I Can
by Nas

Album: God's Son (2002)
Charted: 19 12
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Songfacts®:

  • Nas wrote this song about believing in yourself at the request of his mother, who asked that he write something inspirational for children.
  • This is built on samples of Beethoven's classical piece "Fur Elise" and The Honey Drippers' "Impeach The President." >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Donovan Berry - El Dorado, AR, for above 2
  • Nas told Rolling Stone magazine about this song: "That was a groundbreaking period for me. That was my biggest radio record I ever had, and like 'If I Ruled the World,' it was used by tons of schools for their graduation. A song like that helped me because I have a daughter, and because I make so much music that when she was younger I didn't want her to listen to, I owed her and other kids something, something real, something real that's up their alley, to show that I cared, that I'm a human being, that I'm not just about giving you a tune about what happens in the 'hood and all that every day. I've got to be a real human being, and that was one of my real human being records right there, for my daughter. So yeah, that's one of the most important records I ever made."

Comments: 2

  • James from Riverside, Cathats why most hip hop i listen to now is christian hip hop, all the new stuff is just junk.
  • Lilly from Chicago, IlThis song has great lyrics. I wish more rap and hip hop songs would have lyrics like this, that inspire, rather than degrade. I'm glad this was a big hit, because it shows that positive messages can make for successful songs, which is something not understood by most mainstream artists today.
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