Taking it back to the 90s, after some time of doing reviews of recent albums, and it's been almost a year since I reviewed Nas' classic Illmatic, which I did in July. So it's only right I continue where we left off.
When Illmatic was first released, it didn't really sell as much, not experiencing the bigger sales of most major releases at the time. This was due to Nas' shy personality and not involving himself in the promotion. He started to make appearances on other people albums such as Mobb Deep's The Infamous (on "Eye for an Eye (Your Beef is Mines)") and Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx..., where he dubbed himself as Nas Escobar. Around the same time, he hired Steve Stoute as his manager, and after seeing the success of Biggie & Diddy, decided to take a more polished and commercial approach for his second album. He enlisted Trackmasters, who, at the time, were one of the hottest producers, gaining mainstream success, and also reunited with DJ Premier & L.E.S., who were previously on Illmatic.
July 1996 finally saw the release of Nas' second album, It Was Written. Preceded by the Lauryn Hill-assisted "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)", the album is a departure from the raw and underground tone of Illmatic, and took a mainstream and commercial approach. The album has 15 tracks, featuring production from Trackmasters, DJ Premier, Havoc & Live Squad, and appearances from Mobb Deep, The Firm and JoJo (of Jodeci). The album has Nas experimenting with a theatrical mafioso concept under the alias of "Nas Escobar", having more elaborate and detailed production, and a subject matter of materialistic excess and other lyrical themes.
It Was Written received generally positive reviews, with many praising it for the storytelling, lyricism and delivery. It was also recognized for its production, praising Trackmasters for their dope beats. The album also proved to be Nas' most commercially successful album to date, debuting at the top of the Billboard 200 (in which it remained for four consecutive weeks, then in the top 20 for 11 weeks, with a total of 34 weeks in the top 200), selling 268k units in its first week. 2 months later, it was certified Platinum, and by 2001, had sold 2.13m copies.
But was it any better than Illmatic? Let's see...
1. Intro
The album opens up with a 2 minute typical rap album intro, which is about the slavery of black people that took place long ago. Starting with a slave rebellion, Nas takes the perspective of one of the slaves rebelling against his master, And also has a conversation with AZ about how he's back with this album, and how we're reaching the new millennium (1996 was 4 years until 2000 aka the start of the new millennium). It's a pretty interesting opening, and sets the mood, especially when Nas reflects on life and his career.
2. The Message
Like Illmatic, Nas begins to rap on the second track of the album, which really sets the tone of the album's mafioso concept. Trackmasters provides a sombre and emotional beat, sampling Sting's "Shape of My Heart", as Nas spits some hot fire and even takes a jab at Biggie. It's a track that really shows off his lyrical skills and is seen as a classic song from Nas, with lines like "Ninety-six ways I made out, Montana way/The Good-F-E-L-L-A, verbal AK spray". The first verse was amazing, but I was very impressed with the second one, as Nas raps about trying to get a guy to pay him, which ends up with him getting shot. After being in hospital, he attempts to get revenge, now he got his gun back. This song really set the album's tone very well, giving such a mafioso and gangster feel. Nas' lyricism was on point, and the instrumental was simple yet dope. 20 years later, and it still doesn't disappoint!
3. Street Dreams
This song sees Nas illustrating the mind-state of drug-dealing, and explains why kids growing up in the ghetto often choose this lifestyle. He interpolates Eurythmics' “Sweet Dreams” to set the mood about what the song's about, and provides 3 verses, which all deliver with great storytelling and interesting imagery, telling the story of selling drugs to survive. The beat, once again courtesy of Trackmasters is pretty chill and soulful, but at the same time, gives a dark vibe as Nas comes with the storytelling. Great track!
4. I Gave You Power
The best song on the album. I mean, 3 verses of Nas taking the point of view of a gun over a fire instrumental from Premo. If that ain't something, I don't know what is. But yeah, DJ Premier provides a dope beat for Nas to tell such an interesting story. He takes the point of view of an illegal handgun, who gets caught up in all the violence in Queensbridge. He was made to kill, but starts to get tired of what he's doing to people.
In the first verse, the gun is a child, who has been created to simply do what the owner says. He's been in the hand of many thugs, who use him for the "wrong reasons"; street violence instead of actual self-defense. Obviously, since the gun was only "young", he didn't really care.
