Blogged By Jon

It Was Written is an underrated classic!

For a little over a decade, I’ve grown to like Nas’s “It Was Written” (IWW) over his debut album “Illmatic”. Now, some might call me crazy but I know their many people who would agree. Don’t get me wrong, Illmatic is an incredible album, and I won’t be offended if anyone would say that was his best album overall! Both Illmatic and It Was Written had production from hip hop’s best producers in the game.

Before I get into IWW, I have to break down Illmatic (in my opinion) and its beginning. Before the release of his debut album, hip hop dominance was shifted towards the West Coast with artists like Ice Cube, Eazy-E, and Death Row Records which sold millions of records after the release of “The Chronic” in 1992. New York was feeling left out with all the attention that the West was receiving. Rappers from the East such as Rakim and Eric B, EPMD, Kool G Rap, KRS-One, LL Cool J, and many more who had success in the mid-’80s were having a hard time adjusting to the 90s with the style of rap switching to gangsta rap. Some adjusted well, but unfortunately many couldn’t and their popularity faded. 

Then came in this new cat Nasir Jones better known as “Nas”. After breaking out with his infamous verses on  “Live at the Barbeque and Back to the Grill”. This was New York’s/East Coast savior. With production from Queensbridge native L.E.S, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, DJ Premier, and Large Professor. Along with those legendary producers and only one special guest rapper AZ,  Nas brought rhymes that drew comparisons to the God MC Rakim. But make no mistake Nas was his own person and he displayed that on his 10 track debut (minus the intro The Genisis which was from Wild Style). He kicked it off with NY State Of Mind which was produced by Dj Premier which set the tone on the album and the rest was literally history. He shouted out numerous of his QB natives in songs like “One Love” and “Represent”. After the release of the album, Nas was basically crowned as King. No one at the time wanted to challenge that, in fact, many respected him. Hip Hop has always been competitive and while some respected Nas, some wanted to be better! 

Now long after his debut, Nas appeared on albums like Mobb Deep’s “The Infamous”, Kool G Rap’s “4,5,6, Raekwon’s “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx”, and even on AZ’s “Doe or Die”. New York was waiting for the next Nas album to drop. But even before IWW, hip hop was in turmoil with the East/West rap feud. Many rappers that didn’t want to get involved in it soon found themselves in the crossfire. Nas being one of them along with fellow QB duo Mobb Deep and of course The Notorious B.I.G who was the focal point of the beef. On top of that despite having Illmatic gaining the respect it didn’t sell well compared to B.I.G’s “Ready To Die”. He probably felt like it would be best for him to recruit producers that will help him get a wider audience and more attraction. It might have been a record label decision because we all know record companies put pressure on their artists to sell by all means necessary. He managed to get production from Dj Premier, Havoc of Mobb Deep, L.E.S, Trackmasters, and the one and only Dr. Dre!   

July 2, 1996, “It Was Written” was released. And once again, he wasted no time in letting people know who he was. “The message” set the album off with an infamous line: “Fake thug, no love, you get the slug”, which some took as a subliminal shot a 2Pac. Even 2Pac thought it was directed towards him, but Nas later clarify to not only 2Pac but to the world that the line was towards B.I.G.  The album also displayed a different style from Illmatic. Nas moved into Mafioso rap. A subgenre Kool G. Rap started way before the album was released. But nonetheless, IWW took it to a whole another level. Nas’s rhymes were even more out of this world. Probably one of the greatest conceptional raps songs ever made “I Gave You Power”. Rapping in a gun perspective was clever and I don’t recall anyone doing that before him. Let alone, better. “Nas Is Coming” is an interesting song for the fact that in the liner notes in the IWW booklet, it said that it was recorded at Dre’s house. Which meant that Nas was on the West coast right in the middle of the East/West beef. Not too many rappers from the East were traveling to the West during that time and who can blame them? In Nas Is Coming you can hear the new Dr. Dre sound which later became the “Aftermath” sound. He left the G-Funk sound and started a new one. Listening to his flow on a crisps Dre beat was not only smooth but epic. And if I’m not mistaken that was Dre’s first song he produced after leaving Death Row Records. Affirmative Action introduce the world to The Firm with Foxy Brown, AZ, and of my top 5 favorite rappers Cormega. The Firm IMO could’ve been a big thing. But that’s a topic for another day. Havoc of Mobb Deep who’s an underrated producer helped laced Nas with 2 on the album and rapped alongside his partner Prodigy. Lastly, “If I Ruled the World” featuring Lauryn Hill is one of my top 10 favorite rap songs ever. I first heard the song on the radio and then hearing my fellow classmates singing the hook in school. But it wasn’t till I actually saw the video for the first time that made me become a fan of Nas at the age of 10. I just thought it was a cool video and the way he was smooth with it made it even cooler.

So overall, yeah “Illmatic” gets praised by 98% of rap fans, and rightfully so. Again, don’t get me wrong it was an incredible album. I always felt just by listening to him on Illmatic he was just rapping. I can tell he had that “it’s whatever” attitude because he was so laid back. He hadn’t developed the storytelling style yet and he was new. But again…in my opinion, I have to go along with “It Was Written”. The way Nas stepped it up in his sophomore was amazing. The clever wordplay, song structure, and most importantly production-wise. I never understood why so many call the album a “sellout” album. I just hope it’s not because of the popular single with Lauryn Hill and eye-opening songs like “Black Girl Lost”. Either way, after all these years I still have IWW up there over Illmatic and listed as my top 10 favorite albums of all time.