One Mic

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"One Mic"

Single by Nas
from the album Stillmatic
Released	2002
Format	CD single
Recorded	2001
Genre	Hip hop
Length	4:29
Label	Ill Will/Columbia
Producer(s)	Nas & Chucky Thompson
Chart positions
US Rap #7, US R&B #14, US Top 100 #43
Nas singles chronology
"Got Ur Self A..." (2001)	"One Mic" (2001)	"Made You Look" (2002)

One Mic is the second single on Nas' album, Stillmatic. It contains introspective lyrics and stories about the street. The song was referred to by rival rapper Jay-Z in the diss track "Blueprint 2" from his 2002 double LP The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse. In it, he accuses Nas of contradicting himself by denouncing materialism in "One Mic" while having put out more commercial/materialistic tracks before: "Is it 'Oochie Wally Wally' or is it 'One Mic'/Is it 'Black Girl Lost' or shorty owe you for ice."

1 Video
2 Single Tracklist
- 2.1 A-Side
- 2.2 B-Side
3 External links

[edit] Video

The video for "One Mic" follows the track's rhythm, building slowly to a crescendo of declaration and rage, then coming back, to seek a way to make a difference, with that precious one mic. The video opens on the street, looking out from a car windshield, the camera wide to show buildings lit up, lights bleeding, the image dissolving on traffic passing, then a bedroom window, glowing yellow. Cut to Nas, alone, his room spare and muted, a light blazing from the ceiling. He nods with his boom box: his needs are minimal -- "one mic, one beat, one stage."

The video was nominated for the MTV Best Video of the Year at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, but did not win.