Cops Shot the Kid

"Cops Shot the Kid" is a song by American rap artist Nas featuring fellow rap artist Kanye West, and the second track off of Nas' eleventh studio album Nasir (2018). The track was written by Nas, West, Andrew Dawson, and Che Smith, with West handling production and Dawson providing additional production. The song samples "Children's Story" by Slick Rick throughout, and includes dialogue spoken by Richard Pryor from the film Wattstax (1974); both are also credited as writers.

"Cops Shot the Kid"
Song by Nas featuring Kanye West
from the album Nasir
Recorded	2018
Studio	West's ranch in Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Genre	East Coast hip hop hip hop progressive rap
Length	2:47
Label	Mass Appeal Def Jam
Songwriter(s)	Nasir Jones Ricky Walters Richard Pryor Kanye West Andrew Dawson Che Smith
Producer(s)	Kanye West

Background

Nas took to Instagram shortly after the song had generated attention as a standout from the album and paid homage to Slick Rick, since he's sampled and behind the inspiration for it.^[1]

In October 2020, a snippet of the original version of the song featuring an unreleased guest verse from André 3000 surfaced online.^[2][3]

Composition

For the background vocals saying: "The cops shot the kid" throughout the vast majority of "Cops Shot the Kid", a sample from "Children's Story" by Slick Rick is used.^[4] The speech in the track's intro is sampled from a scene including Richard Pryor in 1973 Stax Records film Wattstax.^[5]

Critical reception

The song received mostly positive reviews. NME described it as being: 'a track full of evocative images', and labelled the Rick sample as being both 'breathless' and 'frantic'.^[6] Rolling Stone viewed "Cops Shot the Kid" as being the album's 'most cogent song' and branded West's appearance as a 'lone guest verse'.^[7]

Commercial performance

Upon the release of Nasir, the track debuted at number 96 on the US Billboard Hot 100.^[8] This made it the only song from the album to enter that chart.^[9]

Charts

Chart (2018)	Peak position
UK Singles (OCC)[10]	97
US Billboard Hot 100[11]	96
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[12]	49

References

1. "Nas Pays Homage To The Inspiration Behind Must-Hear NASIR Song "Cops Shot The Kid"". SOHH.com. 17 June 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
2. Ivey, Justin (24 October 2020). "André 3000's Unreleased Verse From Nas & Kanye West's 'Cops Shot The Kid' Surfaces Online". HipHopDX. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
3. Threadcraft, Torry (24 October 2020). "Video Surfaces of Lost Andre 3000 Verse on Nas' "Cops Shot the Kid"". Okayplayer. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
4. "Nas's 'Cops Shot the Kid' sample of Slick Rick's 'Children's Story'". WhoSampled. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
5. "Nas's 'Cops Shot the Kid' sample of Richard Pryor scene in Wattstax". WhoSampled. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
6. "Nas - 'Nasir' review". NME. 16 June 2018. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
7. "'Nasir' Is the One Thing the Rapper Has Never Been Before - Dull". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
8. "Nas Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
9. "Chart Search". Billboard. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
10. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
11. "Nas Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 10, 2018.
12. "Nas Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 10, 2018.