20 Years Ago Today... Nas - It Was Written

[za'kiss]

It justifies, Nas Escobar’s leavin shit mesmerized

Mega live, like the third world

Decipher my deceiver make him a believer

Spitting gem stars, words in my mic type receiver

Bond is my life so I live by my word

Never fraudulent Queensbridge don’t make no herbs

Spread my name to deacons, politicians while they speakin

Rebel to America civilization caught you sleepin

I've been trying to memorize this and the second verse for years

Second verse is GOAT:

I meant it, I represent it, descendant made of

Early natives that were captured and taught to think backwards

Trapped us in a cracker's psychiatric, it's massive

A Million Man March, alert the masses

Tan Clarks, Armani in small print upon my glasses

Don assassins, Armageddon

The wedding of a freak and a beast

Seven heads, got the righteous threatened

Life Was Written, the plot curves behind the settin'

Comprehend the grammar, Math we own

Are you the type of nigga to shoot a leg to get your name known?

I flip the brain tone

Niggas get hit and wrapped in plastic

The mic I strike in vain, givin' the pain of what a MAC is

What you with? Luchi or drama?

No sleep means insomnia

No need to check the clock, the streets'll time ya

 

[trendsetta1030]

I always thought Take it in Blood, Silent Murderer, the firm song and live nigga Rap was the hardest songs on there. Live nigga Rap after I went back years later and listened sounds like all three of them was dissing Tupac. I didn't know at first but I had to absorb the lyrics later on.

Na he was subliminally dissin jay

1 luv 1 life so ther can only be 1 king-nas

0:46

Nas came out and said that line was for Biggie

Did he say that after him n jay got koo?

Iww was dissin jay an big an mega the message song

 

[CeLLaR-DooR]

I don't hear how its better than Illmatic.

Not that it matters. Classic and I Gave You Power is one of hip hop's seminal works

 

[illedout]

The first words on the album is

"Get em Rudy"..

I don't know why but that shit is hilarious to me..

After that, I use to call old white people Rudy..

 

[trendsetta1030]

I don't hear how its better than Illmatic.

Not that it matters. Classic and I Gave You Power is one of hip hop's seminal works

Illmatic was a freestyle it was written was a song

 

[5th Letter]

I like Affirmative Action and Watch Dem Niggas

 

[THE_R_]

I STILL THINK ILLMATIC IS BETTER, BUT I ALSO THINK ITS UNFAIR THAT THIS ALBUM DOESN'T GET RECOGNIZED AS A CLASSIC BC IT HAS A HARD ACT TO FOLLOW.

THIS ALBUM IS NAS BEST LYRICAL PERFORMANCE. THERE'S A REASON WHY THE LINER NOTES INCLUDES ALL THE LYRICS.

ALSO, I FEEL THE TRACKMASTERS GOT A BAD REP AT ONE POINT, HOWEVER...I THOUGHT THEIR PRODUCTION WAS ON POINT.

 

[power_wisdom]

I always thought Take it in Blood, Silent Murderer, the firm song and live nigga Rap was the hardest songs on there. Live nigga Rap after I went back years later and listened sounds like all three of them was dissing Tupac. I didn't know at first but I had to absorb the lyrics later on.

Na he was subliminally dissin jay

1 luv 1 life so ther can only be 1 king-nas

0:46

Nas came out and said that line was for Biggie

Did he say that after him n jay got koo?

Iww was dissin jay an big an mega the message song

No he wasn't. Jay didn't even have a album out then. He was just a artist on the come up who wanted Nas on a song. His album came out a few weeks later. Mega was on It was written. How he diss him?

 

[Cutler 26 INT's LOL!]

Listened to this recently. Forgot how much I fucked with this album back in the day.

 

[trendsetta1030]

I always thought Take it in Blood, Silent Murderer, the firm song and live nigga Rap was the hardest songs on there. Live nigga Rap after I went back years later and listened sounds like all three of them was dissing Tupac. I didn't know at first but I had to absorb the lyrics later on.

Na he was subliminally dissin jay

1 luv 1 life so ther can only be 1 king-nas

0:46

Nas came out and said that line was for Biggie

Did he say that after him n jay got koo?

