"Rule" is the first single from American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ...

' 2001 album ''

Stillmatic ''Stillmatic'' is the fifth studio album by American rapper Nas, released on December 18, 2001, by Ill Will and Columbia Records. In contrast to his previous work's gangsta rap themes, the album contains socially conscious and philosophical th ...

''. It features a chorus sung by

Amerie Amerie Mi Marie Nicholson ( Rogers; born January 12, 1980) is an American singer. Born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, she gained an appreciation of the classical arts from her mother Mi Suk Rogers and of music from her father Charles Rogers, and ...

and production provided by Poke and Tone of Trackmasters Entertainment. The song is known for both sampling and interpolating "

Everybody Wants to Rule the World "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a song by English pop rock band Tears for Fears. It was written by Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, and Chris Hughes and produced by Hughes. The song was first released on 22 March 1985 by Phonogram, Mercu ...

" by

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new w ...

Overview

The song's lyrics are political, inspiration and reminiscent of those on Nas' 1996 single "

If I Ruled the World (Imagine That) "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" is a song by American rapper Nas featuring fellow American rapper Lauryn Hill, released on June 4, 1996 as the first single from his second album, ''It Was Written'' (1996). Produced by Trackmasters, with som ...

." It references this song in the beginning when Nas says: "Life, they wonder, can they take me under? Naw, never that." This references the intro to "If I ruled the World (Imagine That)" which is: "Life, I wonder, will it take me under? I don't know." As a single, "Rule" was not heavily promoted, but still reached #67 on the

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

chart. " Got Ur Self A..." is mistakenly thought to be the first single on ''Stillmatic'' because "Rule" was not heavily promoted, did not receive music video treatment and was never released in

compact disc The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Octo ...

format. It was released as a

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from viny ...

12-inch single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

with "No Idea's Original" as its

b-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

. It was featured in the 2003 film, ''

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of plants (primar ...

'', it is also featured on the ''

Like Mike ''Like Mike'' is a 2002 American sports comedy film directed by John Schultz and written by Michael Elliot and Jordan Moffet. Starring Lil' Bow Wow, Morris Chestnut, Jonathan Lipnicki, Robert Forster, Crispin Glover and Eugene Levy, the film fol ...

'' soundtrack, but includes the edited version.

Single track list

A-Side

# "Rule (Radio Edit)" (3:57) # "Rule (Instrumental)" (4:07) # "Rule (Clean A Capella)" (4:02)

B-Side

# "No Idea's Original (Explicit)" (4:05) # "Rule (Explicit Edit)" (4:07) 2001 singles Amerie songs Nas songs Songs written by Amerie Songs written by Nas 2001 songs Song recordings produced by Trackmasters Columbia Records singles Songs written by Ian Stanley Songs written by Jean-Claude Olivier Songs written by Samuel Barnes (songwriter) Songs written by Roland Orzabal {{2000s-hiphop-single-stub