NAS: "It Was Written" album review
Known Universe
The bomb?
Mind blowing?
Illmatic Part 2?
Well...no, no and definitely no.
The track listing on the vinyl and CD goes like this:
1. Album Intro: kind of corny. It starts out with the sound of a
slave being whipped in the background, and Nas saying stuff like "I'm
sick of eating chitlins and shit all day...there's no place for a
nigga around here." Nas in this case is playing the role of the
slave, deciding to move on in both a physical and metaphysical sense.
I dunno, for me it came off as, like I said, kind of corny, lacking
the atmosphere of ghetto grittiness that "The Genesis" had to offer.
The Genesis was one of the few intros in hip-hop history that was
worth listening to just for the beat, and that was actually relevant
to the rest of the album - besides providing a great setup for the
masterpiece "N.Y. State of Mind". This intro is definitely
fast-forward material, in my opinion.
2. The Message: a fat track, and a great way to start the album. It
features an ill mandolin loop and scratching by Kid Capri (during the
break he cuts up "I ain't the type of brother made for you to start
testin"). This cut is kinda of low-key, melancholy and reflective,
and its subject matter is typical Queensbridge street life (although
it features some ill lines like "but a thug changes/and love
changes/and best friends become strangers"). Definitely one of the
tightest songs on the album.
3. Street Dreams: Yup, it uses the chorus from the Eurhythmics'
"Sweet Dreams (are made of this)". The beat is funky and thick, but
gets monotonous and Nas does his best Foxxy Brown imitation ("I want
it all, armorall Benz/with endless papes"..."she got me back living
sweeter, fresh caesar/guess, David Robinsons, Wally moccasins/bitches
blow me while hopping in the drop-top BM"). Overall this song isn't
that great...mediocre at best in my opinion. The chorus is pretty
corny.
4. I Gave You Power - while preceded by an annoying little intro skit
about a kid shooting somebody and then having to stash the gun, this
provides one of the album's high points - no surprise since it's the
only track produced by DJ Premier. The power referred to is that of a
gun, and in an interesting twist Nas takes the weapon's point of view.
The chorus chants: "How you like me now? I go *blow*/it's the shit
that moves crowds/makin' every ghetto foul/I might've took your first
child/scarred your life, crippled your style/I gave you power, I made
you buckwild". The beat is classic Primo: slow, dark, relentless and
eerie. It features a piano loop intertwined with some subdued
violins. Surprisingly, there's no cutting of any phrase in the
chorus. A good song, but still...not as good as most would expect
from a pairing between perhaps the top lyricist and producer in the
game. It pales in comparison to former collaborations like "N.Y.
State of Mind", "Represent", and "Memory Lane". If this was a song in
the middle of an album, somthing like Life's A Bitch on Illmatic, it
would be really dope, but it's not really strong enough to be a
centerpiece song.
5. Watch Dem Niggas - all you die-hard East Coast heads look out. I
guarantee that when this track starts, you'll expect to hear The Twins
or Warren G come in on it. Seriously, no offence to all you
G-Funkers, but it has the *ack* synthesizers on it. The track isn't
necessarily bad, and is mad laid back, but somehow I just expect more
than this radio-friendly Lex-driving dodging-the-jakes Big Poppa kind
of stuff. It's just not really inspired. Not fast-forward, but
close.
6. Take It In Blood - a beat reminiscent of Mobb Deep production has
Nas speaking about the Escobar shit yet again. No surprises here, and
nothing to get excited over either. The drum track reminds me of
Notorious BIG's Juicy, although that had a lot more feeling and
thought to it.
7. The Set Up - produced by Havoc of Mobb Deep, it features the
Infamous' trademark dark, echoey sound made popular in songs like
Still Shinin' and Shook Ones Part II. Unfortunately the beat is once
again monotonous and doesn't really hold your attention; it lacks the
hypeness of either one of those songs. Nas raps about one of his
friends getting shot and his crew going back and making the hit.
Yawn.
8. Black Girl Lost - while this song is _very_ R&B tinged, it can be
considered this album's "Life's A Bitch". This song holds weight in
my opinion, speaking upon the way black women disrespect themselves by
giving up the dugout for material things or just to screw men around.
This song features the most insightful lyrics on the album, presenting
that little slice of life so prevalent on Illmatic. "Like Isis, she
got your heart broken, felt lifeless/grow up girl, you said you want
revenge so now you acting nicest/to whoever's getting down and
triflest/to get his mind all you do is give him something priceless".
Fresh. Produced by L.E.S., so rest assured there's an R&B song
somewhere that has been completely jacked. But still fresh.
