[Nas-The Message Mp3
Rancul Ratha
It Was Written is the second studio album by American rapper Nas, released on July 2, 1996, by Columbia Records. After the modest commercial success of his debut album Illmatic (1994), Nas pursued a more polished, mainstream sound for It Was Written. Produced largely by Trackmasters, it departed from the debut's raw, underground aesthetic and embraced mafioso and gangsta themes. The recording also marked the first appearance of Nas's short-lived supergroup The Firm, featuring the rappers Foxy Brown, AZ, and Cormega.
Meanwhile, his excessive spending habits left him with little money, and Nas was forced to ask for a loan to purchase clothes to wear to the Source Awards ceremony in 1995. The success of fellow East Coast act The Notorious B.I.G. and promoter Puff Daddy at the awards show sent a message to Nas to change his commercial approach, resulting in his hiring of Steve "The Commissioner" Stoute as manager. While Illmatic attained gold status in the United States, Stoute convinced Nas to aim his efforts in a more mainstream, commercial direction for his second album, after which Nas enlisted the production team Trackmasters, who were known at the time for their mainstream success.[2] Other producers for the album included DJ Premier, Dr. Dre, Havoc of Mobb Deep, L.E.S., Live Squad, and MC Serch as executive producer.[1]
Following the recording, It Was Written was mastered by Tom Coyne at Sterling Sound in New York City. The artist Aime Macauley designed the album cover, while Danny Clinch took photos for the packaging.[1]
In contrast to Illmatic, the album contains a more detailed and elaborate production,[3] while it shares similarity to the G-funk sound, relying heavily on sampled and looped funk grooves.[4] It Was Written has Nas experimenting with a theatrical mafioso concept under the alias of "Nas Escobar" (inspired by the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar).[2] The album's subject matter has been noted for its focus on materialistic excess and other mafioso lyrical themes.[2] Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote of Nas's shift in lyrical themes from Illmatic, stating he "repeatedly cites the Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar and drops brand names of clothes, cars, liquor and guns."[5] Nas also references lines from his previous material, a common element in his music that has been analyzed by one music writer as "return[ing] to his professional beginnings in those references."[6]
The album contains the singles "If I Ruled the World", which features guest vocals from Lauryn Hill, and "Street Dreams". Music critic J.R. Reynolds wrote that the former has Nas "rapping his way to anarchy in an imagined world where he kicks discipline to the curb and good times rule."[4] In the song, he states that he would "open every cell in Attica/send them to Africa".[8] The latter is an account on the impact of drugs in Nas's neighborhood.[12] The song contains smooth bass lines and frail drums,[11] and it features an interpolation of the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" (1983).[10] The album also features guest appearances from Mobb Deep and The Firm, a supergroup which was initially composed of Nas, AZ, Cormega and Foxy Brown.[2] The group makes an appearance on the song "Affirmative Action", a tale of robbery and three characters with mob connections.[13] Brett Berliner of Stylus Magazine described the song's beat as "extremely mafioso, sounding straight out of Goodfellas, with strings and crescendos", while he cited the song as "one of the best posse tracks of all time."[10]
Mobb Deep's Havoc produced two tracks for the album, "The Set Up", a story about revenge, and "Live Nigga Rap", a freestyle performed by Nas and Mobb Deep with hard, gloomy percussion.[11] "Black Girl Lost" is a sympathetic account on the struggle of African-American women.[12] It features vocals by R&B singer Joel "Jo-Jo" Hailey of Jodeci.[11] Music critic Krisex wrote of Nas's lyricism, stating "The L.E.S.-produced song woos heavy rotation while the MC makes the type of passionate perusals that leave lyrical aficionadeos genuflecting at his mike stand."[11] The song's title comes from the book of the same name by pulp writer Donald Goines; his literary work has served as a popular source of reference for many gangsta rap artists.[6] "Nas Is Coming" is a collaboration between Nas and West Coast rapper Dr. Dre. One writer cited it as "more of a gangsta, mainstream tune than anything Nas has ever recorded."[13] The song's opening conversation, a skit,[13] is a discussion between Nas and Dr. Dre about hip hop artists and fans over-concerned with the East Coast-West Coast rivalry, and that the two are producing a song that does not revolve around or contribute to the beef.[14]