But the second verse focuses more on adolescence, as the gun starts to explore new things about himself, creating his own perception of things. Nas comes through as he raps "My abdomen is the clip, the barrel is my dick uncircumcised/Pull my skin back and cock me", and the gun explains how he's been used in robberies and killed so many people, not knowing he was bringing harm and evil into the world. The gun was stashed away with other weapons, and met a Tec-9 who wanted to be used properly instead of for violence.
But the third verse was arguably the best, and even was The Source's Hip-Hop Quotable in January 1997. The gun is now an adult, spending time with the other weapons. After being stashed away for a long time, the owner gets the gun and tries to get revenge on the person that beat him up. When he pulls the trigger, the gun stops him to shooting as it "felt wrong" and was sick & tired of all the violence. The opponent, however, pulls out a newer model of the narrator gun and was the first to fire. The owner died, with the gun not hearing the bullet coming. He was happy and relieved that he was free from his owner, until a new owner came, starting the cycle of violence again.
The song is just amazing. I loved what Nas did with this track, and it was very interesting as he personifies the gun. The beat is just amazing, Premo didn't disappoint. And this was one that showcased Nas's storytelling skills and his sick lyricism.
5. Watch Them Niggas (feat. Foxy Brown)
A smooth but dark jam from Nas, with hook duties from Foxy Brown. This one is, however, a song of betrayal, which sees an anonymous person, addressed in the second person (perhaps the listener or even Nas himself), betrayed by his crew and his women. The chorus manages to stick the whole thing together, being a reminder to be careful of the people around you, that may be fake and dangerous to be around. Nas' three verses are pretty good, and create an interesting vibe. The first delivered, with the second managing to showcase Nas' mafioso lifestyle. This sets the mood for the third verse, where Nas raps about how his "friends" kidnapped his girl, asking where the drugs were. Foxy really sounded great on the hook, and it made me wish she came through with one too. She could've killed it! But I love this song. The smooth instrumental, the storytelling, the hook and verses from Nas. He really delivered, and impressed me.
6. Take It In Blood
One of the most complex songs Nas has ever recorded as he raps about his mafioso lifestyle and also how it's like in Queensbridge. Live Squad, Lo Ground & Top General Sounds sample a classic Ultramagnetic MCs track, along with a Fantastic Four track (no, not the Marvel team), providing a sick and laidback beat, with drums that are pretty retro. Nas once again delivers with 3 verses, and they're great and impressive, as he comes with the storytelling, along with the hot bars and lifestyle raps. Another highlight.
7. Nas is Coming (feat. Dr. Dre)
A song that caused controversy, due to it being released at the time the East Coast/West Coast beef was happening. Nas raps about his lifestyle, coming with dope lines, while Dr. Dre gets on the boards, and also does an opening skit with Nas, creating a decent g-funk instrumental. I never really cared for this song tho. It's a decent track, but in my opinion, the worst track on the album. Nas's lines were pretty good, and the beat was alright, but overall, the song didn't do justice. Anyway, on to the next one.
8. Affirmative Action (feat. The Firm)
The classic posse cut introducing Nas' supergroup The Firm (AZ, Cormega & Foxy Brown). Each member comes through with a dope verse, as Dave Atkinson & Trackmasters provides a killer beat. AZ started the song off with a raw and ill verse. Cormega continues very well, with some very nice lines. Nas, as usual, killed it. And Foxy Brown really surprised me. There was a lot of diversity, in terms of delivery, and everybody was so dope on this track. The beat was dope AF, and had such a raw vibe. This shit always gets me bumping my head non-stop. Love this track!
9. The Set Up (feat. Havoc)
Havoc of Mobb Deep jumps on the track for hook duties, and also produces such a raw and killer instrumental, as Nas tells a story about how he tried to get revenge on his friend's murderer. His 2 verses delivered, like damn, and it really got me interested. Hav's hook was sick, especially with the delivery, but it sounded like a verse more than a hook. But forget that, can we just applaud the fawkin beat?! Havoc's production game was really strong AF back in the 90s, like damn. This nigga created 2 classics. 2 MUTHAFAWKIN CLASSICS, BRUH!!!! The Infamous AND Hell on Earth. SHEIT, man! Nevertheless, this song is pure heat! One of my favourites.
