Nas - It Was Written (June 28, 1996)

'Twas the late 1990s, and all through the entertainment industry worldwide, shit was fucking good. Well, except if you're a movie buff. Anyways, some of the very best video games of all time were released in that period, including, among many more that escape me at the moment, the Metal Gear Solid series, the Resident Evil series and the Legacy Of Kain series. Fighting games and beat 'em ups were still very popular as the Tekken series, the Street Fighter series, the King Of Fighters series and its many offshoots were riding high, and my favorite fighting game series of all friggin' time, Bloody Roar, had debuted its first two installments, with BR2 being the series' peak from a presentation standpoint, in said period. Like I said, shit was fucking good.

However, there was one sector of the entertainment industry that I was completely oblivious to, which was the music industry. We simply didn't have in our local stores the variety that most stores worldwide had. All of them local stores we got only cared about the fucking radio hits, and I've eventually discovered what every modern music fan knows by now that radio blows. Over time, though, I found that I've grown quite fond of a particular form of modern music, hip hop. And since then, I've learned that there was a Golden Era of hip hop music, when everyone was creatively competing with each other at the highest level and constantly testing themselves to bring out the very best material they can put out. I'm not going to pinpoint the exact time this era ended, but I will say that ever since 1983, hip hop music has never been the same.

One of the many lynchpins of this genre that was considered essential listening by every single person who came across it was a little piece of work called Illmatic. This album consisted of 9 tracks and an intro, on which one MC waxed poetic about every single thought he could think of for 8 tracks while the ninth was utilized as a duet between him and some unknown dude. After Illmatic's release, though, everybody in hip hop music knew and appreciated that MC, named Nas. Hell, his work was so loved that the nobody who rapped alongside him, AZ, established a full-fledged 20-year career and dropped some quality records of his own during said career. But was this love justified? Listen to the goddamn album and judge for yourself. Key word: Listen. So naturally, the pressure was on regarding the eventual sophomore album very commonly greenlit by the fuckfaces at every label in existence.

Nas' alleged direction, aided by the help of one MC Serch, was to do a full album collaboration with Queensbridge hip hop legend Marley Marl. I'll let that sink in for a moment. But, at the same time, Nas was nagged about something: Constantly brought to his attention was the fact that Illmatic sold zilch off the gate, with it going gold almost two years after its release. That was considered a major catastrophe by the aforementioned label fuckfaces, so they advised Nassy to fire Serch, abandon his direction entirely and head for a new one with dollar signs in his eyes, with the aid of new manager Steve Stoute and production team the Trackmasters. I'm not saying anything here, just mentioning my resentment at not being able to hear that supposed album come to fruition. Back to the subject at hand, Stoute certainly worked his magic, but even he wasn't stupid enough to forget that Nas came from an underground background that had to be catered to and relayed that approach to said Trackmasters. They convinced Nas that an entry in mafioso rap was the way to go. Personal side note: I'll always have a bit of a soft spot for early Trackmasters work, as they've produced the very first hip hop song I've ever heard back in my childhood: The Monstars Anthem off the Space Jam OST, which I still view as a good song. Good times.

Now, ever since Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan's lauded solo debut Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... reinvented mafioso rap as a viable, metaphor-filled theme for hip hop music in 1995, many figures in the entire industry jumped right on the bandwagon, resulting in many an abomination by infinitely lesser-skilled rappers who failed to realize that OB4CL was a highly-focused album with many important factors contributing to its success, with the exception of acts such as Nas' boy AZ, who wasn't as successful as one might think with his debut Doe or Die, mainly because of the absence of a proper producer who truly understands how to come up with an original image using said theme and whose production matches AZ's lyrical skill. Now, on the flipside, there were some who understood enough of the mafioso rap formula to come up with their own successful visions, such as, oh I don't know, HHT’s lord and savior Jay-Z, who released Reasonable Doubt to much critical acclaim. Nas' fellow QB natives Mobb Deep, fresh off the success of their sophomore album The Infamous, fit the mafioso theme like a glove as well. So Nas had plenty of influence around him to produce a sizeable entry into the mafioso subgenre.

