It Was Written -24 year anniversary

[Harry B]

Sit back, relax, catch your contact, sip your cognac and let’s all wash this money through this laundromat....


Might be my favorite opening of any rap song

 

[ryderldb]

Great album that got more love as went by. So many classic songs on that album. But the two standouts for me were
The message
Take it in blood

 

[Mega]

I don’t think you realize how disappointed some Fans where with Nas when this album came out. The funny thing is it turned out to be one of the few albums of that period they never really sounds too dated.

That's the thing that kills me. I was around during those times (albeit pretty young) but I can remember everyone complaining because it wasnt just like Illmatic. But that's the point - mufukkas so against change they ignore greatness.

I was about 10 yrs old when this album dropped. I didn't get to fully experience the Illmatic era. If I Ruled the World was my first real introduction to Nas and at the time it was the dopest song I ever heard. It had the lyrics and mainstream appeal. Everyone I knew loved that song. Even my moms and grandparents loved it.

Below is a Rolling Stone review from 1996.
It Was Written
“If I Ruled the World,” Nas’ current hit single, is a less-than-representative example of his talents. It’s more of a crossover con job.

"That makes the rest of It Was Written sound lazy and automatic — just the latest blatant example of trashy tough-guy talk. When Nas finally aligns his mind with his mouth, he’ll truly be dangerous"

I just googled the author's name, Mark Coleman.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/markcolemanplayback

 

[L. Deezy]

I was about 10 yrs old when this album dropped. I didn't get to fully experience the Illmatic era. If I Ruled the World was my first real introduction to Nas and at the time it was the dopest song I ever heard. It has the lyrics and mainstream appeal. Everyone I knew loved that song. Even my moms and grandparents loved it.

Below is a Rolling Stone review from 1996.
It Was Written
“If I Ruled the World,” Nas’ current hit single, is a less-than-representative example of his talents. It’s more of a crossover con job.

"That makes the rest of It Was Written sound lazy and automatic — just the latest blatant example of trashy tough-guy talk. When Nas finally aligns his mind with his mouth, he’ll truly be dangerous"

I just goggled the author's name, Mark Coleman.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/markcolemanplayback

Crazy...lol

 

[Big Mark]

I wrote this before but I was there pretty much from day one. I was in CR, Iowa, playing minor league baseball. The only thing that kept me close to music and the streets, besides an occasional quick trip home to Chicago, was the SOURCE. I remember reading about this kid Nas and I wanted to buy some more tapes (lol) so I picked up the album. NY State of mind went in. I loved the album and of course, the rhymes were tight but the west coast was hot then. Listened to it all the time on the long-ass bus rides.

Naturally, 2 years later, I picked up IWW after I heard If I Ruled The World. To me, how you come across the second time (album) is sort of an indicator of your talent. Loved the album. The Message, Suspects, Silent Murder, Black Girl Lost, etc.

I was late to the I am train. My brother had the CD so I took it and was immediately hooked off of NY State of Mind 2. To me, the first 4-5 songs bump and then he had Face on there and he showed love to Big and Pac plus dissed Jay Z. Also, Nas is like is my shyt! I also took note, that the Nastradamus album was coming and I thought it was dope that he threw that teaser out there (posted on the inside of the cd case).

I picked up Nastradmaus and I wasn't disappointed. It wasn't as good as I am or none of its predecessors but I didn't trip. However, when this chick I was smashing put me up on file-sharing and AudioGalaxy, things would change. I was searching and I found "The Squeeze" by Gangstarr, a song that I didn't know existed I had all the Gang Starr cd's and of course, they are my favorite group so I was taken aback. So, I somehow started searching Gang Starr unreleased and found what I found, which wasn't a lot. I was thinking, "what rappers do I like". Nas came to mind and when I searched his shyt, my jaw just dropped. I found so much shyt, my girl was like "what the fukk". LOL. I downloaded so much shyt and played that shyt in the ride, on the way back home. When I heard drunk by myself, that was it. Nas was my goat!! Still is!