10. Black Girl Lost (feat. JoJo)
JoJo of Jodeci hooks up with Nas on such an emotional track, where Nas tells a story about a black girl, who has lost her way. According to him, she used to be just a pure innocent girl, but now she has gone bad; doing drugs, drinking and sleeping around and more. He knows that she's better than what she's doing, and is trying to survive and be happy; but at the same time, knows that, at the end of the day, that she'll end up being alone and living up to your typical Black stereotype. It's a very interesting track, with Nas coming with the dope storytelling, and JoJo with the great singing. Another great song.
11. Suspect
L.E.S. provides a gritty boom-bap instrumental, as Nas tells a story about a murder, along with various topics such as clothes and money (and deeper themes which are hidden). He manages to come with double/triple entendres and ill lyricism such as "Hey, me no worry, hashish keep my eyes Chinese/Roll the two Phillies together, make blunts Siamese" or "Decipher my deceiver make him a believer/Spitting gem stars, words in my mic type receiver". L.E.S.'s instrumental is just amazing and too dope. That gritty, grimy vibe as Nas spits that heat. A standout on the album!
12. Shootouts
In this song, Nas does what he does best: telling stories. This time, he tells 2 vivid tales about being a murderous thug in Queens. And damn, does this shit delivers! So raw and dope. The first verse sees Nas & his younger brother Jungle attempting to kill a notorious vigilante cop in the area. But the second verse is pretty much what the title is: an actual shootout that happens as a result of gambling. Trackmasters return again with such an ill instrumental, which doesn't disappoint. Nas's storytelling was great, and he really did his thing with it. Another highlight!
13. Live Nigga Rap (feat. Mobb Deep)
Nas, Prodigy & Havoc. Don't tell me you weren't expecting heat just from those names. This song is straight heat. One of the best tracks on here. A sick beat from the one and only Havoc and 3 killer verses from everyone. Everybody all did their thing. P was dope with his verse, and Hav really continued it well. But damn, Nas really snapped on this one. You can tell this was an outtake from Hell on Earth, it sounds like it and even Prodigy said it was. The beat, the flow and vibe. It was a good decision for it to be on here though, Nas really took over this track, even if it sounded like it was Mobb's at the first time. The beat is just... OOOOO. And the lyricism is on another level. Classic shit!
14. If I Ruled the World (Imagine That) [feat. Lauryn Hill]
The album's first single, which was based on the 1985 hit of the same name by Kurtis Blow. Lauryn Hill comes through for hook duties, as Nas raps about how the world would be like if he ruled it. Trackmasters & Rashad Smith create a dope throwback instrumental, and the two complemented it very well. Nas's content on this track was amazing, and his flow and delivery was on point. I'm still mad that Lauryn didn't spit on this track. This song was meant for her! I can imagine her just providing a classic verse. I still love this track though. 20 years later and it still bangs!
Final Thoughts
It Was Written has to be one of Nas's best works yet. Illmatic was a classic, but It Was Written actually managed to deliver as much as Illmatic did. The album was fire, from start to finish, and sees Nas go through a more polished and commercial sound, introducing a new alter ego, and telling interesting stories, mostly relating to his drug-dealing and violent lifestyle in his home of Queensbridge. The feel of the album was something pretty intriguing, encompassing the genre of mafioso rap: dark rhymes, quality storytelling, dope & dark beats, all from such a great MC! The production was just as solid as his previous album, getting DJ Premier and L.E.S. back for some more dope beats, along with some others. Premo killed it on "I Gave You Power", and L.E.S. did his thing with "Black Girl Lost" and "Suspect". Havoc provided 2 gritty ass beats with "The Set Up" and "Live Nigga Rap". And Trackmasters were beasts on the boards, coming with the fire instrumentals for "The Message", "Street Dreams" and "Shootouts". Unlike Illmatic though, which only had AZ as a guest, this album gets a few more people. The Firm come together to create such a raw and fire posse cut with "Affirmative Action". Foxy Brown was good on hook duties on "Watch Dem Niggas". Lauryn Hill sounded great on "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)", but I wish that she had a verse. And damn, Mobb Deep killed it on "Live Nigga Rap", with Havoc providing a solid hook (that lowkey felt like a verse) on "The Set Up". Overall, I love this album. This is worth your money! A lotta people regard Stillmatic as his second best work behind Illmatic (obviously), but this is better IMO. It's just as good as Illmatic, his storytelling was amazing and he was so consistent with the heat. A classic in my eyes!
Recommended Tracks
Live Nigga Rap
I Gave You Power
Affirmative Action
Shootouts
The Message
Street Dreams
Suspect
Every track on here is a standout (apart from "Nas is Coming")
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