Enter It Was Written. Nas released the lead single, If I Ruled The World (Imagine That), with red-hot Fugees member Lauryn Hill to the elation of radio stations everywhere, which paved enough groundwork for It Was Written to sell a shitload of copies (to be precise, over two million) in three months, a far cry from the Illmatic sales climb. But, the important quest to ask was: Was the album any good?

ALBUM INTRO
I know for a fact that Nas recorded this out of his ass. Please, do yourself a huge favor and skip this shit.

THE MESSAGE
Nas allegedly aims a diss at both 2Pac and Biggie on a Trackmasters beat sampling Sting? I don't know how they made it work, but this song is awesome. Nas sets the mafioso platform up perfectly for the rest of the album, as well.

STREET DREAMS
I liked this track, as well. This is a continuation of the themes present in the previous song and throughout the album. I'm actually surprised everyone balked at this album while singing the praises of other lyrically similar albums, namely one such album, where an expensive clothing line is name dropped every two seconds on most of said album. I won't say its name, you know the one I'm talking about. This song also heated up Nas' beef with 2Pac, as they both sampled the same source material, although I'll admit that I feel the Trackmasters flipped the Linda Clifford sample leagues better.

I GAVE YOU POWER
Simply put: A hip hop landmark. Nas raps from the viewpoint of an inanimate object, which has been done before and since. Which doesn't really matter, though, if the execution is fucking brilliant. All this is possible, of course, with DJ Premier's wizardry as he concocts a brilliant slow-driven 20-second loop from Eric Gale's Forecast that transforms into a breathtaking beat sampling the legendary Ahmad Jamal. This time, Nas chooses to lyrically embody a gun and lets loose with some of the greatest lyrics & concepts ever put to a Primo beat. This was awesome.

WATCH DEM N****S (FEATURING FOXY BROWN)
The Trackmasters are back sampling hip hop lynchpin Bob James in a beat that provides Nas a canvas for painting a vivid portrait of betrayal. This hit in all the right notes and as a plus, Foxy Brown is restricted to the hook. Yay!

TAKE IT IN BLOOD
2Pac’s former best friend, the late Stretch, produces a gem of a beat sampling soul band the Fantastic Four, complete with a sweet Kool Keith sample, that one can only appreciate when listening through the entire album and not skipping to the fucking singles. Nas re-enters his lyrical home turf when bragging and throwing in some cultural references and he sounds fucking great doing so, which is to be expected. You have no idea how happy I am that he kept this style from his debut.

NAS IS COMING
Here's where everybody is brought to a freaking halt. What in the blue horsefuck is Rommell Young doing on a Nas album? Nevertheless, I'm of the camp that the song sounds great, even if Nas' second verse is absolute gibberish. Dre really dug deep for Nas, as he sampled, among other things, two seconds from a fucking Scooby Doo episode. I guess RZA's outlandish approach to production got his creative juices pumping and he wanted to flex some production muscle. I repeat, this is a great song. (Disagree? Comment section. Now.)

AFFIRMATIVE ACTION (FEATURING THE FIRM)
Poke & Tone return to the fold with Dave Atkinson to lay down a beat worthy of The Firm's only commercially released track. I'm talking about the real Firm lineup, of course. AZ, Cormega & Nas sound like relatives who've been practicing their verses for the school play for 16 years, meaning that their chemistry is undeniable, and Foxy Brown allegedly recites her ass off. Yeah, because allegedly her rhymes were never hers, as they were allegedly ghostwritten by Jay-Z. Personally? I believe the allegations and I will not be convinced otherwise. (Don't like what you're reading, Foxy? Voice your discomfort in the comments section!)

THE SET UP (FEATURING HAVOC)
Nas brings Havoc, fresh off discovering his calling as a producer on The Infamous, (even if his production peak was only for like 4 years, said peak was masterful.) to the fold and requests a beat for him to bludgeon to death. Havoc gladly obliges, so in return, Nas places him on the hook for the motherfucker. The end result is something I would've gladly welcomed on a Mobb Deep album. Back when they were in their prime, of course. You will never catch me listening to that fucking Blood Money travesty. Anyways, this song knocks in all the wanted ways.

