Nas - It Was Written [Roman_Gie] 320kbit

This is the second LP from Nas. It starts brilliantly with "The Message". This track takes a great guitar sample from a Sting song. Another superb track is "Street Dreams". Here Nas tells a story of chasing dreams and becoming a fat cat in the game. The next track is "I Gave You Power", the most lyrical track on the album. Here Nas raps over a brilliant Primo beat and takes on the role of a gun who is tired of all the killing in the projects. The gun is a metaphor for the people who use you and then discard you. "Nas Is Coming" has production from Dr. Dre and Nas raps over a West Coast orientated beat. Next comes a great posse cut, "Affirmative Action" with AZ, Cormega and Foxy Brown. This was meant to be Cormega's last song ever with The Firm, they briefly got back together but then fell out again. JoJo Hailey features on "Black Girl Lost" which tells story of girls who sell their souls in order to stay in the money. Mobb Deep guest on "Live Nigga Rap" and they send a warning shot off to all the fakers. In my opinion "If I Ruled The World" is the worst track on the CD. It is not due to the fact that it is the most commercial track, I just don't like the beat. The album ends well with "Silent Murder" which has a clever use of steel drums and a string beat. Even though many people say that Nas had fallen off with his second album, I think people were being very harsh and I think that this CD has stood the test of time.


1. Album Intro
2. The Message
3. Street Dreams
4. I Gave You Power
5. Watch Dem Niggas (w/ Foxy Brown)
6. Take It In Blood
7. Nas Is Coming
8. Affirmative Action (w/ Cormega, AZ & Foxy Brown)
9. The Set Up (w/ Havoc)
10. Black Girl Lost (w/ JoJo Hailey)
11. Suspect
12. Shootouts
13. Live Nigga Rap (w/ Mobb Deep)
14. If I Ruled The World (Imagine That) (w/ Lauryn Hill)
15. Silent Murder (Bonus Track)