9. Suspect - this song alerts witnesses of crimes to watch their
backs. The beat is boring and monotonous, and the chorus sounds kind
of wack. He kicks some fat lyics ("descendants made of early natives
that were captured and taught to think backwards"). But more or less
filler.
10. Shootouts - while produced by the Trakmasterz, this is perhaps
the most blatant attempt to mimic a Rza beat I've ever heard. It
sounds like a typical Rza beat, just one big loop with little Keyboard
loop that sounds like it's from a Kung-Fu movie. It will remind you
of a million Wu-Tang songs, and I for one could care less about what
Nas said on this track since it's neither interesting or insightful.
Subject matter is his crew throwing a block party, some niggas with
guns coming to break it down, a shootout ensues and the police come
and kill his opponents. Once again, yawn.
11. Nas Is Coming - produced by Dr. Dre. I'm sorry, but I just can't
handle Nas rapping over what sounds like a recycled Dogg Pound beat
with a WACK R&B chorus..."Nas Is Coming, Nas Is Coming"...how
original. This song also reminds me heavily of "Peel Their Caps Back"
by Ice-T, but without the atmosphere. I don't even think that Dre
fans will like this one. It sure as hell isn't California Love.
Fucking awful.
12. Affirmative Action - the intro to this song really gives it
atmoshphere, with AZ saying "So this is it huh...this is what they
want...people don't understand the four devils - lust...envy...hate...
jealous...wicked niggas". Unfortunately, Cormega sounds just like Big
Noyd and says the same thing that the Noydster does. And Foxxy Brown
is as predictable as ever: "I keep a phat Marquis piece/laced in all
the illest snakeskin/armani sweaters, carolina, herrara"...and then
she goes on about bagging grams, selling and importing drugs,
etcetera. Just another disappointing track. At least it has another
interesting guitar/mandolin [?] loop though. Nothing special.
13. Live Nigga Rap - Featuring Mobb Deep, not a bad track but once
again nothing special. That seems to be the theme for this album -
sounds amazing on paper, but in practice it's just mediocre. Mobb
Deep says the same damn thing they always say, but at least Nas comes
with an inspired verse. The beat is nothing special, pretty
nodescript uptempo Mobb Deep-ish beat. Blah.
14. If I Ruled the World - this track has been discussed to death,
and anyone that's going to buy this album has already heard it so I
won't touch it.
Well, there you go. Overall, I think that this album is only worth
the money to die-hard Nas fans that have liked all of his shit no
matter what. If you thought his shit on AZ's album wasn't that good,
then you might want to steer clear of this one. In fact, this reminds
me of AZ's album a lot - decent lyrics but the production lacks
severely on the whole. To illustrate, if you put "Rather Unique" on
this album it'd be the best track by far just by virtue of the Pete
Rock production. This album shows you what mediocre production can do
to any artist, no matter _how_ dope his lyrics are.
The cover art is the same as Illmatic, with Nas' grown-up face
superimposed over the same picture. I thought that this was cheesy
and unoriginal at best, ridiculous at worst. A disappointment. One
redeeming quality is that all lyrics are included (although horribly
transcribed). But to me that doesn't really matter, since I won't be
reading them when this album is gathering dust in my crate and I'm
bumping Stakes Is High.
You know, I never thought I'd actually be recommending that people
_not_ buy a Nas album. I guess the unthinkable has happened.
peace
Known Universe
----------
"So much to say but I still flow slow."
----------
Steve Wei
maaan.
if the album is how you said, excuse me for I must go mourn.
peace.
styles, mb
Greg Pugliese
Damn, it's definitely a sad state of affairs in hip-hop when someone can
recommend NOT buying a Nas album. My question is, why not more Primo
tracks? Seems like Primo would be more than happy to supply tracks for
Nas after the success of Illmatic.
I haven't heard the album yet, but if it is the way you describe it, i
agree with your analysis. But i'd say everybody should buy it, if only
because Illmatic was a classic and we should support Nas. Although i
must admit, even though i'll definitely buy it, it makes me sick to know
the album features Foxxy Brown and yet more Mafioso/materialistic bullshit.
GJP
shawn wilson
Known Universe has totally misrepresented Nas' new album. The shit is
phat, phatter and all of that. Known Universe's opinion is so
reminiscent of other peoples opinion when Illmatic came out. You
have to sit and listen to his lyrics as it brings you along for a
lyrical journey that you will never recover from. The pure poetry
that "It Was Written" consists of, makes ANY hip hop album worth the
money....I hate to dis Known because some of his posts are usually on
point, but on this day he must have woke up in a pissed off mode and
decided to listen to the album and post his opinions. The shit is
the BOMB and anybody who does not go out and get the album based on
his bullshit explanations and reasons why he thinks it was weak need
not be in the hip hop game.....Peace and 1........
