Happy 25th Anniversary to Nas’ second studio album It Was Written, originally released July 2, 1996.
From the outset, I must be clear. I am not a member of the movement that hails It Was Written as an album that surpasses Illmatic (1994). Nas’ debut LP happens to be my all-time favorite album, of any genre.
With that said, I’ve had 25 years of brain development since the release of It Was Written to appreciate its full potential and at least attempt to objectively review it. This more objective perspective stands in contract to that of the 14-year-old version of myself, who eagerly anticipated the follow-up to an album that changed my life in 1994 and was disappointed by my favorite rapper’s expansion of artistic expression two years later. I now feel that It Was Written is best understood when judged solely on its own merit. I’ve learned to appreciate It Was Written for its own ambition, which was never intended to be merely Illmatic’s sequel or younger sibling.
For his sophomore effort, Nas reunited with producer Samuel Barnes who had previously gone by the name Red Hot Lover Tone and accompanied Nas and Chubb Rock as a rapper on MC Serch’s 1992 single “Back To The Grill.” Now partnered with Jean-Claude Olivier (Poke) to collectively form the production duo the Trackmasters, Poke & Tone orchestrated the majority of It Was Written’s production.
Starting with the opening song, “The Message,” Nas puts all of his contemporaries on notice by proving to have the most lethal pen in the industry, rhyming, “They let me let y'all ni**as know one thing / there's one life, one love, so there can only be one king / the highlights of living, Vegas style roll dice in linen / Antera spinning on millenniums / twenty G bets I'm winning them / threats I'm sending them, Lex with TV sets the minimum, ill sex adrenaline / party with villains, a case of Demi-Sec to chase the Henny / wet any clique, with the semi TEC who want it.”
The album’s lead single “If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)” is an example of the album’s ambition. Nas taps his Columbia Records labelmate Lauryn Hill to sing one of the most memorable choruses of the era. Still enjoying the success of the Fugees’ The Score, which was released a few months earlier in February 1996, Hill helped the song chart on Billboard’s Hot 100, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, and Hot Rap Tracks. “If I Ruled The World” also secured Nas his very first GRAMMY nomination, in the category of Best Rap Solo Performance.
It Was Written’s second single, “Street Dreams,” followed the success of “If I Ruled The World” soaring higher on Billboard’s Hot 100 (#22) and earning its own Gold certification. A great example of Nas’ lyrical depth, he expands upon the dark but lucid narratives of eyewitness accounts inside the Queensbridge Housing Projects to script his novella of a hustler’s ambition. With the lines, “With the glaze in my eye, that we find when we crave / dollars and cents, a fugitive with two attempts / Jakes had no trace of the face, now they drew a print / though I'm innocent, ‘til proven guilty / I'ma try to get filthy, purchase a club and start up realty / for real G, I'ma fulfill my dream / if I conceal my scheme, then precisely I'll build my cream,” Nas paints a picture as vivid as any chapter from a Donald Goins novel.
Although acclaimed producers Large Professor, Pete Rock, and Q-Tip were sorely missed on Nas’ second outing, DJ Premier does return to assist with one of the LP’s highlights, “I Gave You Power.” Nas’ first-person narrative of a reluctantly well-traveled firearm stands out to elevate Nas’ resume as one of hip-hop’s premier lyricists, if not the most superior of them all.
“Affirmative Action” formally introduces the hip-hop supergroup The Firm, which originally consisted of frequent collaborator AZ, fellow Queensbridge Housing native Cormega (later replaced by Nature), and protégé Foxy Brown. All four emcees offer stellar performances and frequently referenced rhymes that make the song an all-time favorite posse cut in rap circles worldwide.
Mobb Deep’s Havoc helps anchor the album for Nas’ hardcore loyalists with his two tracks “The Setup” and “Live Ni**a Rap.” The latter is one of the most cherished lyrical sparring bouts between Nas and Prodigy, reinforcing the notion that the two emcees always managed to pull the best from one another.
Produced by Dr. Dre, “Nas Is Coming” doesn’t deliver on its high, star-quality expectations in my humble opinion, whereas “Take It In Blood” overachieves with the production from veteran team Live Squad. Additional infamy from this collaboration arose later in 1996, with 2Pac’s posthumous release of The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, which disparagingly mentions Nas several times by name and references Shakur’s falling out with Live Squad member Stretch.
In retrospect, Nas began recording It Was Written with as much organically grown street credibility as any artist has ever mustered. He used his lyrical prowess as industry capital and hired Steve Stoute as his manager, who helped deliver a big-budget album that returned on every investment. It Was Written’s videos helped elevate director Hype Williams to the head of his class for visual storytelling and extended the credibility of the Trackmasters as bona fide hit-makers. Most importantly, It Was Written was successful in elevating Nas and his brand of lyricism to worldwide mainstream audiences, where he could rightfully receive acclaim as one of the most prolific creative minds of his generation.
Lyrically, It Was Written doesn’t stray far from its glaringly reality-based predecessor, but the theatrically optimistic production led by Poke & Tone helped define the era alongside other 1996 album of the year contenders Reasonable Doubt (Jay-Z) and Ironman (Ghostface Killah). Now with 25 years’ worth of reflection, It Was Written proved successful in helping Nas achieve his greatest commercial success, while offering convincing testament for lifelong fans like myself to passionately argue that Nas is arguably the greatest and most well-rounded lyricist that hip-hop has ever seen and heard.
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