Nas Album: “It Was Written [Clean]”

Even some hardcore Nas fans sleep on how classic this album is. True, Illmatic is, and will always be not just Nas' greatest album, but Hip-Hop's greatest album as well. But with It was Written, Nas displays a creativity that exceeds any other album in the genre. His story-telling is flawless. Many sleep on the stories he tells throughout the album:

-2nd verse-The message, with a timeless quotable: A thug changes, and love changes, and best friends become strangers

-Of course, the brilliant extended metaphor, I Gave You Power rapped from the perspective of a gun. Also notice how the skit at the end of Street Dreams leads straight into it. Brialliant!

-last verse-watch Dem Niggaz-I slept on this story until I listened close enough. "The old timers, advise you to the drama that's ahead drama with the feds, not listnening just bobbing your head. Nas paints pictures with his words.

-The Set Up

-First verse-Suspect, which I believe is the best story he tells on the album. I can imagine a movie scene because he paints the picture so vividly.

That only tells half the story though. (no pun intended) The production is top notch. Nas was laced with beats that match his vocals almost perfectly.

2.The Message-10/10 Great beat and sick lyrics. "1 life, 1 love, 1 king

3.Street Dreams-10/10 Classic beat, with the lyrics to match

4.I gave You Power-10/10 Classic concept song

5.Watch Dem Niggaz-10/10 Slept on classic with mellow beat. "I got no game it's just some b****es understand my story"

6.Take It In Blood-10/10 Another Classic with scratches on the hook, classic beat and Nas kills it.

7.Nas is Coming-9.5/10 Not quite classic only because it seems like filler to me, but hot nontheless. The hook doesn't do it for me, but the beat and Nas' lyrics are correct

8.Affirmative Action-10/10 4 Hot verses from The firm, Nas comes with the best verse, but only because Foxy didn't write her verse.

9.The Set Up-9.5/10 Haoc laces Nas with a nasty beat and kills the hook. Nas lyrics are there like always.

10.Black Girl Lost-10/10 Great message and a great first verse.

11.Suspect-20/10 SLEPT ON!!! CLASSIC!!! HOOK IS FIRE LYRCIS ON ANOTHER LEVEL! BEAT IS PERFECT FOR THE SONG

12.Shootouts-9/10 nice song, great hook and beat but Nas flow and words fall just a little bit.

13.Live Nigga Rap-10/10 Another Classic collabo wit the Mobb. Nas murders Mobb like always but Prodigy came nice.

14.If I Ruled The Wordl-10/10 Timeless Classic, Nas kicks knowledge with great singing from Ms. Lauryn Hill.

Nasir Jones' follow up LP to the already classic "illmatic" was widely succesful. A near classic.

1) Intro - 9/10

2) The message - 10/10 - Nice NY state of mind sample *CLASSIC*

3) Street dreams - 8/10 Not really feeling this one, loved the line "I thought Jordans and a gold chain was living it up." Truly street dreams.

4) I Gave You Power - 10/10. JUST WOW... Nas tells a story through the point of view of a gun. This inspired Tupac to make "Me and my girlfriend"

5) Watch Dem Ninjas - 8/10 -It's alright.

6) Take it Blood - 10/10 Classic

7) Nas is coming - 7/10 - Produced by Dre. The conversation between God's son and dre about squashing the east coast west coast beef gets annoying after a few listens. It takes up over

a minute before the song begins.

8) Affirmative Action - 10/10

9) Set up - 9/10

10) Black girl lost - 10/10 This song was directed towards Carmen (nas's ex who had an affair with Jay-Z)

11) Suspect - 8/10

12) Shootouts - 10/10 *HOT BEAT, HOT LYRICS*

13) Live Ninja Rap - 10/10

14) If I rule the world - 10/10 The best song on the album, lauryn hill on the hook.

Nas often claims his work is constantly evolving and many critics did not like this album but God only knows why because it is eons better than most other hip-hop albums and is every bit as interesting as Illmatic was. It plays like a mini-movie with some great narratives and is responsible for creating those intro themes (here we get black slaves in chains who desire escape and change while saying the word 'damn' as they are whipped by their masters) that every other hip-hop album tried to copy after. If you love Illmatic then you will want It Was Written and pretty much everything else the King of NY decides to mic onto a recording device. This is genius at work.

Oh my gosh! Has everyone lost respect for Nas? How could you! I guess I'm his only fan!

Anyway, let's break it down:

Intro - Nice beat after the slavery scene. Not much to say about it though.

The Message - I skip this one a lot. Mostly because there are better tracks. Don't get me wrong, this is tight, but you might find your self skippinig this a lot. 9/10

Street Dreams - Many would consider this the best track on the whole album, but I don't. This is ONE of the best. He used the idea from "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These)". Nas proves his verbal crime record on this track. 10/10

I Gave You Power - I think Nas should make other songs like this. This is hands down the most creative on the whole CD. 9/10

Take It In Blood - In my opinion, the second best track. The beat is ill, and so are Nas' powerful words. 10/10

Watch Dem N*g*a* - Laid back, mellow track. For a minute I thought DJ Quik produced this! Nas' makes a statement in this song that probably anyone can connect to! 9/10

Nas Is Comin' - People say the skip this. I see no reason why. It strengthened the bond between the east and west. Plus a funky beat/lyrics. 9/10

Affirmitive Action - This features everyone on the group called 'The Firm'. This is a good song. AZ does a great job with chorus. 9/10

The Set Up - A story. I don't like the beat, for it gets annoying after a while. None the less a great story though! 8/10

Black Girl Lost - This is an outstanding track. The beats, lyrics, theme, everytihng was perfect. Nas did good. 10/10

Suspect - One of my favorites. Terrific beat, lyrics and the theme. "Rebel to america civilization caught ya sleepin... BlAoW!" 10/10

Shootouts - Nice track, just like 'The Set Up' the beat might get annoying, but still Nas flows nice. 9/10

Live N***A Rap - Ahh my favorite! Also in my opinion the best. It has that classic Mobb Deep loop. And also those classic Mobb Deep vocals. Yup! Nas collaborated with Mobb Deep! Could it get any better? 15/10

If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)- Well, you should know if you don't, Nas got the idea from Kurtis Blow's original song "If I Ruled The World". But that doesn't mean the song is bad now does it? 9/10

Well, Nas never got under an 8/10, so that means this is probably a classic. It's worth buying, but many other people think otherwise. This is still the classic Nas. Buy I Am... also. Streets Disciple is also great too!

Anyway, It Was Written should be added to your collection, or even you could start here!

-Johnny!

With only his second formal contribution to the rap scene, Nasir manages to vividly recreate the world of gangsters and murders, the political arena of his age, as well as a world of hope, and all in one tidy bundle of ill rhymes, an incredible vocabulary and a deeply analytical intellect. His unique flow calls for nothing more than admiration, respect no doubt, and has sparked an endless trail of 'wannabe' rappers attempting carbon copies of his inimitable material. Illmatic blazed, sparkled, shimmered, and shocked when it first appeared. General opinion has it that no future Nas production could possibly have reproduced that debut effort. But indeed every Nas release since 1995 has superceded its antecedent. Illmatic is no more than an introduction, an hors d'ouevre to the unparalleled talent Nas displays. It Was Written, I Am...,Nastradamus, Stillmatic, The Lost Tapes, God's Son - each is a masterpiece in its own right and the succession of titles shows an evolution of style, form, production and certainly of wisdom. Each boasts Nas at his best - the best of his kind, the best of his age, the best to ever grace the hip hop field.