Looking Back At Nas’ It Was Written

Yesterday (7/2), marked the 20th anniversary of Nas‘ sophomore album, It Was Written. For many artists, they cannot live up to the hype of their debut album; but for Nas, it seemed like a piece of cake. Off the first track alone, Nas grabs your attention as he spits over The Trackmasters-produced cut, “The Message.”  In an interview with Complex back in 2012, Nas was inspired to write the record after the success of his first album and looking at the amount of competition that was coming out of New York:

There was a moment where it wasn’t just about being a fly guy with money, it was, ‘I’m still in the streets, I still got one foot in the streets.’ We were all gunning for that position or gunning people off of us trying to take our position. That was my position on ‘The Message’ like, ‘Yo, back up, everybody.’

“The Message” surely inspired rappers to come with Fabolous’ “Pachangas,” Joe Budden’s “1000 Faces,” and Kyndall’s “Bullet.”

A thug changes, a love changes, and best friends become strangers, word up.

Who could forget about the notable records, “NY State of Mind,” “If I Ruled The World” with Lauryn Hill, and “Affirmative Action,” where he introduces AZ, Cormega, and Foxy Brown as The Firm.

The album went on to sell over four million copies in the U.S. and proved the Queensbridge emcee was a force to be reckoned with. Whether it’s telling a story from a gun’s point of view with “I Gave You Power” or trying to help a good girl gone bad with “Black Girl Lost,” Nas teaches you about growth and becoming triumph ending the album with “If I Ruled The World.”

I would be lying if I said this album didn’t make me cry. At only 25, Nas had undergone many traumatic experiences, losing his closest friends to violence and looking to escape the high crime rates in New York. Through all the obstacles, Nas was still able to come out on top; as It Was Written remains his best commercial selling album to date.