"The World Is Yours"
Single by Nas featuring Pete Rock
from the album Illmatic
Released	May 31, 1994 (1994-05-31)
Format	12" single
Recorded	1993
Genre	East Coast hip hop
Length	4:50
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Nasir Jones Peter Phillips
Producer	Pete Rock
Nas chronology
"It Ain't Hard to Tell" (1994) "The World Is Yours" (1994) "Life's a Bitch" (1994)
Illmatic track listing "Life's a Bitch" (3) "The World Is Yours" (4) "Halftime" (5)

"The World Is Yours" is the third single from rapper Nas' debut album Illmatic, released a month after the album. It is considered by some music critics to be one of the greatest hip-hop songs ever recorded ^[1]. The song was produced by Pete Rock—who also sings the song's chorus—and it samples "I Love Music" by Ahmad Jamal and "It's Yours" by T La Rock. A remix of the song was produced by Q-Tip featuring similar but new lyrics; both it and the original were released by Columbia Records as singles, and promoted with music videos. It reached #13 on the Hot Rap Singles chart in 1994 and is now lauded as one of Nas' best tracks. The song and its accompanying video pay homage to the film Scarface. "The World is Yours" is known for being one of the foundations of the Jay-Z vs. Nas feud because of Jay-Z sampling it on his first single "Dead Presidents", using one of Nas' lines (I'm out for presidents to represent me) as the chorus.

[edit] Trivia

Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (November 2009)

• Sampled in:
  • "Dead Presidents" by Jay-Z.
  • "Thief's Theme" by Nas.
  • "Usual Suspects" by Rick Ross featuring Nas and Kevin Cossom
  • "Jealousy Woes II" by Eminem.
  • "Thief's Theme" by Jigmastas.
  • "In Remembrance" by Blu & Exile.
  • "Droga" by Hemp Gru.
  • "Chase The Clouds Away" by Evidence.
  • "President" by Lil Wayne
  • "Better?" by Propellerheads
• Featured in the game Tony Hawk's Underground.
• Can be heard in a scene in the film Antwone Fisher.
• Appears on the soundtrack for the film The Wackness.
• About.com ranked it seventh greatest rap song of all time.^[2]
• Title for the song was taken from the movie Scarface.
• Mentioned by Nas in later songs: "Got Ur Self A...", "Firm Biz" etc.
• References drug dealer/crime boss Howard "Pappy" Mason.

[edit] Single track listing

[edit] A-Side

1. "The World Is Yours" (4:51)
2. "The World Is Yours" (Instrumental) (4:51)

[edit] B-Side

1. "The World Is Yours" (Tip Mix) (4:29)
2. "The World Is Yours" (Tip Mix Instrumental) (4:30)

[edit] Charts

[edit] References