One Mic

"One Mic" is a song by American rapper Nas, released April 16, 2002 on Columbia Records and distributed through Ill Will Records in the United States. It was issued as the third single from his fifth studio album, Stillmatic (2001). The single peaked at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Nas's third top fifty hit on the chart.

Production for "One Mic" was handled by Nas and hip hop producer Chucky Thompson. Talking about the inspiration for the song, Nas stated: "I'm a huge fan of Phil Collins and I just wanted to take the vibe from 'In the Air Tonight'." Steve Juon of RapReviews wrote that the song features a production technique previously implemented by such hip hop artists as Outkast and the Roots, which he described as "a quiet groove that steadily increases in energy and intensity until an increasingly amped Nas lets his lyrical rage boil over like a Final Fantasy fighter smacked ONCE too often." According to Juon, the final verse has a reversal of this formula, in which Nas "goes from amped up to soft spoken, drawing you even closer into his rap." Music critic Brett Berliner wrote "'One Mic' starts out with a slow beat reminiscent of a crappy R&B song. Throughout the song, Nas' lazy flow turns into an angry rant over a fast paced beat, and finally a siren."

The lyrics of "One Mic" discuss Nas's desire for a simple life ("Only if I had one gun, one girl, and one crib/One God to show me how to do things his son did") and obstacles that prevent it ("[if] One ni**ga front, my face on the front page"), Keith Harris of City Pages described the lyrical structure of "One Mic" as "urban claustrophobia distilled and digitized, with Nas's reportorial eye zooming in on a detail, then pulling back to a panoramic overview." Music critic Cynthia Fuchs described the song's lyrical scheme as "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." In the hip hop book Beats, Rhymes & Life (2007), music writer Ytasha Womack compared Nas's lyrics on "One Mic" to the work of rapper Tupac Shakur, analyzing it as a song with strong religious, Christian overtones and lyrical themes. Womack wrote that "Nas's references ultimately humanized Jesus, with attempts to show direct parallels between our quest and that of the Wayshower." ultimately peaking at number 43. The single also peaked on the Hot Rap Singles at number 23, the Rhythmic Top 40 at number 32, and the Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles & Tracks at number 14. "One Mic" was well received by critics, some of whom hailed it as a "classic". Yahoo! Music's James Poletti felt it was "some of the best hip hop recorded" in 2002. Kathryn McGuire from Rolling Stone was more critical, writing that "the hyperbolic urgency of 'One Mic' feels staged." In retrospect, IGN's Jon Robinson viewed "One Mic" as a comeback for Nas, writing that it "proved that he was still not only one of the dopest MCs in the world, but possibly the most gifted writer of the rap community." According to Juon, the song signalled a return for Nas to his early musical roots, stating "you know that the rapper we all once called Nasty Nas has truly returned."