Iww was dissin jay an big an mega the message song

No he wasn't. Jay didn't even have a album out then. He was just a artist on the come up who wanted Nas on a song. His album came out a few weeks later. Mega was on It was written. How he diss him?

Rd dropped June iww dropped July … that mega Song was pre recorded by then I dnt think him n nas was koo

 

[THE_R_]

NAS & MEGA WERE COOL UNTIL THEY STARTED PREPPING THE FIRM ALBUM IN 97 WITH DRE & TRACKMASTERS.

MEGA REJECTED A PRODUCTION DEAL OR SOME SHIT...AND THEN NEXT THING YOU KNOW...NATURE REPLACES HIM. THAT PRETTY MUCH SET IT OFF.

HE SPEAKS ON IT ON LOVE IN LOVE OUT.

 

[power_wisdom]

I always thought Take it in Blood, Silent Murderer, the firm song and live nigga Rap was the hardest songs on there. Live nigga Rap after I went back years later and listened sounds like all three of them was dissing Tupac. I didn't know at first but I had to absorb the lyrics later on.

Na he was subliminally dissin jay

1 luv 1 life so ther can only be 1 king-nas

0:46

Nas came out and said that line was for Biggie

Did he say that after him n jay got koo?

Iww was dissin jay an big an mega the message song

No he wasn't. Jay didn't even have a album out then. He was just a artist on the come up who wanted Nas on a song. His album came out a few weeks later. Mega was on It was written. How he diss him?

Rd dropped June iww dropped July … that mega Song was pre recorded by then I dnt think him n nas was koo

Either way Jay wasn't on Nas radar. Jay wasn't claiming the King of NY title untill after Biggie got murdered. So no Nas wasn't dissing him in 96.

 

[Elzo69Renaissance]

I always thought Take it in Blood, Silent Murderer, the firm song and live nigga Rap was the hardest songs on there. Live nigga Rap after I went back years later and listened sounds like all three of them was dissing Tupac. I didn't know at first but I had to absorb the lyrics later on.

Na he was subliminally dissin jay

1 luv 1 life so ther can only be 1 king-nas

0:46

Nas came out and said that line was for Biggie

Did he say that after him n jay got koo?

Iww was dissin jay an big an mega the message song

No he wasn't. Jay didn't even have a album out then. He was just a artist on the come up who wanted Nas on a song. His album came out a few weeks later. Mega was on It was written. How he diss him?

Rd dropped June iww dropped July … that mega Song was pre recorded by then I dnt think him n nas was koo

Either way Jay wasn't on Nas radar. Jay wasn't claiming the King of NY title untill after Biggie got murdered. So no Nas wasn't dissing him in 96.

Almost every one involved admitted he threw shots at Jay on IWW

 

[THE_R_]

THE MESSAGE WAS FOR BIGGIE

 

[Dogowner14]

Tupac on When thugz cry..this is Unreleased OG.. GOOSEBUMPS..

Listen at 4:28. Pac was really mad at Nas.

 

[Dogowner14]

Nas was not taking a shot at Biggie with the thug line. How often did Big refer to himself as a thug? That gusto line is against someone who act and Pac was an actor during that time.

Nas went at Biggie, Jay & Pac on the same track.

Fucking beast

 

[gifted]

Jay was not his comp at the time. Jay was a Nas Stan. He was sub dissing his true comp - Big on the East, Pac on the West. Letting them know on the first song. It was written will always be my favourite Nas album. Creative storytelling at its finest. Those first two albums pretty much put him as GOAT status for me.

 

[themadlionsfan]

Nas Talks About His Relationships With Notorious B.I.G. And Tupac

By XXL Staff April 15, 2014 7:21 PM

Earlier today, Nas spoke with Marc Lamont Hill on Huffpost Live to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Illmatic, discuss relationships with other artists and how fatherhood has changed him.

It’s hard to believe 20 years has passed since Nas dropped a lyrical bombshell on the Hip Hop community. On April 19, 1994, the Queensbridge rapper released his debut album Illmatic. Although the response from the album is still widely debated to this day, the classic later earned a rare XXL album rating and was certified platinum.

The artist, who admits to not being able to rate his albums from best to worst, opened up to Hill about his musical career, the relationships he’s built along the way and listened to fans voice their opinion about his music via tweets.