Known Universe
Greg Pugliese <gp...@wam.umd.edu> wrote:
I know...it makes you wonder what's up when Nas can't scrounge up
maybe one Primo beat, one Pete Rock beat, a couple of Large Professor
beats, whatever. Or hell, maybe even Beatminerz or Beatnuts or
something other than Trackmasters. The way it stands on the vinyl is,
out of 14 tracks:
1 Primo track
1 Dr. Dre track
1 Live Squad track
2 tracks produced by Havoc of Mobb Deep
2 tracks produced by L.E.S.
7 Trackmasters tracks
I swear, just by looking at that it's so easy to tell that it's a
weakly-produced album. And when Nas is totally on some Columbian
CREAM-type shit the weak production becomes inexcusable. I agree,
listen to the album yourself and judge for yourself. But, in my
opinion the album is mad weak, cliched, and predictable. It shows no
innovation whatsoever, and instead of being "Illmatic Part 2" it's
simply "Doe or Die Part 2". And to think I was a die-hard Nas fan
before June 29, 1996...
Y'know, I was thinking. They were right when they said that Nas was
the next Rakim. Why? He released one amazing album and then all the
rest had garbage production aside from a couple of songs on each.
Makes you wonder how De La does it.
Known Universe
Illm...@msn.com (shawn wilson) wrote:
Damn right my post was on point. What I posted was my intial gut
reaction to the album. "Reminiscent of other people's opinions when
Illmatic came out"? Guy, the reason why I reacted so harshly to It
Was Written was because of the _love_ I have for Illmatic as an album.
To me, it is easily one of the top 5 albums of all time. I would
hardly call It Was Written a "lyrical journey". To where? Columbia?
The state pen? I swear, it just disgusts me that rap has become so
pathetic to the point that a rapper with such props as Nas...such
genuine respect...such talent...thinks nothing of talking about keys,
Lexuses, BMs and all that trendy garbage, not to mention the fact that
he gets some of the weakest production in hip-hop when he deserves the
best. But wait, since half of the beats on the album sound like they
should be backing Tupac, he'll probably sell a million right? It
kills me. It's truly sad. Innovation is truly out of style. Nas may
make new fans off of this album, but I'm totally confident that he'll
alienate most of his older fans that have been following him since
Live at the BBQ.
And bear in mind that that review was my opinion, and anyone that
doesn't buy/listen to the album just because I say it's wack has
problems anyways. I didn't wake up that day in pissed off mode,
listening to a half-assed effort by Snoop Doggy Nas put me in pissed
off mode.
seNsiOne
On Sun, 30 Jun 1996 18:32:26 -0400, Greg Pugliese <gp...@wam.umd.edu>
wrote:
>Damn, it's definitely a sad state of affairs in hip-hop when someone can
>recommend NOT buying a Nas album. My question is, why not more Primo
>tracks? Seems like Primo would be more than happy to supply tracks for
>Nas after the success of Illmatic.
>I haven't heard the album yet, but if it is the way you describe it, i
>agree with your analysis. But i'd say everybody should buy it, if only
>because Illmatic was a classic and we should support Nas.
illmatic was a classic yes, but if nas' new joint is wack why should
we support it?? Supporting it says that we will take ANYTHING a
skilled lyricist dishes up at us, maybe if we dont support this album
nas will realise that his supporters expect FAR more from him than
some ol' mafioso bullshit.... Im yet to hear the album, but from
Known's review i've decided to aactually listen to the album before I
buy it (something i never thought i'd have to do when it came to NAS)
I for one will not give up my hard earned dollars for a sub-par
album... especially from someone as skilled as nas............who we
all know could do so much better than it _seems_ he's done.....
sensiONE
phatline productenz......96
seNsiOne
>I know...it makes you wonder what's up when Nas can't scrounge up
>maybe one Primo beat, one Pete Rock beat, a couple of Large Professor
>beats, whatever. Or hell, maybe even Beatminerz or Beatnuts or
>something other than Trackmasters. The way it stands on the vinyl is,
>out of 14 tracks:
Didnt i read/hear somewhere that Extra P did afew cuts for the album,
but wasnt sure they'd be put on??
If im correct here maybe the released tracks were more of a label
decission......Damn and primo coulda done more....(the whole fuckin
album!) i mean damn SEVEN wackmasters tracks !
Oh and didnt nas say in a HHC interview that this gambino/mafioso shit
needed to stop..... and here he goes contradicting himself......
i was sayin 6 months ago that i was scared this album would be on some
mafioso bullshit..... guess i mighta been right......
oh well still got de la and maybe tribe and roots and ras kass (will
he EVER be released?) to look forward to.........
sensiOne
phatline productenz...96
Greg Wilson
Known Universe wrote:
I would
> hardly call It Was Written a "lyrical journey". To where? Columbia?
