One Love (Nas song)
In the song's first verse, Nas references fellow Queensbridge emcee Cormega, whose rapping career had been put on hold due to his incarceration during the early 1990s.[5] Lyrically, "One Love" is composed of a series of letters written by Nas to incarcerated friends,[6] recounting mutual acquaintances and events that have occurred since the receiver's imprisonment,[7] including unfaithful girlfriends, emotionally tortured mothers and underdog loyalty."[6] In a 1994 article on the distinct styles of East Coast and West Coast hip hop, music journalist Touré referred to "One Love" as an example of the thematic differences between the two regional scenes, stating: The more ambitious themes of New Yorkers' rhymes over those of their L.A. counterparts can be traced to the original intention of hip-hop in each city: Many L.A. rappers embraced the drug culture, while those in New York tended to use hip-hop as an avenue of escape from it ...In 'One Love', Nas echoes that perspective, rapping about his own temporary getaway: 'So I be ghost from my projects/ I take my pen and pad for the weekend/ A two-day stay/ You may say/ I needed time alone/ To relax my dome/ No phone/ Left the nine at home.[11] After delivering "shout-outs to locked down comrades", Nas chastizes a youth who seems destined for prison in the final verse, "Shorty's laugh was cold blooded as he spoke so foul/Only twelve tryin to tell me that he liked my style ...