 " The Don " is a hip hop song of three minutes and two seconds in length . It begins with the first use of a sample of " Dance in New York " by Super Cat , used as a means of explaining the importance of music to poorer communities . Following this , Nas ' lyrics are backed by an " airy " , boom bap @-@ orientated production , composed by producers Da Internz , Heavy D and Salaam Remi , containing influences of reggae , whilst also featuring a prominent " bass thud " , staccato drum and piano break – similar in style to much of the production featured on Nas ' debut album , Illmatic ( 1994 ) . Other parts of " Dance in New York " are blended into the song 's production throughout . A reviewer for DJBooth felt that the production shared an old @-@ fashioned aesthetic with Nas ' previous single , " Nasty " , noting that " The Don " " shares its predecessor ’ s grimy , old @-@ school informed yet forward @-@ looking feel " . Ken Capobianco shared similar sentiments about the song 's style , observing that it " evoke [ s ] the sound and feel of New York ’ s ' 90s hip @-@ hop heyday " . Henry Adaso of About.com noted Nas ' lyrics as consistent with his persona of a " street poet " , writing that " there are gun threats , car boasts , thoughts of rooftop sex , <unk> to New York rap pioneers , and references to real drug rings " . According to Rolling Stone writer Simon Vozick @-@ Levinson , Nas " deftly " addresses his earlier life by describing " a concise portrait of the artist as a young man " . Heavy D , who died before the song was fully completed , is also mentioned by Nas in the song 's lyrics , where he notes that Heavy D was the one who came up with the production and the ideas behind it before he showed it to Remi . 
