Nas – It Was Written. Genre: Hip Hop. My press sounds horrible on A2, 'The Message', sounds like Nas is caged inside a tin can and his voice is echoing under the instrumental. The password for extracting the archives is always “MusicRLS.net” without quotes!
By the time It Was Written was released Nas was being heralded as the best MC in modern rap music after only one album. Illmatic was Nass masterpiece, thoughtful, heartbreaking and powerful as well as raw and scary. It Was Written was a turn in the wrong direction, but the right way in the wrong direction (if this makes any sense).
Nas was beginning his transition from the undergrounds story teller to the mainstreams urban link. The album is full of classic cuts, but the grime lacing every beat on his first album was gone. The lyrics were there, but some of the emotion was gone. Maybe it was the world around Nas changing, or maybe it was changing in himself, but no one can listen to this after Illmatic and not see a change. The lyrics to Nas is Coming are the first sign of the major change, the song begins with a skit (something absent from Ill) about two men, one Nas and the other Doctor Dre, making/smoking drugs. They talk about Nass place in the growing east/west battle and decide its all dumb.
They talk about how Nas is the only sane rapper out there, the only original guy, when ironically enough the song is more of a gangsta, mainstream tune than anything Nas has ever recorded. The song peaks its cheesiness with the chorus, a woman singing a faux sample Nas is coming/ Nas is coming/ Nasty Nas is coming. Nas is Coming does feature some incredible wordplay, but trips on its own squeaky clean Dre production. On the other side of things Nas has some of his best work with I Gave You Power.
Its a brilliant tale from the mind of gun. Quote: Always I'm in some., my abdomen is the clip The barrel is my dick, uncircumcised Pull my skin back and cock me, I bust off when they unlock me Results of what happens to niggaz shock me I see niggaz bleedin runnin from me in fear, stunningly tears fall down the eyes of these so-called tough guys, for years The song is set to a soulful boom-bap beat, the kind we miss from Ill. The song is very reminiscent of older Nas, a very depressing journey through the life of the ghetto, every day, every night, Nas was there. Songs like this show a frustrated young man, seeing his culture around him die.
For some, Nass brand of smart, hardcore rap is the most potent of any music. Anything this deep, dark and dreary that can still inspire hope is a truly great piece of art. As with Illmatic, this album has a main theme. With Ill it was urban life, but in It Was Written, Nas takes a more fantastical Mafioso theme. And the more fantastical Nas gets the more detached his music becomes.
Affirmative Action is the perfect example of this, a tale of three characters, all with mob connections, and Nas dealing with a robberery. The lyrics are there, the delivery is there, but the power and heartbreak is not. For Nas It Was Written is the beginning of the end, he takes one step forward and 4 steps back.
Luckily, for a mainstream rap album, the singles are great. The first, Street Dreams, rewrites the Eurhythmics hit Sweet Dreams into a gritty tale from Queensbridge, NY. Though it pales in comparison to the gigantic tracks before and after it, Street Dreams is a great single, with a spot on beat and intelligent gangsta lyrics. The second single is an instant Nas classic, If I Ruled the World (Imagine That), an uplifting duet with Lauren Hill and Jay-Z (before the beef). Neither songs are amazing, but they are refreshing breaks from songs like Black Girl Lost (a horribly over-produced cheese-fest). Overall the album is far from Ill, but better than most rap at the time.
I guess when DJ Shadow said Hip Hop sucks in 96 he knew what he was talking about. If Illmatic was the kind of nightmare you cant wake up from and dont really want too, then IWW is a regular dream, not quite real but enjoyable all the same.
Nasir Jones continued chasing his Illmatic dreams with his third solo release, He had the respect from the backpackers and the love from the mainstream with his first two albums, and aimed to attract both audiences with a noble concept; a double album, originally titled I Am.The Autobiography, on which every track would serve as a personal glimpse into the life of a rapper from Queensbridge, a stereotype that every white hip hop fan from the suburbs would surely relate to. The problem was that I Am.The Autobiography was among the first albums in hip hop history that was sabotaged by rampant Internet bootlegging before its release date.
Someone (let's be honest, probably someone from within Columbia Records, his label at the time) leaked the second disc online, and fans snatched it up with a quickness usually reserved for Playstation 3 sellouts. Nas then scrapped the concept and decided on a single-disc release, cutting many tracks (some of which would turn up later on Nas's The Lost Tapes) and recording just enough new material to make look like a different animal altogether. We will never really know how Nas's original vision would have sounded, but since we're now stuck with an amended version, let's go ahead with that. ALBUM INTRO Nas's rap album intros leave a lot to be desired. The flashbacks to the first two albums are cool, but the creepy children chanting is very unnecessary. If I wanted creepy children, I'd watch a Japanese horror movie.
Nas's brother Jungle fills in the role of the album's introductory hypeman. NY STATE OF MIND PART 2 DJ Premier and Nas bring us a calculated attempt to appeal to Illmatic's fan base, with a sequel to arguably the best song off of that album.
For anyone else, this song would probably be that next shit. For Nas, this song is extremely weak. But then again, I'm not usually a fan of artists revisiting old themes and expecting similar results. HATE ME NOW (FEAT PUFF DADDY) Puff Daddy appears in the video crucified and pitches a fit, demanding the scene be removed. MTV accidentally airs the uncut version. Puffy takes a champagne bottle to ( Nas's manager) Steve Stoute's dome, and settles out of court. What people don't realize is that this song was not worth all of the controversy and hassle.