It Was Written was generally well-received by critics.[22] Marc Landas of The Source called it an "audio anthology of ghetto stories told by one of hip-hop's most prolific writers."[21] Vibe magazine's Kris Ex criticized the album's "consistently aggressive attempts at pop music", but also wrote that Nas "shines through".[11] Despite calling the album "adequate" and commending Nas for his lyricism and flow, Ex concluded that It Was Written "isn't nearly as satisfying as his first one."[11] NME's Andy Crysell wrote that "Nas's neat, considered lyrics treat the violence that surrounds him with a mixture of remorse, resignation and ebullience."[18] Christopher John Farley of Time stated "The lyrics in It Was Written could be sharper, but the music, energetic and engaging on many tracks, helps drive his message home."[23] Q magazine called Nas's performance "angry, lean and full of drive."[19] Both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times were favorable of the album's sound.[16][15] Los Angeles Times writer Cheo Hodari Coker called the album "poetic", writing that it "demonstrates a continuing lyrical maturity that makes his already potent beats and rhymes all the more compelling".[17] Spin magazine preferred the "reach" of It Was Written to Nas's "more suavely rapped debut", praised the production, and described the songs' choruses as "grainy, pop-savvy".[24]
The album was ranked number 41 in NME's critics' poll of 1996,[28] and Jim Farber of the New York Daily News named it the sixth best album of 1996.[29] German-based magazine Spex ranked it number four on its "End of Year" list,[citation needed] while the UK-based magazine The Face named it the twenty-fourth best album of 1996.[citation needed] "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" was ranked number 29 on NME's Singles of the Year list,[citation needed] and number 20 on The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[30] It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance in 1997.[31]
Leo Stanley of AllMusic later praised Nas's lyricism and ghetto-themed vignettes, along with the album's detailed production.[3] For Stylus Magazine's On Second Thought publication, critic Brett Berliner re-examined the album, discussing its initial impact, and cited it as "one of the first hip-hop albums to straddle the critical and commercial divide successfully."[10] While comparing It Was Written to Illmatic, Berliner stated "It's a seriously good album with a bit of filler, worth of almost all of the praise Illmatic got. This is Nas's second classic, and should be considered one of the best albums of all time."[10] About.com later ranked "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" number 24 on its list of 50 Great Hip Hop Songs,[citation needed] while it also named the song the fourth best R&B/Rap Collaboration.[32]
While later reviews of the album were more positive, the subject matter was still criticized. Reviewers found Nas's violent, fantastical mafioso stories to lack the authentic, emotional qualities of his debut album. While Illmatic is often held as Nas's masterpiece, It Was Written deemed a case of the sophomore slump and the first of his subsequent work to be scrutinized in comparison to the former.[2] However, It Was Written was also viewed as his commercial breakthrough, enhancing the rapper's image in the mainstream and attracting a much larger fanbase.[2] In contrast to the popular consensus, rappers
It Was Written was released on July 2, 1996,[35] selling 270,000 copies in its first week.[36] It peaked at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and debuted at the top of the Billboard 200,[37] remaining on the latter chart at number one for four consecutive weeks, in the top 20 for eleven weeks, and a total of thirty-four weeks in the top 200.[36]
The album's first single "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" peaked at No. 15 on the Hot Rap Singles chart, No. 17 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart and No. 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.[38] The second single "Street Dreams" hit No. 1 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales chart, as well as No. 1 on the Hot Rap Singles chart, while it peaked at No. 18 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks and No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100.[38] On September 6, 1996, It Was Written was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of 2 million copies in the United States.[39] On January 8, 1997, "Street Dreams" was certified Gold in sales by the RIAA for shipments of 500,000 copies.[40]
It Was Written remains Nas's best-selling album.[36] On September 6, 1996, the album was certified 2 platinum, selling over 2 million copies. In 2001, it had reached sales of more than 2.13 million copies.[36] By 2014, the album had sold 2,595,000.[41] On June 24, 2021, it was certified triple platinum by the RIAA.[42]
In addition, West Coast-based rapper Tupac Shakur took offense to the opening line of the song "The Message", and in retaliation insulted Nas on a song titled "Against All Odds" from his posthumously released album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996).[2] In an interview for King magazine, Nas later confirmed that the song was intended as a diss towards The Notorious B.I.G., with the line "There's one life, one love, so there can only be one King."[45] Nas and Shakur eventually met and reconciled prior to the latter's fatal shooting. As a result of his death, Shakur did not have the opportunity to remove the insults to Nas in "Against All Odds" on The 7 Day Theory.[2]
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