It Was Written

by Nas

Overview

For his second album, It Was Written, Nas hired a bunch of hip-hop's biggest producers -- including Dr. Dre, DJ Premier, Stretch, and Trackmasters -- to help him create the musical bed for his daring, groundbreaking rhymes. Although that rhyme style isn't as startling on It Was Written as it was on his debut, Illmatic, Nas has deepened his talents, creating a complex series of rhymes that not only flow, but manage to tell coherent stories as well. Furthermore, Nas often concentrates on creating vignettes about life in the ghetto that never are apolitical or ambivalent. This time around, the production is more detailed and elaborate, which gives the music a wider appeal. Sometimes this is a detriment -- Nas sounds better when he tries to keep it street-level -- but usually, his lyrical force cuts through the commercial sheen. Combined with the spare but deep grooves, his rhymes have a resonance unmatched by most of his mid-'90s contemporaries. Because, no matter how deep his lyrics are, his grooves are just as deep and those bottomless funk and spare beats are what make It Was Written so compulsively listenable. ~ Leo Stanley

Product Details

Release Date:	08/05/2014
Label:	Smcmg / Sony Music
UPC:	0888430567825
Rank:	5346

Tracks

1. Album Intro
2. The Message
3. Street Dreams
4. I Gave You Power
5. Watch Dem Niggas
6. Take It in Blood
7. Nas Is Coming
8. Affirmative Action
9. The Set Up
10. Black Girl Lost
11. Suspect
12. Shootouts
13. Live Nigga Rap
14. If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Nas   Primary Artist,Vocals,Lead Vocals
AZ   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals
Cormega   Primary Artist,Vocals
Foxy Brown   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist
Joel "JoJo" Hailey   Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
Mobb Deep   Guest Artist
Dr. Dre   Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Lauryn Hill   Guest Artist,Vocals,Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
The Firm   Featured Artist
Dave Atkinson   Keyboards,Keyboards
DJ Kid Capri   Scratching
Kurt Walker   Vocals
J. Parker   Vocals
Ken "Duro" Ifill   Vocals
Havoc   Vocals,Featured Artist
Prodigy   Vocals
Delight   Keyboards
Jojo Hailey   Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Poke & Tone   Mixing Engineer,Additional Production,Mixing,Producer
Poke   Composer
Nas   Composer,Producer,Executive Producer
Danny Clinch   Photography
Mike Fronda   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
DJ Premier   Composer,Producer
Tom Coyne   Mastering
Bill Esses   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
James Epps   Composer
Cleveland Horne   Composer
Johnnie Pruitt   Composer
Trackmasters   Producer,Executive Producer
Dave Atkinson   Producer,Producer
Steve Stoute   Management,Executive Producer
Live Squad   Producer
Joseph Pruitt   Composer
Wallace Childs   Composer
Kirk Goddy   Producer
Kurt Walker   Composer
Inga Marchand   Composer
Aimee MacAuley   Design,Art Direction
Randy Walker   Composer
Kelston Rice   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Andre Young   Composer
Ken "Duro" Ifill   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Dave Stewart   Composer
Annie Lennox   Composer
Reggie Lucas   Composer
Havoc   Composer,Producer
Kejuan Muchita   Composer
L. David Lewis   Composer
Foxy Brown   Composer,Performer
Dr. Dre   Composer,Producer
Jean-Claude Olivier   Composer
S. Barnes   Composer
K. Walker   Composer
Richard Travali   Mixing,Mixing Engineer
Rashad Smith   Producer,Additional Production
AZ   Composer,Performer
Cory McKay   Composer
Chris Martin   Composer
Top General Sounds   Producer
Lo Ground   Producer
Chris Horne   Composer
L. Lewis   Composer
L.E.S.   Composer,Producer
Cormega   Composer,Performer
James Mtume   Composer
Eddie Sancho   Engineer
Samuel Barnes   Composer