29 Years Later: Why It Was Written Nonetheless Divides and Defines Nas’ Legacy

On July 2, 1996, Nasir Jones—higher referred to as Nas—launched his sophomore studio album It Was Written. It was a daring pivot from his uncooked, critically acclaimed debut Illmatic. At present, 29 years later, the album stays probably the most hotly debated and concurrently revered initiatives in hip-hop historical past. As It Was Written celebrates its twenty ninth anniversary, it continues to represent a important juncture in Nas’ profession and within the tradition at massive—the place artistry, industrial ambition, and shifting style aesthetics collided.

From Challenge Poet to Escobar: Nas Evolves

Following Illmatic in 1994, a masterclass in storytelling and road lyricism, Nas was already topped the “second coming of Rakim” by purists. However Illmatic was a gradual burn by way of gross sales. Thus, taking two years to go Gold. The industrial pressures of hip-hop’s mid-’90s explosion prompted a shift. Enter It Was Written.

Teaming up with manufacturing duo Trackmasters, Dr. Dre, DJ Premier, Havoc, and L.E.S., Nas embraced a extra polished, radio-friendly sound infused with mafioso imagery. His alter ego, Nas Escobar, emerged. Subsequently, echoing the swagger and elegance of cinematic mob figures like Tony Montana and Michael Corleone. Songs like “The Message,” “Avenue Desires,” and “Affirmative Motion” mirrored this transformation with cinematic narratives, luxurious, and calculated energy performs.

Tracklist with Intent

The album opens with an ominous intro, transitioning into “The Message,” the place Nas warns, “Faux thug, no love, you get the slug, CB4 Gusto.” It’s a shot throughout the bow and a sign that Nas’ pen was nonetheless sharp, no matter manufacturing gloss.

Notable tracks embody:

• “I Gave You Energy” – A conceptual masterpiece the place Nas raps from the angle of a gun.
• “Avenue Desires” – A nod to Eurythmics’ “Candy Desires,” which spawned a remix that includes R. Kelly.
• “If I Dominated the World (Think about That)” – That includes Lauryn Hill, this Grammy-nominated anthem grew to become Nas’ first platinum single.
• “Affirmative Motion” – The debut of The Agency (Nas, AZ, Cormega, Cunning Brown), showcasing lyrical elite mixing road knowledge with world ambition.

Different standout moments embody “Shootouts,” “Black Lady Misplaced,” and the Dr. Dre-produced “Nas Is Coming.”

The Gross sales Machine

Debuting at primary on the Billboard 200, It Was Written moved 270,000 copies in its first week. Inside two months, it was licensed double platinum by the RIAA. Ultimately going triple platinum, it stays Nas’ best-selling album to this point. The industrial success proved Nas might cross into the mainstream whereas retaining lyrical complexity—although not with out backlash.

A Polarizing Traditional

Critics and followers had been break up. The Supply praised it as an “audio anthology of ghetto tales,” whereas Rolling Stone dismissed it as clichéd gangsta posturing. Vibe lamented it lacked Illmatic’s depth. But time has been form.

Retrospective opinions now rank It Was Written amongst Nas’ high works. Publications like AllMusic, Stylus Journal, and Billboard credit score it for bridging the underground-mainstream hole and ushering within the mafioso rap subgenre alongside Affordable Doubt and Solely Constructed 4 Cuban Linx…

Royce da 5’9″ and Schoolboy Q have each expressed that they like It Was Written to Illmatic, additional fueling considered one of hip-hop’s most enduring debates.

The Legacy of “I Gave You Energy” and Nas’s Storytelling Brilliance

Among the many most impactful tracks on It Was Written is “I Gave You Energy,” a lyrical masterpiece the place Nas personifies a gun, telling the story from the weapon’s perspective. This idea monitor is now thought-about one of many best storytelling songs in hip-hop historical past. It showcased Nas’s means to raise the style past braggadocio and road narratives into poetic, layered social commentary.

The tune’s affect has been profound. It impressed comparable tracks from different lyricists, most notably Tupac Shakur’s “Me and My Girlfriend,” which makes use of a parallel metaphor of a gun as a lover. Nas’s execution, nonetheless, stays distinctive for its uncooked element and haunting tone. Strains like “At all times I’m in some shit, my stomach is the clip / My mouth is the set off, my tongue is the bullet” provided a visceral look into violence and its cyclical nature, with out glorification.

“I Gave You Energy” solidified Nas as considered one of rap’s most introspective and technically superior writers. It additionally proved that It Was Written was greater than a industrial pivot—it was a conceptual leap ahead, experimenting with type and narrative in methods few had dared.

This single monitor continues to be taught in hip-hop research programs and praised by fellow artists and critics alike, standing tall as proof that Nas’s pen remained as sharp as ever—even underneath the stress to go mainstream.

Cultural Legacy

The album didn’t simply promote data—it modified advertising. Columbia Data applied distinctive campaigns like distributing branded notebooks and mock parking tickets. It expanded Nas’ viewers globally and launched The Agency, briefly hinting at a Roc-A-Fella-like rap conglomerate earlier than it imploded.

Its thematic gravitas impressed future generations of MCs to mix cinema and road, from Jay-Z to Rick Ross. Songs like “I Gave You Energy” laid groundwork for Kendrick Lamar’s concept-heavy data. Even The Sopranos-like world-building has echoes in fashionable rap’s obsession with opulence and arranged crime tropes.

Remaining Ideas

29 years later, It Was Written stands as greater than a sequel to Illmatic; it’s a definitive chapter in hip-hop’s evolution. It dared to depart from the gritty boom-bap components that made Nas a legend and provided a blueprint for balancing lyrical substance with mass attraction.

Whereas Illmatic outlined the streets, It Was Written conquered the charts with out dumbing down the pen. It challenged followers to rethink what authenticity appears like in an business more and more outlined by optics and attain. Even right this moment, strains like “I by no means sleep, trigger sleep is the cousin of dying” echo by generations of lyricists.

The album’s twenty ninth anniversary is not only a time capsule; it’s a name to revisit a pivotal second when hip-hop expanded its boundaries and Nas advanced from a road prophet to a worldwide icon.

If Illmatic was Nas’ scripture, It Was Written was his cinematic manifesto. And almost three a long time later, it nonetheless hits like a prophecy fulfilled.