> The state pen?
> I didn't wake up that day in pissed off mode,
> listening to a half-assed effort by Snoop Doggy Nas put me in pissed
> off mode.
Pfffffffft!!!! (laughing) Ha Ha!! I'm laughing so hard, milk* is coming out of my
nose! Whoo Hoo! Great comeback, and your honesty is appreciated. I know what I
WON'T be getting tomorrow.
GW
*Or Alize', for the 2pac fans.
Chad Scovile
In article <Pine.SOL.3.91.96063...@rac3.wam.umd.edu>, Greg Pugliese <gp...@wam.umd.edu> writes:
|> Damn, it's definitely a sad state of affairs in hip-hop when someone can
|> recommend NOT buying a Nas album. My question is, why not more Primo
|> tracks? Seems like Primo would be more than happy to supply tracks for
|> Nas after the success of Illmatic.
|> I haven't heard the album yet, but if it is the way you describe it, i
|> agree with your analysis. But i'd say everybody should buy it, if only
|> the album features Foxxy Brown and yet more Mafioso/materialistic bullshit.
|>
|> GJP
|>
Primier, Extra P., and Pete Rock are all asking for around twenty-thousand dollars per track. That's why Nas went for
lesser-known, and apparently from what people are saying,
lesser-quality production.
Well at least Nas is going to break even this time.
---------------------------
Chad K. Scoville
Summer Intern
Low Power Design Technology
Intel Development Laboratorys
Intel Corporation
Santa Clara, California
email: csco...@scdt.intel.com
work phone: (408)765-7087
Chad Scovile
Let's not break it down to name calling, that doesn't solve any issues.
"Known Universe", Greg, you both got your own opinions on the album, and
I'm trying top save myself for first listen. However, the question
remains whether or not Hip Hop can progress beyond this materialistic
garbage and into another level.
As far as "Stakes is High" goes, did anyone really expect them to say
anything different? You know exaclty what Q's going to say on
"Beats, Rhymes, and Life". Q will touch the surface on where the
industry is, but since unlike De La, he still has marginal respect with
the "italian" rappers, he'll only dabble in criticism. De La on every
album has always released it at a time where Hip Hop was in a situation
of stagnation. '89, '92, '94, and now. Of course De La will criticize
and mimic, and attempt to tell thier audience why they're all about Hip
Hop and not profit, when they have been quoted as saying this album was
made especially with selling vinyl in mind.
Remember through the forest thick with versace-crystaal-armani-gucci-shrimp-steak-italiano rappers there is the
clearing which boasts of Common, Organized, Roots, and OC. The path
is long and tiring, but we'll get there.
Please, nobody purchase Jay-Z, Foxy Brown, or anything Lil 'Kim is
involved with. Do Hip Hop a favor.
Indiana Jones
In article <31d7705f...@newshost.uwo.ca>,
Known Universe <jlin...@mustang.uwo.ca> wrote:
>Illm...@msn.com (shawn wilson) wrote:
>
>>Known Universe has totally misrepresented Nas' new album. The shit is
>>phat, phatter and all of that. Known Universe's opinion is so
>>reminiscent of other peoples opinion when Illmatic came out. You
>>have to sit and listen to his lyrics as it brings you along for a
>>lyrical journey that you will never recover from. The pure poetry
>>that "It Was Written" consists of, makes ANY hip hop album worth the
>>money....I hate to dis Known because some of his posts are usually on
>>point, but on this day he must have woke up in a pissed off mode and
>>decided to listen to the album and post his opinions. The shit is
>>the BOMB and anybody who does not go out and get the album based on
>>his bullshit explanations and reasons why he thinks it was weak need
>>not be in the hip hop game.....Peace and 1........
>
>Damn right my post was on point. What I posted was my intial gut
>reaction to the album. "Reminiscent of other people's opinions when
>Illmatic came out"? Guy, the reason why I reacted so harshly to It
>Was Written was because of the _love_ I have for Illmatic as an album.
>hardly call It Was Written a "lyrical journey". To where? Columbia?
>pathetic to the point that a rapper with such props as Nas...such
>genuine respect...such talent...thinks nothing of talking about keys,
>Lexuses, BMs and all that trendy garbage, not to mention the fact that
>he gets some of the weakest production in hip-hop when he deserves the
>best. But wait, since half of the beats on the album sound like they
>should be backing Tupac, he'll probably sell a million right? It
>kills me. It's truly sad. Innovation is truly out of style. Nas may
>make new fans off of this album, but I'm totally confident that he'll
>alienate most of his older fans that have been following him since
>Live at the BBQ.
