RapReviews.com review of It Was Written

[krazykid18]

Eh...a lot of rap purists hated on IWW for years. This isn't a white thing. Q-Tip told Steve Stoute that the album would destroy Nas' career.

At the same time A tribe called quest was making beats, rhyme and life i guess he should paid more attention to his groups career

 

[kingofnyc]

the nerve of a jay stan talking about revising history when jay campaigned 'reasonable doubt' into being considered a classic.
iww was getting 4 to 4.5 in a lot of reviews

and on top of that jay had no universally accepted classics until blueprint. who in the fukk was he to tell the man who made illmatic about classics.
oh, by the way i'm a jay fan,but..
gtfoh with this bullshyt!!

you gonna act like they both didnt get the same rating

both dropped summer of ‘96
the only difference was IWW faded out quite quickly, the only buzz he got was street dreams rmx w/ R kellz in the fall thereafter you pretty much didnt hear anything from IWW on the radio, in the clubs, on mixtapes or in the street
WHILE
RD soared well after it dropped
cant knock da hustle w/ mary j - was a club classic
BK finest w/biggie - hardcore classic
and joints like... can i live; D’evils; bring it w/ jaz & sauce money were mixtape
/street bangers which made RD very much relevant well into ‘97

 

[mr.africa]

you gonna act like they both didnt get the same rating

both dropped summer of ‘96
the only difference was IWW faded out quite quickly, the only buzz he got was street dreams rmx w/ R kellz in the fall thereafter you pretty much didnt hear anything from IWW on the radio, in the clubs, on mixtapes or in the street
WHILE
RD soared well after it dropped
cant knock da hustle w/ mary j - was a club classic
BK finest w/biggie - hardcore classic
and joints like... can i live; D’evils; bring it w/ jaz & sauce money were mixtape
/street bangers which made RD very much relevant well into ‘97

faded??
4 weeks no. 1 on the charts, 11 weeks in the top 20 and 34 weeks in the top 200
street dreams the original,not remix, certified gold
if i ruled the world did not exist now??
selling over 2 million in the US alone


anyway my original point was that i find it quite funny that a jay stan would talk about revising history when we know what jay did to make RD considered a classic. at least nas never campaigned to get IWW looked at in a different light. IWW being looked at differently happened without nas trying to sway public opinion.

 

[kingofnyc]

The internet is where people come to spread unpopular opinions. Its where miserable haters come to agree with other miserable haters. It was written was huge .If i ruled the world is a top goat song. Street Dreams was everywhere. The message got played by everyone. I gave you power was known by everyone. No one was playing illmatic at parties. It Was Written was a huge album, fukk the internet.

so you REALLY gonna act like
illmatic didnt get 5 mic classic from the hip hop bible & 2 years later IWW didnt get 4 mic

 

[kingofnyc]

At the same time A tribe called quest was making beats, rhyme and life i guess he should paid more attention to his groups career

like REAL TALK
i’ll take this track over any track on IWW

 

[En Sabah Nur]

you gonna act like they both didnt get the same rating

both dropped summer of ‘96
the only difference was IWW faded out quite quickly, the only buzz he got was street dreams rmx w/ R kellz in the fall thereafter you pretty much didnt hear anything from IWW on the radio, in the clubs, on mixtapes or in the street
WHILE
RD soared well after it dropped
cant knock da hustle w/ mary j - was a club classic
BK finest w/biggie - hardcore classic
and joints like... can i live; D’evils; bring it w/ jaz & sauce money were mixtape
/street bangers which made RD very much relevant well into ‘97

I don't remember it being this way at all. Street Dreams and If I Ruled the World got more play than anything from RD. Those singles and videos were played constantly for months, while the only higher than street level song from RD was "Ain't No nikka". RD was not relevant at all by 97 either...It only went gold, while IWW sold like 2-3 million

 

[patscorpio]

Their review of Ironman

Ghostface Killah :: Ironman :: Razor Sharp Records/Epic Street

_Wildflower_ should just be considered a throwaway. It's got a decidedly average beat and a highly misogynistic message, even for the Wu. This one is just awful; I can't remember anything dipping this low since Ice Cube's _Cave bytch_.