Nas on his relationship with Biggie:

“On the second album I had to respond a little bit to certain lines; we’d just keep each other on our toes. But that was the great thing about BIG. BIG wasn’t the guy who was bitter. He pushed you. He challenged you. He made you feel like you had to rise up or get out. He wouldn’t sit around and be talking about you and be mad at you and jealous. If he had any envy in him, it’s because he always had to have that top spot and that is what being the best is all about. And I miss him today because he was a class act with that.”

Nas reflects on Tupac:

“When I heard that [Tupac] had something about me in Makavelli, we talked about it and he said he would take it out after me and him met and voiced our opinions on everything. He said, ‘I’m cool with taking that out [of the record]. He was like, ‘Yeah I’ve got that on my record going at you.’ But he passed… the day before my birthday… we were going to meet in Vegas. I was in Vegas and it rained in Vegas when he passed. That was a trip. I have way too much respect for Tupac, way too much. He was a God.”

Nas gave fans another dose of the iconic album to celebrate the anniversary with the release of Illmatic XX: 20th Anniversary Edition. The album contains unreleased demos and freestyles, along with fresh remixes. You can find a stream of the album right here on the site.

You can watch the full length interview below:—Morgan Murrell

Read More: Nas Talks About His Relationships With Notorious B.I.G. And Tupac - XXL |http://www.xxlmag.com/news/2014/04/nas-talks-relationships-notorious-b-g-tupac/?trackback=tsmclip

 

[themadlionsfan]

Did Biggie ask you to team up against Tupac?

Yeah, he called me. He said, “Let’s get together.” He said that everyone was a little nervous about it, but he was calling me about getting busy.

Why did nothing happen?

Getting me and Big in the same room wasn’t easy. I had just dropped my record, and my schedule was crazy. Biggie was in Miami recording Life After Death. It was just timing. We were supposed to get together and talk more, so who knows what would have happened.

Well, you guys were taking shots at each other.

On a song I did on my second album, Tupac thought it was about him, but it was really toward Biggie.

“The Message”?

[Nods] From the first lines all the way to “One life, one love, there can only be one king.” That was specifically going in that direction. The whole fucking song, really. Tupac was not even on my radar for going at him.

Tupac thought it was about him because of that line, “I got stitched up and left the hospital that same night.”

Nah, this is Queensbridge activities I am rapping about. I’m with dudes who have bullets in them, who just left the hospital, [and] we ride around smoking weed. So this is in my raps. We were in New York going at it. We weren’t even thinking about no other place—Cali, Georgia, nothing.

I didn’t think you were going at Biggie.

He did.

What did he say to you about it?

“Your reign on the top was short like leprechauns.” [Laughs]
http://king-mag.com/king-legacy-nasir-jones-part-two/

From an article in King Magazine from Nas' own mouth

Nas never dissed Jay...Jay was a Nas groupie....in fact Nas was supposed to be in the Dead Presidents video but only AZ showed up...I'm talking about the scene at the end where they were playing monopoly with real money

and Jay used to write alot of Foxy's shit.....its not a coincidence that some of her rhymes were bigging up Nas

 

[power_wisdom]

I always thought Take it in Blood, Silent Murderer, the firm song and live nigga Rap was the hardest songs on there. Live nigga Rap after I went back years later and listened sounds like all three of them was dissing Tupac. I didn't know at first but I had to absorb the lyrics later on.

Na he was subliminally dissin jay

1 luv 1 life so ther can only be 1 king-nas

0:46

Nas came out and said that line was for Biggie

Did he say that after him n jay got koo?

Iww was dissin jay an big an mega the message song

No he wasn't. Jay didn't even have a album out then. He was just a artist on the come up who wanted Nas on a song. His album came out a few weeks later. Mega was on It was written. How he diss him?

Rd dropped June iww dropped July … that mega Song was pre recorded by then I dnt think him n nas was koo

Either way Jay wasn't on Nas radar. Jay wasn't claiming the King of NY title untill after Biggie got murdered. So no Nas wasn't dissing him in 96.

Almost every one involved admitted he threw shots at Jay on IWW

What are you talking about?!? Jay-z was a non factor in NY east coast hip hop in july 1996. He just come out. Before that he was an unground rapper. You and those people don't know what you are talking about. Unless it was another shot. That one king shot was at Biggie.