>
>And bear in mind that that review was my opinion, and anyone that
>doesn't buy/listen to the album just because I say it's wack has
>listening to a half-assed effort by Snoop Doggy Nas put me in pissed
>off mode.
>
>
>
>
>Known Universe
>
>----------
>"So much to say but I still flow slow."
>----------
--
-=-=-=-= Indiana Jones -=-=- kybj...@indiana.edu -=-=-=-=-=-
**The Krib** http://www.trader.com/users/5013/1723/krib.htm
Tek
Ya'll should really leave the rating to yourselves. I heard the album
today for about 2hrs and I was trying to figure out how he couldn't like
those tracks. Like for instance, affirmative action... I couldn't stop
listening to that as well as some other songs. It's like when lost boys
came out and I saw it get a 2 rating outta 5...I was discouraged until I
heard the album. Therefore, I don't think you should form an opinion on
any album until hearing it first.
-tek
Known Universe
Tek <te...@larry.infi.net> wrote:
>Ya'll should really leave the rating to yourselves. I heard the album
>today for about 2hrs and I was trying to figure out how he couldn't like
>those tracks. Like for instance, affirmative action... I couldn't stop
>listening to that as well as some other songs. It's like when lost boys
>came out and I saw it get a 2 rating outta 5...I was discouraged until I
>heard the album. Therefore, I don't think you should form an opinion on
>any album until hearing it first.
>
>-tek
I totally agree, and I've said that time and again. I'm not saying
people shouldn't buy the album, but I think that for me it was a waste
of money because I'm really disappointed with it. I expected so much
more, production and lyric-wise, from an artist the calibre of Nas.
In my opinion, the best tracks on the album are The Message, I Gave
You Power, Black Girl Lost and If I Ruled The World. But all of those
songs pale in comparison to even One Time 4 Your Mind off of Illmatic.
Now, of course people always get uptight when someone posts a review
like mine especially if it's negative, since it may cause some people
to not buy the album. But isn't that what a review is for? I feel
that I'm pretty representative of most of Nas' hard-core fan base,
liking primarily Primo/Pete Rock/Extra P/Diamond D./Beatminerz/Q-Tip
production and placing heavy weight on the lyrics - the actual meat of
what is being said - of each song. Nothing on It Was Written has
touched me like stuff on Illmatic did. Period. So, I would advise
most of Nas' hard-core listenership to at least listen to the album
and decide if you like it before you buy it. The only opinion I can
give is my own. To me, the reason why Illmatic was so great is that
the atmosphere of every beat fit the mood of all the lyrics, and of
course the beats were some hard NYC-style beats. Neither of these are
present on It Was Written. We have a Dre beat, a Rza rip-off beat,
two weak beats by Havoc, a Trackmasters beat that sounds like a Warren
G beat...I don't buy a Nas album to hear that. And I'm hearing it,
that why I'm pissed off. If I'm spending my hard-earned cash on his
product, I at least expect it to be half-enjoyable.
APage20301
Sensi One, you posted...
"Didnt i read/hear somewhere that Extra P did afew cuts for the album,
but wasnt sure they'd be put on?? "
Yeah, that was me. It's all in my Extra P interview for 4080 Magazine
(call 1-800-823-4080 for subscription info or check your newstands).
Anyway, Extra P explains how Columbia didn't seem too interested in
released the tracks he did with Nas, probably because Columbia didn't
think they were catchy enough or some shit, i.e. they weren't commercial
(actually I hear Nas was switched to Ruffhouse, i.e. Kris Kross' and the
Fugees' label). Remeber, Columbia is about BIG business and they want to
make profits. Since Extra P has production on only _one_ song on _one_
gold album (Tribe's Midnight Marauders), then it's easy to see how AS A
BUSINESS MOVE, it is predictable for columbia to choose the consistent
gold and platinum hitmakers Trackmasters and Mobb Deep to cover
production, while Pete Rock and Extra P make real shit on the side that
rarely sells. Fact of life, folks. It's show BUSINESS. BTW, an artist
usually has no control over which tracks make his album.
Salaam,
ACP
APage20301
Chad,
Large Professor did do tracks with Nas. _Columbia_ chose not to use them.
BTW, Extra P does _NOT_ charge $20,000 for a beat. The man has never
produced a single that went gold in a singles driven market, i.e. the law
of supply and demand says there is no fucking way he charges that much.
Besides, how would a low-selling group like Orgaized (for whom Extra P did
the "stress" remix) afford to pay him? Your sources are off...
BTW, I have spoken to Extra P and he is my source.
Chimezie Thomas-Ogbuji
> To me, the reason why Illmatic was so great is that
> the atmosphere of every beat fit the mood of all the lyrics, and of
> course the beats were some hard NYC-style beats.
