Singles
"Made You Look", the first single on God's Son was released on February 12, 2003. It features production by Salaam Remi that samples "Apache" as performed by Incredible Bongo Band. Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic claims that the first single on God's Son "announces Nas' periodic return with fury and bombast" and is a "Marley Marl-fashioned track." Jon Robinson of IGN.com claims that "Made You Look" shows Nas' "lyrical genius." Additionally, Ethan Brown of New York Magazine, says it to be "extraordinarily powerful." It was the second most successful single on God's Son reaching #32 on the Billboard Hot 100. It reached #16 and #47 in "Singles of the Year" lists from Blender magazine and Pitchfork Media, respectively. Q magazine also ranked it as the 903rd best song ever in 2003, and Blender followed suit, ranking it as the 185th best song from the 1980s to the 2000s in 2005.
The second and most successful single, "I Can", was released as early as March 4, 2003, internationally. It boasts production from Salaam Remi, who samples from "Für Elise" by Ludwig van Beethoven and "Impeach the President" by The Honey Drippers for the song's beat. Its lyrics are positive, encouraging the youth to stay drug free, and pursue their dreams. The lyrics also detail various events in African history, but Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone magazine labels "I Can" as "a silly stay-in-school ad attached to a Beethoven sample." This comment may be attributed to the "singsongy" call and response chorus featuring the voices of young children. Other reviewers appreciated "I Can" more: Jon Robinson of IGN.com claims that on his second single, "Nas delivers some of his most inspiring lyrics to date." "I Can" received significant commercial success, reaching #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on the Rhythmic Top 40 charts.
The final single "Get Down" was released in July 2003. Produced by Salaam Remi and Nas, it samples James Brown's "The Boss", the percussion from James Brown's "Funky Drummer", "Rock Creek Park" by The Blackbyrds, and a speech from an unknown source. Its lyrics detail three loosely-described criminal stories each from different locations. The first story takes place in New York City where an alleged criminal steals the gun of a court officer, and starts shooting in the courtroom. The second story deals with cocaine dealers from Tennessee who provide Nas with a laced blunt. The final story takes place in Los Angeles where Nas goes to a violent funeral in Crenshaw with his cousin, and later ends up murdering three people. The stories are linked together by a sampled speech from an unknown origin that implies that black people will never "get up" if they "get down" in criminal activity. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone considers "Get Down" to be the best song on God's Son, as does columnist Serena Kim of Vibe. The single was not a significant commercial success, and it failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100 chart altogether.
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