"If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" is a 1996 hit hip hop single by Nas featuring Lauryn Hill of The Fugees. It is based on the 1985 hit of the same name by rapper Kurtis Blow and samples the beat of "Friends" by Whodini. The single was Nas's first Top 20 R&B hit, and was also nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance. Lauryn Hill's verse interpolates the song "Walk Right Up To The Sun" by The Delfonics. The song's lyrics feature Nas discussing the various things he would do if he "ruled the world and everything in it".
"If I Ruled the World", bolstered by a high-budget music video directed by Hype Williams, became Nas's first single to gain mainstream notice. The single reached number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 17 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart, and number 15 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart.
Read more about If I Ruled The World (Imagine That): 2Pac Issue, Charts
Famous quotes containing the words ruled and/or world:
“Democracy don’t rule the world,
You’d better get that in your head;
This world is ruled by violence
But I guess that’s better left unsaid.”
—Bob Dylan [Robert Allen Zimmerman] (b. 1941)
“It can be demonstrated that the child’s contact with the real world is strengthened by his periodic excursions into fantasy. It becomes easier to tolerate the frustrations of the real world and to accede to the demands of reality if one can restore himself at intervals in a world where the deepest wishes can achieve imaginary gratification.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)