 

[oO J Smooth Oo]

"I don't stunt, I regulate
Henny and Sprite, I separate, watching crab nikkas marinate
I'm all about TECs, a good jux and sex Israelite books, holding government names from Ness
Emcees are crawling out every hole in the slum
You be aight like blood money in a pimp's cum"


It was Written & Supreme Clientele are my GOAT albums. No skippable tracks at all.

2 excellent choices

 

[oO J Smooth Oo]

It was a murder
Jake just hit the corner, people swarmin'
Three in the mornin', I jumped out my cab like "fukk!"
nikkas is buck, mega bloodshed, the tape's red
I heard some bird whisper, "Yo, he should've ducked"
I puffed the lila, just before I hit the scene for real-a
I'm all high, it's late, I'm lookin' down at the fella
shyt's pushed in, ambulance placed him on some cushion
His mom's had a stare I wouldn't dare second look when I murk
It hurt, kind of took it as a brief reminder
That the street's designed to stop ya life clock, the beast'll time ya

Yo, the time is wasting, I use the mind elevation
Dime sack lacing, court pen pacing
Individual, lyrical math abrasion
Psychic evaluation, the foulest nation

Now, how can I perfect this? (Uhh, what?)
Living reckless, die for my necklace
Crime infected, driving a Lexus with a death wish
Jetting, checking my message on the speaker
Bopping to "Mona Lisa", brown reefer, ten G's, gun and my Visa
CD cranking, doing 90 on the Franklin D. Roosevelt
No seatbelt, drinking and thinking
My man caught a bad one, son, nikkas is frightened
Secret indictments, as on to one seeking enlightenment



Said many times on this forum before, NaS in 94-96 was the apex of lyricism. Dudes pen just metamorphized to another echelon.

 

[oO J Smooth Oo]

“I heard some bird whisper yo he should have ducked
I puffed the lila
This before i hit the scene foreala
I’m all high its late im looking down at the fella
shyts pushed in, ambulance placed him on some cushion
His moms had a stare i wouldnt dare second look when i murked”



filthy...

so vivid

 

[spliz]

Ppl always have to put down Illmatic when propping up IWW for some reason. Both are perfect

I don’t put down Illmatic at all. It Nas’ best album imo. BUT. People shyt on IWW like it ain’t ALSO a legendary classic album as well.

 

[spliz]

With that being said, a few celebrities always comment on Nas posts.

Yea but u don’t really see some of the people u see in this IWW post. Also. There’s always this consensus that Illmatic is everyone’s and all emcees favorite Nas album and it’s dope to see people with credibility challenge that publicly.

 

[spliz]

That's the thing that kills me. I was around during those times (albeit pretty young) but I can remember everyone complaining because it wasnt just like Illmatic. But that's the point - mufukkas so against change they ignore greatness.

Crazy thing to me was that that shyt was bumpin out of every whip when it came out and I’m from NYC. I don’t remember all the absolute hate outside of a few super hip hop heads. The streets loved IWW.

 

[spliz]

Ice cube and slick Rick are slightly above Nas in ability to tell stories.

Tell one of them nikkas to tell a story backwards. lol. Nobody tells stories like Nas. Lol

 

[spliz]

yeah I was reading awhile back, the album was supposed to be dark but labels didn’t want it that way. The producer of this tracked basically explained what happened. He said he still has this track in his vault along with another unreleased nas song in cd quality but said he would only release it with NaS permission. I was hoping this would of landed on lost tapes 2 but I know Nas don’t forgot all about this track.

IWW is dark. And the producer of that kept complaining how Nas went commercial. There’s darker songs on IWW than Deja Vu.

 

[Swahili P'Bitek]

It was written, the plot curves behind the setting

 

[KravenMorehead™]

the samples on this album might get nas taxed if he promotes it heavy...