People, it sounds like shit. Simple as that. SMALL WORLD People forget that Nas is a pretty good storyteller. This song reinforces that point, even though the beat is fairly simple. FAVOR FOR A FAVOR (FEAT SCARFACE) While the Trackmasters were the producers du jour for It Was Written, L.E.S. Picks up their slack on Scarface is usually reliable, and is pretty decent here, but Nas sounds like he's trying too hard (especially on the chorus), and the beat sounds waaay too polished for the subject matter. WE WILL SURVIVE Nas pays tribute to 2 Pac and The Notorious B.I.G., two artists that he had known beefs with during their respective lifetimes, over a beat which can only be described as sorry.
He does bring up a good point, though, about hip hop being the only major genre of music in which the players aim to physically harm others in the same game. It's a shame. GHETTO PRISONERS Meh. YOU WON'T SEE ME TONIGHT (FEAT AALIYAH) I wrote in my review of It Was Written that Nas's collaborations with Dr. Dre were overrated. (In the comments, someone had mentioned The Firm's 'Phone Tap'. You got me, I forgot about that one.) Another overhyped collaborator of Nas would be Timbaland, who presents a boring-ass track that doesn't fit Nas at all.
Aaliyah, R.I.P. I WANT TO TALK TO YOU But that doesn't mean that I want to listen to your words. Make a better song, Jones, and we'll talk then. KNOCKBOOTS A Trackmasters-produced joke of a song, which is admittedly funny if you've never heard it before today.
The song is beneath Nas, though, and that fact alone tears you up inside. At least, a little bit, anyway. LIFE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT (FEAT DMX) Nas mentions on 'We Will Survive' that his dreams include 'making it big on the movie screen', so it makes sense that his album, released around the same time as his big screen debut Belly, would feature his co-star, DMX. The problem with this concept is that DMX is actually a pretty good (if one-noted) actor, whereas Nas couldn't act his way out of several paper bags in a rainstorm during monsoon season.
BIG THINGS Double meh. NAS IS LIKE The first single. (That's right, kids; 'Hate Me Now' was actually the second single.) DJ Premier and Nas deliver the goods on this album's best song, bar none. K-I-S-S-I-N-G And then he follows that up with this shit.
MONEY IS MY BITCH Just from the title alone, you should be able to discern my opinion of this song. UNDYING LOVE The beat is decent. Sorry, but that's all I got.
FINAL THOUGHTS: was a commercial success, further cementing Nas's place in hip hop history. It does, however, sound pretty awful. This isn't entirely Nas's fault, though, since he didn't get to release the album he wanted. Should people who download music from the internet be held responsible for the album sucking so goddamn much? The bootleggers didn't actually make the music, though; Nasir Jones did. Sorry, Nas fans, but a burn of the 'Best Tracks' is the only recommendation you'll get from me on this one. Isn't really deserving of your time, nor your ears.
BEST TRACKS: ' Nas Is Like'; 'Small World' (Disagree with the above review? Then leave me some comments below! Make your opinions known!) -Max RELATED POSTS. The Most Felonious Vocalist In The Wide World Of Showbusiness The beats on here are definitely weak apart from the obligatory Premier track, so overall I agree with your review. The lyrics are pretty weak as well, but this was the first album that showed Nas's growth toward sociological lyrics.
I remember an interview with Nas where he said that this was also the first album on which he wrote his rhymes to the beat in the studio. I'm against that strategy as it seems to lead to lesser lyrics. My main departure from your review would be that Undying Love is a good story telling track.
The beat is average at best but I like the lyrics enough to compensate, particularly the opening and the part when he says, 'I guess we goin' out like Kamikazis.' I am also entertained by Dr. Knockboot which is definitely beneath Nas but so is the whole idea of trying to appeal to the masses. I actually consider him an artist, unlike most other rappers, even some that I enjoy. But hey, I like money too. AlmightyKD For as good as Nas is lyrically this album blows. I remember buying this first day it came out @ midnight.
I listened to it on the way home and returned the CD 3 days later at HMV. Talk about dissappointment.
There are 4 tolerable tracks on this album, The 2 Primo joints, Small World and Hate Me Know (I just think it's a hip-hop anthem put it on at anytime and I feel unstoppable)I don't even want to talk about it anymore. Very weak attempt at an album by Nas. I'm gonna listen to Capitail Punishment hopefully it can put me in a better mood. Wu-Tang Forever Does anybody know where you can find the original 2nd disc bootleg from The Autobiography nowadays? I downloaded what is supposed to be the original 2 disc set but it could've just been somebody putting tracks that were supposed to be on the album together and claiming it to be the real thing. Here's the tracklist anyway: DISC 1: - 1.
Fetus (Belly Button Window) 2. NY State Of Mind Pt. Life Is What You Make It 4.
Small World 5. Hardest Thing To Do Is Stay Alive 6.
Poppa Was a Playa 7. Nas Is Like 8. Blaze A 50 9. Favor For A Favor 10. We Will Survive 11.
Some Of Us Have Angels 12. Project Windows 13. Day Dreaming, Stay Scheming 14. Sometimes I Wonder 15. Undying Love DISC 2: - 1. After Life (Intro) 2. Amongst Kings 3.
Life We Chose 4. Drunk By Myself 5. God Love Us 7. Ghetto Prisoners 8.
Last Words 9. Come Get Me 11. Find Your Wealth 12. U Gotta Love It 13. Wanna Play Rough 14. The Rise And Fall 15.
My Worst Enemy You can download the bootlegs here: http://smokingsection.uproxx.com/TSS/2008/09/i-am-nastradamus-revisited. All content is Copyright © 2007-2017.
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