"One Time 4 Your Mind" is the eighth song on Nas

Nas

Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...

' debut album Illmatic

Illmatic

Illmatic is the debut album of American rapper Nas, released April 19, 1994, on Columbia Records. Following his signing to Columbia with the help of MC Serch, recording sessions for the album took place during 1992 to 1993 at Chung King Studios, D&D Recording, Battery Studios, and Unique Recording...

. It is produced by Large Professor

Large Professor

Large Professor , also known as Large Pro and Xtra P, is a New York City-based hip hop record producer and emcee. He is also best known as a founding member of the influential underground hip hop group Main Source, and as a frequent collaborator with Nas...

 who provides the song with a mellow beat and a deep bassline

Bassline

A bassline is the term used in many styles of popular music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and electronic music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, tuba or keyboard...

. The song's melody samples

Sampling (music)

In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...

 "Walter L" by Gary Burton

Gary Burton

Gary Burton is an American jazz vibraphonist.A true original on the vibraphone, Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the usual two-mallets. This approach caused Burton to be heralded as an innovator and his sound and technique are widely imitated...

. Nas raps two verses on the song and contributes to the call and response

Call and response (music)

In music, a call and response is a succession of two distinct phrases usually played by different musicians, where the second phrase is heard as a direct commentary on or response to the first...

 chorus with Large Professor. The song's lyrics deal with what Nas does in his leisure. Nas sampled a lyric from "One Time 4 Your Mind" on his song "Fetus." Termanology

Termanology

Daniel Carrillo , better known as Termanology is a rapper from Lawrence, Massachusetts. He first came to wide attention with the 2006 single "Watch How It Go Down". A solo album, Politics As Usual, was released in 2008...

 references a lyric from this song on "Stop, Look, Listen" by Statik Selektah

Statik Selektah

Patrick Baril better known as Statik Selektah, is an East Coast-based DJ, Producer and CEO of Showoff Records.-Biography:...

. Steve Juon of RapReviews.com describes it as a "somber and slow-rolling banger." Marc Hill of PopMatters

PopMatters

PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...

boasts the song's lyrics saying: "the laid back 'One Time 4 Your Mind' demonstrated a level of technical precision and rhetorical dexterity that [is] now requisite for inclusion among hip-hop's elite."