^^^all of that was a set up for these last two lines. he's talking about how he doesn't fuck with certain people for a reason and these people call him socially awkward. the final two bars of the part i grouped is like the answer to why he's socially awkward; he doesn't associate himself with these fakes in the hip hop game.

I could ride on you and whoever, devise new endeavors
I’m as live as hive full of predators

if he wanted to he could kill all these people, but he's too mature for that BS

Twenty thousands different species of bees
Some half poisonous sting, some just pollinating their leafs
It's just like rap, some will buzz some will attack, compromising their own life in fact

he's using bees as a metaphor for rappers. some rappers are halfway decent and some are just in it to get cash and live lavish.

Sixteen years since my first sixteen, pardon the rest of my niggas
But I’m the best whoever did it

he's been in the game 16 years and witnessed all the bullshit, all the real shit, and he can confidently say he feels he's the best.

it just sounded like nas verse belonged or was written for another song, it almost sounds like Nas is actually talking about him and Jay-Z's beef. Or infact all these so called beef's he's had like the one with Jim Jones, but the song is supposed to be Do It For Hip Hop.

the song was great, and jay-z and ludacris verse made me feel the same.

in a more confusing and way i guess, jay-z talks about the beginnings of hip hop and why he used to do it and what hip hop did for him, ludacris also talks about why he loves hip hop and why he still does it. and what does Nas talk about? other rappers needing to step up their game?

Yeah, Now this is what they call poetry in motion
My soul bleeds on the paper, heart screams with emotion
This my daily devotion, that verses stay deeper than the ocean
So hip-hop you owe me a promotion
Yeah, I do a little boastin’ and braggin
’What’s all the commotion and naggin’ about
Cuz I’m still the champ in the south
Cuz rappers get in the booth and I keep draggin ‘em out
Where they fired and these pink slips I keep handin’ ‘em out
Cuz this is Theater of Mind, consider it a sign
Of what’s to come next, my money’s just fine
Bank filled with dump checks
Terrorist threat flow, proceed to drop (bombs) like Mr. Funk Flex
But I don’t do it for the money, I do it from the heart
I’ll do it with the beat box, I did it from the start
I’ll do it for the DJs, I’ll do it for the charts
The Van Gogh flow, Luda do it ‘cuz it’s art
I do it for the fans, I do it on command
I do it for the front row, I do it for the stands
I spit it for the hood, I do it for the block
And since nine years old,I did it for hip-hop

Jay:

Hip-hop
Started out in the park
We used to do it to avoid the Narcs
I used to do it so the homeboy Clark can get the f@#k off my backwhile I knocked off these packs
I used to rap to impress my friends
The past of time when I was gettin’ it in
Just so happens I’m so illegal with the pen, they ain’t want me to do anything illegal again
I lost a lot of dawgs to these streets
I got Grammy awards on these beats
Thank God for Kool Herc
Without this sh!t I probably would’ve got murked
Shout outs to Grandmaster Flash and the cash
And even Jazz bum ass
Hip hop helped me wash me ass
These other rappers couldn’t wash my socks
That’s why I took the number one slot
The realest shit in rap comes from my voice box
Lord knows when I was on my clock
I probably never would’ve stopped
Thank God for hip-hop

If you read and listen closely, yes, they are paying homage, but why? Just to say thank you hip hop, or to also get others to realize why they do it so that they do the same? Nas is just strengthening that message. Making it more prominent. On top of that Luda says a few things in his verse (I throw RAPPERS [as opposed to emcees] out of the booth, etc.) That allude to what Nas says. It would be a pointless track if they weren't trying to make hip hop better by making this track.

but see here luda bought it back around and talked about hip hop, nas never did that