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.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Album IntroNas | Nas | Play | 02:24 | 5 MB | 15 MB |
| 2 | The MessageS. Barnes, Nas | Nas | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | Street DreamsSamuel Barnes, Annie Lennox, Nas, Dave Stewart | Nas | Play | 04:40 | 10 MB | 29 MB |
| 4 | I Gave You PowerChristopher Martin, Nas, DJ Premier | Nas | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 5 | Watch dem NiggasS. Barnes, Nas | Nas | Play | 04:04 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 6 | Take It in BloodChris Horne, Nas, Johnnie Pruitt | Nas | Play | 04:48 | 10 MB | 28 MB |
| 7 | Nas Is ComingNas, Andre Young | Nas | Play | 05:41 | 13 MB | 38 MB |
| 8 | Affirmative ActionS. Barnes, Inga Marchand, Cory McKay, Nas, Jean-Claude Olivier | Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown, Cormega, The Firm | Play | 04:19 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 9 | The Set UpKejuan Muchita, Nas | Nas | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 23 MB |
| 10 | Black Girl LostL. David Lewis, L. Lewis, James Mtume, Nas | Nas | Play | 04:23 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 11 | SuspectL. David Lewis, L. Lewis, Nas | Nas | Play | 04:12 | 9 MB | 25 MB |
| 12 | ShootoutsS. Barnes, Nas, Jean-Claude Olivier | Nas | Play | 03:46 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 13 | Live Nigga RapKejuan Muchita, Nas | Nas | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 14 | If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)S. Barnes, Nas, Jean-Claude Olivier, K. Walker | Nas | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 30 MB |
| 58 mins | 134 MB | |||||
| 58 mins | 366 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dave Atkinson | Keyboards, Producer |
| 2 | AZ | Guest Artist, Performer, Primary Artist |
| 3 | S. Barnes | Composer |
| 4 | Samuel Barnes | Composer |
| 5 | Foxy Brown | Guest Artist, Performer, Primary Artist |
| 6 | Danny Clinch | Photography |
| 7 | Cormega | Performer, Primary Artist |
| 8 | Tom Coyne | Mastering |
| 9 | Delight | Keyboards |
| 10 | DJ Kid Capri | Scratching |
| 11 | DJ Premier | Composer, Producer |
| 12 | Dr. Dre | Guest Artist, Producer |
| 13 | Bill Esses | Mixing |
| 14 | The Firm | Featured Artist, Primary Artist |
| 15 | Mike Fronda | Mixing |
| 16 | Kirk Goddy | Producer |
| 17 | Joel "JoJo" Hailey | Guest Artist, Vocals (Background) |
| 18 | Havoc | Producer |
| 19 | Lauryn Hill | Guest Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 20 | Chris Horne | Composer |
| 21 | Ken "Duro" Ifill | Mixing, Vocals |
| 22 | L.E.S. | Producer |
| 23 | Annie Lennox | Composer |
| 24 | L. Lewis | Composer |
| 25 | L. David Lewis | Composer |
| 26 | Live Squad | Producer |
| 27 | Aimee MacAuley | Art Direction, Design |
| 28 | Inga Marchand | Composer |
| 29 | Christopher Martin | Composer |
| 30 | Cory McKay | Composer |
| 31 | Mobb Deep | Guest Artist |
| 32 | James Mtume | Composer |
| 33 | Kejuan Muchita | Composer |
| 34 | Nas | Composer, Executive Producer, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 35 | Jean-Claude Olivier | Composer |
| 36 | J. Parker | Vocals |
| 37 | Poke & Tone | Mixing, Producer |
| 38 | Johnnie Pruitt | Composer |
| 39 | Kelston Rice | Engineer |
| 40 | Eddie Sancho | Engineer |
| 41 | Rashad Smith | Producer |
| 42 | Dave Stewart | Composer |
| 43 | Steve Stoute | Executive Producer, Management |
| 44 | Trackmasters | Executive Producer, Producer |
| 45 | Richard Travali | Mixing |
| 46 | K. Walker | Composer |
| 47 | Kurt Walker | Vocals |
| 48 | Andre Young | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |