Why Nas’s ‘It Was Written’ Is The Most Underrated AIbum In Hip Hop

Nas’s roller-coaster career in hip hop has been markedly atypical; emerging as a promising star who’s debut album is hailed as one of the genre’s best, the Queens native went on to release a string of disappointing mainstream attempts, lose a highly public beef with Jay-Z (despite what some would argue), and then become an antagonist of the genre that made him famous claiming ‘Hip Hop Is Dead’. Call it bad luck, poor artistic choices, or a narrow outlook, Nas, who is comfortably one of the top 4 rappers in history, has received unfairly tough scrutiny from critics and listeners throughout his two-decade career.

 

The album cover is a play on Illmatic’s which features Nas as a baby with the same background

 

Take It Was Written, Nas’s sophomore project (released in 1996) which sought to bridge the dark, realistic tones of his outstanding debut, Illmatic, with popular mafioso-style rap ruling the airwaves at the time. The result was Nas’s most commercially successful album (heavily from the buzz of Illmatic), climbing all the way to number #1 on the Billboard charts. However, the album was drably reviewed by critics, and unlike some of its contemporary Mafioso efforts like Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt (1996) and Raekwon’s Only Built For Cuban Linx (1995), It Was Written did not stick to hip hop culture as a classic.

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Here are some of the initial mixed reviews of the project:

“The latest blatant example of trashy tough-guy talk” – Mark Coleman, Rolling Stone

“Late-stage gangsta rap, starting to buckle under its own contradictions. [It Was Written] continually shifts perspective.” – Jon Pareles, New York Times

“The lyrics in It Was Written could be sharper, but the music, energetic and engaging on many tracks, helps drive his message home.” – Christopher Farley, TIME 

“[It Was Written] demonstrates a continuing lyrical maturity that makes his already potent beats and rhymes all the more compelling.” – Cheo Coker, Los Angeles Times

Wonder what they would have said about this..

 

Ok, so It Was Written wasn’t universally despised by critics, but consider the label of “underrated” as relative. Less-recognized works such as Binary Star’s Masters of the Universe, or Brother Ali’s Shadows on the Sun certainly deserve a lot more credit than they receive, but Nas’s sophomore work is a forgotten gem lying directly in plain sight. It’s easily accessible by any casual hip hop fan, yet the excellent work has become muddled by, among other factors, colossal expectations, a ton of competition, and Nas’s aforementioned bafflingly atypical career.

 

 

Following-up the best hip hop album of all-time is not an enviable task. It is ironic that such a great work canhurt a career, but the brilliance of Illmatic has seemingly weighed down Nas’s work down since its release in 1994. This weight is most apparent in It Was Written, when the fantastically realistic and clever lyrics from tracks like ‘Halftime’ and ‘It Ain’t Hard to Tell’ from two years before were still echoing in listener’s heads. And while Nas occasionally diverted from his typically introspective content on his sophomore effort, his lyrical potency remained strong. In ‘Affirmative Action’, a Mafioso styled song featuring Cormega, Foxy Brown, and AZ (altogether forming the supergroup The Firm), Nas flows:

‘Life’s a Bitch,’ but God-forbid the bitch divorce me
I’ll be flooded with ice so hellfire can’t scorch me

Dirty. Yet compare this ice-sporting to Nas’s “conscious” appeal, and you can start to see where critics reprimand Nas’s inconsistency. However, in agreement with Cheo Coker (above), I believe Nas’s lyrics in this track, as well as the whole album, are actually more skilled and perfected than in Illmatic. For example (from ‘The Message’):

Yo, overnight thugs, bug cause they ain’t promised shit
Hungry-ass hooligans stay on that piranha shit

The only problem is since expectations were already so high, It Was Written does not hold the same shock value of his debut, allowing the easy criticisms to shine through.

 

Can You Name Them All?!?

 

Hip Hop was flooded with excellent rappers in 1996, perhaps more so than at any other time in history. Stalwarts such as the Notorious B.I.G., Outkast, Wu-Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, and Gangstarr were met by newcomers like Jay-Z, Big L, and Bone Thugs N Harmony to form a deep and talented field which brewed high standards for each artist. Nas’s own Illmatic had brought realism to hip hop which was now the standard, and Biggie, Jay-Z, and Raekwon had derived the sub-genre of Mafioso, coke-dealing rap which exploded with popularity.

 

 

 

By the time Nas released the Mafioso-influenced It Was Written, the sub-genre was already teeming with arguably more authentic alternatives. In fact, Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt (perhaps the pinnacle of Mafioso rap), was released just one week before Nas’s It Was Written. Jay-Z would be more than just a nuisance for album sales, and the two stars’ highly publicized beef would grow to define Nas’s career. Split between raw realism and kingpin rap, Nas didn’t capture either audience fully, largely because there were so many other comparable artists to love instead.

 

There’s only one Rap Jesus.

 

However, much like Outkast’s Aquemini (which straddled the southern duo’s gangster beginnings with their mainstream aspirations), the true strength of It Was Written was in its diverse compilation. Unlike the cohesiveness in Illmatic, we are able to hear Nas attempt unique and challenging tracks in his sophomore album, most of which he conquers surprisingly well. One instance is a collaboration track with Dr. Dre (who also served as the executive producer for The Firm), ‘Nas Is Coming’, which molds a West coast beat with the East coast flow to create a holistically different (and awesome) sound.

 

Really, Nas? So You’re Jesus AND the Sphinx?

 

Nas’s subsequent work after It Was Written were mostly forgettable, giving critics and fans alike who called the album “too mainstream” more reason to stop listening. His next two solo albums, I Am… and Nastradamus featured more concentrated pushes towards mainstream, including boastful singles like ‘Hate Me Now’ (Nas is depicted as Jesus in the music video), and sold/sexed-out tracks like ‘Oochie Wallie’ (its soo bad). Add the failed attempt at the Mafioso supergroup The Firm, and Nas’s place in hip hop was truly in jeopardy by 2000. Fortunately, Nasty Nas came back strong with ‘Stillmatic’ in 2001 (which like its predecessor received 5 mics from XXL) and followed with several more credible releases to salvage his name, but It Was Written had long been forgotten and bundled with his less-than-par work instead of classics.

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So is It Was Written really that good to deserve ‘Most Underrated Ever’? Check out these album highlights and make up your own mind:

 

 

02.) Message

The most Illmatic-esque song on the album features Nas rapping about the NY crime life over a simple looped beat. The chorus even features Nas’s own lyrics from ‘NY State of Mind’

 

 

03.) Street Dreams

An aptly titled song plays a aptly featured Eurythmics sample against Nas’s vivid lyrics to create the most radio friendly single on the album.

 

 

07.) Nas Is Coming

 

 

08.) Affirmative Action

Possibly Nas’s best verse on the album. You’ll definitely remember this beat.

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12.) Shootouts

Much like ‘The Message’, Nas goes in on this one depicting the street life in Queensbridge.

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14.) If I Ruled The World (Feat. Lauryn Hill)

My favorite track on the album, and maybe my favorite Nas track. Lauryn Hill and Nas were born to collaborate, and Nas’s fantastic visions of his perfect world.

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Consider Yourself Peeped!

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