BLACK GIRL LOST (FEATURING JO-JO)
Oh, was this ever a misfire. Nobody, I repeat, nobody was checking for any rapper to act holier-than-thou and chastise women when he's out getting his fuck on (pun very much intended) with groupies every other night. Even though the beat by P&T and LES was kind of technically proficient with the Stephanie Mills sample, Nas cuts even further and sings the hook in the presence of Jo-Jo. I mean, my dude, what is the point of bringing one half of Jodeci, a popping 90s R&B act if I ever saw one, if all you're gonna give him is a lame-ass outro that sounds simply awkward. Fuck this song.

SUSPECT
LES is out for redemption, bringing with him a beat so deeply rooted in gritty mid-90s NY tradition, especially in its sampling of Chuck Mangione & Quincy Jones, which is thankfully right up Nas' alley. He then takes this opportunity to weave one of the timeless crime stories told in the mafioso subgenre, thereby establishing himself as one of its grandmasters. Seriously, props to all parties involved in this masterpiece.

SHOOTOUTS
I swear, it's like the Trackmasters are mostly remembering their origins as producers of Kool G Rap's classic Ill Street Blues, as they sample the famous opening blaring horns from The Avengers 1965 TV series theme then follow it up with brilliant use of the prevalent Al Green sample. Furthermore, this track is lyrically a continuation of the winning form of the previous song, with Nas weaving another epic crime tale for your listening pleasure. Nice!

LIVE NIGGA RAP (FEATURING MOBB DEEP)
Mobb Deep finally grace this album with their overdue presence. And their chemistry with Nassy here is infectious. Havoc returns behind the boards for a magnificent beat on which Prodigy sets us off with an immortal verse he originally wrote for CNN's classy response to Tha Dogg Pound's seminal New York, New York, conveniently titled LA, LA (Do yourself a favor. If you've never heard LA, LA yet, get the Kuwait Mix version, as Marley Marl’s beat is fucking bananas.) And you know what? He was wrong to abandon that song and jump on this one, even though this is still dope as fuck. Anyway, his verse takes the cake early on, as Havoc and Nas play catch up, with Nas yielding better results than P's partner, as usual. Still, all who was featured on this song made it the classic it's supposed to be.

IF I RULED THE WORLD (IMAGINE THAT) (FEATURING LAURYN HILL)
The lead single and the song responsible for It Was Written's massive commercial success. You know, aside from the promotion, the tours, the public appearances, the press conferences, the interviews, etc. The Trackmasters straight up jacked the first loop of Whodini's Friends for this beat, and I'll admit, Nas freaks it better than the source material. Yes, he carved his own identity into the beat, doing so with the aid of the ever-talented Lauryn Hill on the vocals, who chooses to interpolate both Kurtis Blow and The Delfonics and somehow makes it work. Thereby providing the opportune canvas for our host to wax poetic about his dreams of ending the ghetto prison, with some rap cliches thrown in for good measure. For what it was, this was pretty damn good.

Almost every version besides the US CD version has the following track:


SILENT MURDER
Stretch RIP returns for my favorite track on this entire album with a surprisingly haunting loop of a Soul II Soul sample, on which Nas spits rhymes of various imagery about life in the ghetto mixed with sly social commentary as only a true hip hop poet can.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
A ton of people hate this album and vilify it as the point where Nas' lyrics fell off into irrelevancy. I say to every single one of them: Give me some of what you're smoking. ALL of your favorite mafioso albums weaved the exact same picture as this album here, with Nas sometimes even besting his peers. Nas paid proper respect to the standard set by Raekwon's Purple Tape by crafting his own mafioso vision with the highest of focus. And, because every human piece of work is flawed, there were some slip-ups. But they sure as hell didn't detract from the overall experience. It certainly helped that Nas had the Trackmasters heighten their focus on the overall sound of this album to match his, with the remaining guest producers all doing a phenomenal job. So, while cohesion was never one of Nas' strong points in album crafting, here I say: This album is by far the Nas album I revisit the most. Yes, even more than Illmatic.

WORTH IT?
You bet your sweet ass, it is. Don't let the negative hype fool you: This is a quality album that deserves to be in your collection.

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