RR and OHHLA used to be my shyr when I first got internet.

same here...and why is he complaining about misogyny but i remember he did a review for big l - big picture i think...dude was bigging up l's grimey ass punchline style and shyt lol

 

[kingofnyc]

faded??
4 weeks no. 1 on the charts, 11 weeks in the top 20 and 34 weeks in the top 200
street dreams the original,not remix, certified gold
if i ruled the world did not exist now??
selling over 2 million in the US alone


anyway my original point was that i find it quite funny that a jay stan would talk about revising history when we know what jay did to make RD considered a classic. at least nas never campaigned to get IWW looked at in a different light. IWW being looked at differently happened without nas trying to sway public opinion.

i don't deny IWW commercial success , but as i said i don't recall hearing much from that album in the fall/winter of ‘96
as many people stated if was considered a bit of a disappointment especially with Dr Dre being on this project

and can you clarify your original point of jay revising history to make RD considered a classic

i cant even comprehend this.....

his 1st single Dead President won the battle of the beats on Hot 97 and when released went on to go gold

his 2nd single was the featured song on Eddie Murphy blockbuster movie with foxy and the song went on to be a spring/summer anthem

his 3rd single with mary j was another great R&B hip hop collaboration

Brooklyn Finest - speaks for its self

that 4 all time songs thats undeniable

and he has like 4 to 5 other joints that are
top notch / tier on it as well

i mean... even the hip hop bible went back & gave it just due of 5 mic

 

[kingofnyc]

I don't remember it being this way at all. Street Dreams and If I Ruled the World got more play than anything from RD. Those singles and videos were played constantly for months, while the only higher than street level song from RD was "Ain't No nikka". RD was not relevant at all by 97 either...It only went gold, while IWW sold like 2-3 million

Dead President & Aint No nikka got more play then any joints off IWW

and my point was IWW faded toward the later part of the year while joints like
Can I Live ; Bring It On & Brooklyn Finest was being played on Hot 97, in da streets & clubs well into early ‘97

 

[En Sabah Nur]

Dead President & Aint No nikka got more play then any joints off IWW

and my point was IWW faded toward the later part of the year while joints like
Can I Live ; Bring It On & Brooklyn Finest was being played on Hot 97, in da streets & clubs well into early ‘97

I know NY'ers don't believe it, but the world extends beyond Hot 97's antenna radius
I can't speak for what you remember locally, but If I Ruled the World and Street Dreams had national certifications as singles and regular video rotations on BET & MTV televised nationally that showed they got more play than anything on RD

 

[Rev]

I don't remember it being this way at all. Street Dreams and If I Ruled the World got more play than anything from RD. Those singles and videos were played constantly for months, while the only higher than street level song from RD was "Ain't No nikka". RD was not relevant at all by 97 either...It only went gold, while IWW sold like 2-3 million

The Message and Affirmative Action were played on the radio in mixes as album cuts VERY often, as well.

 

[mson]

People were way more strict back then. It was good for rap.

 

[kingofnyc]

I know NY'ers don't believe it, but the world extends beyond Hot 97's antenna radius
If I Ruled the World and Street Dreams had national certifications as singles and regular video rotations on BET & MTV that showed they got more play than anything on RD

i ruled the world aint got no certification

dead president & street dreams both went gold (and i can pretty much say with confidence - that it only sold due to the R Kellz rmx)

so its basically Aint No nikka vs I Ruled the World
and we all know which was the bigger song

 

[Cheech&Chong]

so you REALLY gonna act like
illmatic didnt get 5 mic classic from the hip hop bible & 2 years later IWW didnt get 4 mic

Im talking about real life bro

 

[En Sabah Nur]

i ruled the world aint got no certification

dead president & street dreams both went gold (and i can pretty much say with confidence - that it only sold due to the R Kellz rmx)

so its basically Aint No nikka vs I Ruled the World
and we all know which was the bigger song

If I Ruled the World actually does have overseas certifications
And I dont know why you would say with confidence that Street Dreams single went gold because of the remix, when it wasn't even on it. The B side was the Affirmative Action remix