Why does everyone on this user group claim that the production of
Illmatic was so hard, ruff and rugged????!!! If I'm not mistaken Life's
a bitch
featured a relaxing trumpet piece by Olu Dara. It was jazzy and took
nothing away from the lyrics. The world is yours by Pete Rock featured
a upbeat beat that sounded similar to ones on The Main Ingredient (which
it seemed everyone dissed). The beat was a trade mark of Pete Rocks new
sound, melodic piano chords and jazzy instruments. The remix (which I
preferred) was far harder than the albums version. memory lane and one
love had a very similar feel, beatwise. They were light and molodic,
especially the xylophones in One Love. And lastly It aint hard to tell
featured a sample from micheal jackson's "Human Nature" very similar to
SWV's remix of that one song (dammn I forgot) Right Here. These are the
reasons I loved Illmatic, because of it's melodic beats to complement
rapid fire hard core lyrics, not because they were NYC hard. They were
far from hard, but they took nothing away from the album.
> present on It Was Written. We have a Dre beat, a Rza rip-off beat,
> two weak beats by Havoc, a Trackmasters beat that sounds like a Warren
> G beat...I don't buy a Nas album to hear that. And I'm hearing it,
> that why I'm pissed off. If I'm spending my hard-earned cash on his
> product, I at least expect it to be half-enjoyable.
>
Now I am one to be wary of west coast beats, but I must admit I liked
the beats on Dogg Pound's album, they were rythmic and innovative.
I like hard beats that make your head nod but every now and then I don't
mind some funky rythm, maybe it's the NIgerian in me.
Now if that's the reason It was Written is wack in your opinion, then I
don't think it's enough to claim it was a complete failure, I'm about to
go out and buy after sending this message, and I advise others who liked
Illmatic for the reasons I stated above not to turn your back on It Was
Written
Peace
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Chimezie Thomas-Ogbuji | phone: 216-433-4000
NASA Lewis Research Center |
Cleveland, Ohio 44135 | email:
edc...@aladdin.lerc.nasa.gov
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mat Chakko
> But wait, since half of the beats on the album sound like they
>>should be backing Tupac, he'll probably sell a million right? It
isn't the beat from "street dreams" the same as "all eyez on me"?
mat chakko aka dr. funkenstein
Greg Wilson
Chad Scovile wrote (under the "It was Written..." thread):
> I'm trying top save myself for first listen. However, the question
> remains whether or not Hip Hop can progress beyond this materialistic
> garbage and into another level.
I'm positive that hip-hop will go beyond the brand names and the hard liquor.
Actually, it's happened before, between the late 70's and the mid 80's.
Late 70's - early 80's: Sugarhill, old school battles, etc., were almost all about who had
the "freshest" clothes, Ballys, Pumas, whatever.
Mid - late 80's: Brief "old school" revival, then political, radical hip-hop (X-clan, PE,
Paris, Cube, Lakim, King Sun)
(the above periods overlapped somewhat around '85-'86: "instead of trying to take out LL,
you need to take your homeboys off the crack)
Late 80's - Early '90s: Early gangsta rap, female bashing records, "New Jack
Swing"-flavored rap, and damn near a little of everything. (NWA, Beasties, Hammer, Redhead
Kingpin, the D.O.C.)
1992: Low End Theory.**
1993: The Chronic. (too many artists* to mention here)
1994: Ready To Die. (too many artists* to mention here)**
Anyone else notice that most of the glory years, the best years of hip-hop occurred during
Republican administrations?? (don't take my thesis idea) During the more "liberal, tolerant"
periods like 92-96, and the late 70's, hip-hop was self-centered, materialistic. In the
80's and early '90's, there was a more threatening atmosphere for minorities/rap artists,
and the intensity and energy of the music reflected that.*** If Dole gets elected with an
arch-conservative VP, and a conservative congress, there's gonna be some damn good hip-hop
coming out of the nation's urban communities. All the Versace and Moschino will go in the
closet, next to the rope chains.
GW
*term used loosely.
** There are several exceptions to the above time periods. Groups like Tribe, De La, Geto
Boys, Ice-T, etc. pretty much stuck to their "guns", (no pun intended) and didn't change
their music with the times, mostly to their benefit. Remember all the "jazz" groups that
came out after Tribe (and the stet record)? ATCQ resisted the classification and did their
own thing. Judging from early promo reviews though, the desire to sell finally got to them.
*** Simple test: How many records do you remember that mentioned Reagan or Bush, as opposed
to Bill Clinton? Carter?
El Surround
Known Universe wrote:
>
> Greg Pugliese <gp...@wam.umd.edu> wrote:
>
> >Damn, it's definitely a sad state of affairs in hip-hop when someone can
> >recommend NOT buying a Nas album. My question is, why not more Primo
> >tracks? Seems like Primo would be more than happy to supply tracks for
> >Nas after the success of Illmatic.
