, they was like, ‘Damn, you gotta spit, dawg.’ I was like, ‘Aight, fuck it. If you like it, you like it. You don’t, you don’t.’ I did it, and everybody liked it. That was it. It was history made.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Nas had this to say to XXL about the song:
Nas: I asked L.E.S. to bring [a copy of Mtume’s “Juicy Fruit”]. I wanted to sample “Juicy.” He didn’t have the record, so he brought The Gap Band’s “Yearning for Your Love” instead. Looped it up, & I was like, “Yo, it ain’t ‘Juicy,’ but it’s a whole ’nother monster!” Once we looped it up, I didn’t even care about “Juicy.” Of course, when The Notorious B.I.G. dropped (Juicy, I was like, “Oh my God.” I lost my rhyme books [the day we recorded “Life’s A Bitch”]. When we got to the studio & realized that I lost my books, we realized I left it on the train. Everybody was mad, like what we left on the train was a winning lotto ticket. [Laughs] We were like, “Oh man, it’s over!” That was years of writing, but the good thing was that I had memorized a lot of it.
There’s still consistent debate as to who outperformed who on the track, though many believe that AZ’s verse is the better of the two. It’s even generally regarded as one of the greatest verses of all time.
Though Nas doesn’t seem to have publicly admitted to having been outperformed by AZ, he does mention that AZ’s rhymes were “crazy” in his verified annotation.
- 1.The Genesis
- 3.Life’s a Bitch
- 5.Halftime
- 7.One Love
- 9.Represent
- 11.I’m a Villain
