On the whole, mega-phat

Nas

It Was Written (Columbia)

When Nasty Nas dropped the first verse to "Live at the BBQ," heads had their minds blown with lines like "Verbal assassin, the architect pleases, / When I was twelve, I went to hell for snuffin' Jesus." The classic featured other Queens MCs Large Professor (a.k.a. Extra P) and Akinyele (of recent "Put It In Your Mouth" fame). From then until his debut, Illmatic in 1994, Nas built a reputation in the New York underground as one of the best lyricists since Rakim and Big Daddy Kane in their prime. His second release, It Was Written, debuted at number one on the Billboard pop chart, a first for an East Coast rapper. Nas Escobar has proven he can sell records; now he has to answer to charges of selling out.

For It Was Written, Nas has kept some of the producers who kept his first record in full rotation in NYC, like L.E.S. and DJ Premier. However, the production by Trackmasters (on six joints) and Dr. "West Coast rap was built on my beats" Dre (on one) is as much or more of a factor in the album's commercial success than Nas' extreme skill level. From the day the album dropped, every ride with a knockin' system was pumpin' Nas, making "Escobar season" not just one of his phrases, but a reality.

It Was Written

It's difficult to put any cuts above and beyond the rest, but everyone agrees that "The Message" is ridiculously phat. Check the stylos: "96 ways I made out, Montana way / The good f-e-l-l-a, verbal a-k spray / Dipped attaché, jumped out the range, emptied the ashtray / Glass of 'zé, makin' mad Cassius Clay." On the metaphorical "I Gave You Power," Nas tells a story from a gun's point of view, leading the listener to make his own connections between ill-usage of guns and the hardships of blacks in a ghetto environment. "Live N*$%a Rap" exemplifies why Havoc is one of the most slept-on producers in hip-hop, and still holds his own lyrically: "Inside my rap cookbook paragraphs are gourmet / You pay about $5,000 a plate."

Though the lyrics and flow are dope on every track, "Black Girl Lost" and the Dre-produced "Nas Is Coming" spark comments ranging from "the chorus is mad annoying" to "Nah, the beat is extra-wack." "Black Girl Lost" points out what Nas sees as the downfalls of the Black woman, while simultaneously showing understanding of what would seem to be her perpetually unfortunate circumstances: "Eve / Mother Earth of the seeds / N*S%as thirst you, you just let 'em hurt you and leave."

On the whole, this album is mega-phat, but lacks that something to set the game on fire as he did for hip-hop heads with Illmatic. Make no mistake, this time he still burned some of the competition. It Was Written is comparable to Black Moon, Jeru, and Raekwon's respective debuts.

--Issa Colson