> >I haven't heard the album yet, but if it is the way you describe it, i
> >agree with your analysis. But i'd say everybody should buy it, if only
> >because Illmatic was a classic and we should support Nas. Although i
> >must admit, even though i'll definitely buy it, it makes me sick to know
> >the album features Foxxy Brown and yet more Mafioso/materialistic bullshit.
> >
> >GJP
>
> maybe one Primo beat, one Pete Rock beat, a couple of Large Professor
> beats, whatever. Or hell, maybe even Beatminerz or Beatnuts or
> something other than Trackmasters. The way it stands on the vinyl is,
> out of 14 tracks:
>
> 1 Dr. Dre track
> 1 Live Squad track
> 2 tracks produced by Havoc of Mobb Deep
> 2 tracks produced by L.E.S.
> 7 Trackmasters tracks
>
> weakly-produced album. And when Nas is totally on some Columbian
> CREAM-type shit the weak production becomes inexcusable. I agree,
> listen to the album yourself and judge for yourself. But, in my
> opinion the album is mad weak, cliched, and predictable. It shows no
> innovation whatsoever, and instead of being "Illmatic Part 2" it's
> simply "Doe or Die Part 2". And to think I was a die-hard Nas fan
> before June 29, 1996...
>
> Y'know, I was thinking. They were right when they said that Nas was
> the next Rakim. Why? He released one amazing album and then all the
> rest had garbage production aside from a couple of songs on each.
> Makes you wonder how De La does it.
>
>
> Known Universe
>
> ----------
> "So much to say but I still flow slow."
> ----------
Fuck production. The reason it's weak is because the mafiaso style is a
lot weaker then the worst gangsta style, I'd rather hear a South
Central Cartel track than a dumb "Versace" line. At least the gangsta
relates to poverty and things that obviously happen. Mafiaso is all
dreams.
Peace
--
****************************************************************************
"Livin' phat yet real Thin"
El Surround aka "Tha Contemplator":
Check out monthly column "Contemplatin'" at "Headz Up":
http://www.public.iastate.edu/~krs_one/HEADzUP/
Peep the BOMB webzine "The Chamberz"
http://www.dungeon.com/~alex/main.html
****************************************************************************
Oliver Wang
FYI, I've heard that Columbia is pushing the release date back a
month. Folks in Canada who got it are definitely ahead of the States.
I don't have details about why it was pushed back only that Colubmia
changed it's mind when packages were already in transit to street
promoters and DJs. I know that there are definitely copies, on vinyl
and CD, in the Bay, but it's fairly limited.
--O
Oliver Wang
"that mafiaso sh*t is all dreams"
Yes, but "if I ruled the world and everything in it, sky's the limit,
I'd push a Q45 Infinit..."
O
kari orr
In article <APC&1'0'9950aa9e'1...@igc.apc.org>, Oliver Wang <ol...@igc.apc.org> says:
Needle dropped it, listened to the intro, and just as cheesy as Known
said it was. nothing grabbed me, as i listened to the verses.
tightly constructed, but the content is more powerful than the structure
in my book. that's why i like killah priest more than inspektah deck.
left it in the store to be purchased later. i'll probably get it thursday
at when they have a sale, so i can lessen the damage. understanding is
not on the album? why? well i know why but why?
track masterz, over primo, tip, extra p,
anyone heard then i woke up off his demo. it's basically the first verse
from ny state of mind , but he ends it after talking about battles with
cops, pulling triggers with then i woke up. As if it were just a street
dream, and that wasn't the real nas.
This dj i know named rek, said one of the reasons why nas is not the
second coming of rakim, is nas fell for the gimmicky stuff early on.
i hate it when he's right. i can now see the arguments folks had when
they compared illmatic to paid in full, on how it really wasn't the
second coming.
i don't know my first impression was not that positive, but it's
still very limited.
what is missing from this album, is the whole package concept.
the lyrics are tight, but to be a classic you've got to have the
production too.
until i buy it thursday.
k. orr
house of phat beats
Known Universe
or...@weiss.che.utexas.edu (kari orr) wrote:
>what is missing from this album, is the whole package concept.
>the lyrics are tight, but to be a classic you've got to have the
>production too.
>
>until i buy it thursday.
>
>k. orr
>house of phat beats
That's totally what I thought too. Instead of being an album, it's
just a bunch of single songs. There's no real continuity throughout
the album, and I think that every album needs that to be successful.
It just seems that Nas tries to cover all the bases (East/West,
Gangster/Mafioso, Prophet/Philosopher, etc.) and winds up spreading
himself too thin. Illmatic was what I'd call a very "High-Concept"
album...you could tell a lot of thought went into every aspect of it
right down to the album cover. It Was Written is a "No-Concept"
album. Well, I suppose that's wrong in a way, because its concept is
one of seeing how much Nas can milk the mafioso drug-dealer image.
Chimezie Thomas-Ogbuji
> That's totally what I thought too. Instead of being an album, it's
> just a bunch of single songs. There's no real continuity throughout
> the album, and I think that every album needs that to be successful.
>
As much as I liked It Was Written, that's a good point, id DIDN'T have
any continuity. But I didn't feel Illmatic did either, unless you
consider, new york life style a concept worth basing a whole album
around. This is what Mob Deep did with their album, the main concept or
theme was Thug/New York/Hustle Life, and that's what I got from
Illmatic. Maybe I am misunderstanding what you mean by High-Concept,
and if so could you elaborate, I'm interested.
Oliver Wang
Looks like my source was wrong b/c plenty o' people seemed to have
picked up the album. I just got mine in the mail today. Haven't
gotten home to spin it yet, but I will say that I'm glad they printed
the lyrics...something I wish more MCs would do.
Peace,
-O
Jamaal King
On Sun, 30 Jun 1996, Known Universe wrote:
> You know, I never thought I'd actually be recommending that people
> _not_ buy a Nas album. I guess the unthinkable has happened.
>
No offense, but I thought that you had completely lost it when I read
this. I was thinking to myself, "It can't be that bad, can it?" After
listening to it all day yesterday and today, I've come to the realization
that your review was dead-on. I only like four tracks on the album...four
tracks! I had such high hopes, but if I only wanted to listen to that
Mafioso sh*t, I'll put on AZ's cd...Maybe Nas should have learned from
groups like De La Soul that you're supposed to get better with each lp,
not regress.
And, speaking of De La Soul..."Stakes Is High" is phat! I knew it was
going to be good, but I wasn't expecting this. It definitely gets my vote
for album of the year so far...
jamaal
El Surround
> should be backing Tupac, he'll probably sell a million right? It
> make new fans off of this album, but I'm totally confident that he'll
> alienate most of his older fans that have been following him since
> Live at the BBQ.
>
> And bear in mind that that review was my opinion, and anyone that
> doesn't buy/listen to the album just because I say it's wack has
> problems anyways. I didn't wake up that day in pissed off mode,
> listening to a half-assed effort by Snoop Doggy Nas put me in pissed
> off mode.
>
>
> Known Universe
>
> ----------
> "So much to say but I still flow slow."
Anyway, as I said, the production is REALLY good. The mafioso shit ruins
the whole thing.
Known Universe
Jamaal King <jki...@gl.umbc.edu> wrote:
>No offense, but I thought that you had completely lost it when I read
>this. I was thinking to myself, "It can't be that bad, can it?" After
>listening to it all day yesterday and today, I've come to the realization
>that your review was dead-on. I only like four tracks on the album...four
>tracks! I had such high hopes, but if I only wanted to listen to that
>Mafioso sh*t, I'll put on AZ's cd...Maybe Nas should have learned from
>groups like De La Soul that you're supposed to get better with each lp,
>not regress.
Guy, I totally thought that I'd lost it too. I don't know about
anyone else, but I look at most songs on an album like a DJ does a 12"
- you pretty well know after one listening if it's fat or not. Like,
does it grab you or does it not grab you right away. Illmatic grabbed
me, hell, it pulled out an Uzi and a pregnant woman and held me
hostage. It Was Written, if anything, repulsed me. I honestly don't
care if I hear that CD ever again, and that disturbs me.
>And, speaking of De La Soul..."Stakes Is High" is phat! I knew it was
>going to be good, but I wasn't expecting this. It definitely gets my vote
>for album of the year so far...
Yeah, it really has a vibe that reminds me of the Pharcyde's
Labcabincalifornia, but with a decidedly New York flavour. My
favourite joints are of course Stakes Is High and the Bizness
(strongest 12" of the year in my opinion), Dog Eat Dog, Big Brother
Beat, Itzoeezee, Sunshine, Pony Ride, and Wonce Again Long Island.
On the whole, the album is amazing. It's kind of funny, because a lot
of people have remarked on the 'dumbing' of De La's lyrics. To me,
Stakes Is High just shows their versatility as MCs - they can come mad
abstract, or kick more straight battle/conscious lyrics (reminiscent
of Common Sense, although a bit more cryptic in most places). If they
wanted to, they could write like they did on Buhloone Mind State and
blow everyone's collective mind for a fifth time.
peace
Known Universe
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"My Hotdog is done, I'm in the dugout, check it."
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