The Best Comeback Album Ever is.....

[god shamgod]

I actually had Illmatic on cassette when it dropped. Next.

How old were you in April 1994

We can prove it rn

 

[NormanConnors]

Rakim is my fam and there’s nothing that poster can tell u about Ra that he would know over me and he will basically say his business wasn’t right when he separated from Eric B. nikka took a whole 6 year hiatus from dropping an album it was absolutely a comeback album. nikkas tryna argue me down about Stillmatic vs I Am but wanna argue about Rakim who hadn’t dropped for like 6 years meanwhile his peers like KRS, G Rap and LL was dropping heat all thru the 90s. shyt funny as fukk to see the goalpost moved.

That's the way I saw it being based in the midwest, seemed like a comeback to me.

 

[Controversy]

That timeline doesnt seem right. I don't remember Nas announcing Stillmatic that early on in the year. Also. Nas ended up having beef with XXL cause of how he felt he was treated within those last few years. He expressed that in 03.

Rocafella did the hot 97 in early 01...the timeline adds up

 

[spliz]

Rocafella did the hot 97 in early 01...the timeline adds up

Yea I remember. Still regardless Nas expressed he had an issue with these XXL articles soon after.

 

[Piff Perkins]

I Am the RELEASED version got a higher score in the Source than IWW. Like I said. This is some bullshyt. I'm not saying it was better than IWW. But to act like it was viewed as some severe drop off is corny. The streets wasn't talking like that. It was only after Nastradamus was people feeling disappointed like that. To be honest. Before Takeover. I hadn't met a person who didn't like I Am in real life. And I was a DJ at the time. Doing block parties to school dances. So let's get this straight. Critically it did well. Commercially it did well. My own life experiences showed me that people liked the album. It was treated well on the radio. And I'm supposed to ignore all of that cause Jay Z and some nikkas on the internet said so? Even in that XXL article son posted. It was about Nastradamus. NOT I Am. Nas Is Like wasn't even on the bootleg version of I Am. So those of us who had that version. Were pleasantly surprised by that song. Did u have the I Am bootleg when it dropped?

So why is it a common sentiment that Stillmatic was a return to form? Why did Nas say people thought he was dead? The common sentiment was that DMX and Jay were running east coast rap shyt and Nas was just hanging around. And no matter how much you try to rewrite history I Am is NOT considered a good album by most rap fans. You're my guy but this is wild lol.

Also didn't the Source review mention bootleg tracks that weren't even on the album? I haven't seen it in a minute.

 

[Controversy]

So why is it a common sentiment that Stillmatic was a return to form? Why did Nas say people thought he was dead? The common sentiment was that DMX and Jay were running east coast rap shyt and Nas was just hanging around. And no matter how much you try to rewrite history I Am is NOT considered a good album by most rap fans. You're my guy but this is wild lol.

Also didn't the Source review mention bootleg tracks that weren't even on the album? I haven't seen it in a minute.

The source gave the OG album 4.5 stars IIRC

 

[Big Boss]

This is true.

Stoute said that Columbia wanted to drop Nas after Nastradamus, and he was having trouble booking him at venues that used to always show love. The whole situation with Jay definitely brought his career back to life. Everybody knows that. It was rough after the wack version of I Am dropped. The OG was a masterpiece that got shelved as a retail. Before that, Nas was untouchable.

I didn’t read nothing past the first sentence and I Know I’m older than you and this how I know .NOBODY was checking for nas then period

Shut the fukk up nikka , the streets said everything nas dropped since iww was wakk ,fukk whatever you’re talking about

Nas was dead before jay reignited shyt

Facts


I've been fukked over, left for dead, dissed and forgotten
Luck ran out, they hoped that I'd be gone, stiff and rotten
Y'all just piss on me, shyt on me, spit on my grave (uh)
Talk about me, laugh behind my back but in my face
Y'all some "well wishers, " friendly acting, envy hiding

 

[dakidbanks]

dope thread.. gonna revisit some of the replies

 

[papertrail08]

^^^ This was definitely a comeback. T.I. vs. T.I.P. was widely considered a dud. It was less successful than King. T.I. caught those gun charges and was facing jail time. He was being dissed by Shawty Lo. This dropped and not only put him back to where he was with King, it is his biggest album. Some say one of his best.

T.I. vs T.I.P. was still a successful album though and he was still one of the most popular artists at that time. It was less successful than King because those gun charges overshadowed the album.

 

[papertrail08]

Trap Muzik is the greatest comeback album

More of a Breakout Album than a Comeback Album

 

[Figaro]

I was done with Lupe after the albums he dropped after The Cool.

Then I randomly checked Tetsuo & Youth from the strength of the Coli thread & I was like yeah…he’s back

Definitely better comeback albums in rap but I thought I’d mention that LP.

 

[threattonature]

What's so controversial about admitting Nastradamus was a bad album that followed up a meh album, and Nas was viewed as cold due to that? This isn't just about sales - if you were on a major label and had a budget in 1999 you were going platinum. It's about critical, fan, and casual reception. Nas was fading, Jay was heating up.

So we either all have a collective psychosis of something that isn't true about the past, OR we're right lol. Stillmatic was a great album and a return to form after a bad and meh album. It clearly fits the comeback album mold. And like someone said earlier, if Nas doesn't fit then why would LL fit (if we're just basing it on sales).

Nas started Stillmatic talking about crawling out of the grave lol. The nikka is acknowledging himself that people thought his career was over.

Ayo, the brother's Stillmatic
I crawled up out of that grave, wipin' the dirt, cleanin' my shirt
They thought I'd make another Illmatic
But it's always forward I'm movin'
Never backwards, stupid, here's another classic


And Nas was on fire at that time but only hardcore fans knew that. He was absolutely KILLING everything around that time but pretty much none of it was from hit songs. This dude is talking as a Nas stan and can't look at it from the perspective of from the mainstream level where Nas was looked at as an afterthought. That was the reason most people thought Jay challenged him at that point because Nas was on the downfall and was losing favor so it was the perfect time to attack.

 

[threattonature]

I Am the RELEASED version got a higher score in the Source than IWW. Like I said. This is some bullshyt. I'm not saying it was better than IWW. But to act like it was viewed as some severe drop off is corny. The streets wasn't talking like that. It was only after Nastradamus was people feeling disappointed like that. To be honest. Before Takeover. I hadn't met a person who didn't like I Am in real life. And I was a DJ at the time. Doing block parties to school dances. So let's get this straight. Critically it did well. Commercially it did well. My own life experiences showed me that people liked the album. It was treated well on the radio. And I'm supposed to ignore all of that cause Jay Z and some nikkas on the internet said so? Even in that XXL article son posted. It was about Nastradamus. NOT I Am. Nas Is Like wasn't even on the bootleg version of I Am. So those of us who had that version. Were pleasantly surprised by that song. Did u have the I Am bootleg when it dropped?

Stop mentioning that DJ shyt. One, playing records from your car in the school parking lot and from the street don't make you a DJ. Two, even if you were a DJ you wasn't playing an entire album so what the fukk does being a DJ have to do with the perception of an entire album. fukk outta here with that. nikkas don't presented you actual articles from the time, and you still trying to deny that Nas was looked at as having fallen off.

 

[Awesome Wells]

Nas started Stillmatic talking about crawling out of the grave lol. The nikka is acknowledging himself that people thought his career was over.

Ayo, the brother's Stillmatic
I crawled up out of that grave, wipin' the dirt, cleanin' my shirt
They thought I'd make another Illmatic
But it's always forward I'm movin'
Never backwards, stupid, here's another classic


And Nas was on fire at that time but only hardcore fans knew that. He was absolutely KILLING everything around that time but pretty much none of it was from hit songs. This dude is talking as a Nas stan and can't look at it from the perspective of from the mainstream level where Nas was looked at as an afterthought. That was the reason most people thought Jay challenged him at that point because Nas was on the downfall and was losing favor so it was the perfect time to attack.

Facts.

Irv Gotti said the exact same thing. He said he told Jay not to diss Nas, but he felt Jay was doing it because Nas's sh*t was on life support. We all felt that way back then. It ended up backfiring on Jay. But he definitely saw that Nas was hurting and wanted to take advantage of the moment.

Crazy sh*t about the whole situation is, Swizz actually produced the OG "Ether". And he went to Jay and asked if it was okay to give Nas the beat. Jay was so confident in thinking he destroyed Nas, that he gave Swizz the green light to give Nas a beat to diss him. LOL!! That's when Nas said the sh*t about Aaliyah and "I'm sorry it was you in the plane crash, it should've been Jay-Z and Dame Dash". But that's how bad Nas was down. Jay was cool with his man producing a diss track aimed at him. Sh*t is crazy.

 

[Depreciating Asset]

I actually this it's this.

Think about where puff was at the time after biggie's death. Suge has fired shots at his at the source awards. Pac dissing him. People accusing Puff of being involved in Big's death. And he pulled off on the most successful, classic albums in rap history. I'll Be Missing You came out of nowhere and destroyed the charts for like 6 months in a row. I remember watching all of this like