"N.Y. State of Mind" by Nas (VIDEO)
Listen to "N.Y. State of Mind" by Nas, No. 21 on our list of the 100 best NYC songs.
Wed Mar 7 2012
21. Nas, "N.Y. State of Mind" (1994)
This sinister, piano-driven track introduced the world to the studied, Dickensian style of street reportage that would become Nas's trademark, all but transporting listeners to the street corners of his native Queensbridge, while offering one of the rap legend's most famed lines: "I never sleep 'cause sleep is the cousin of death."
