I know that I Am... was originally going to be released in 1998 before the leak, then it got pushed back. I don't think the track list was finalized, so that explains why some leaked tracks made the album and others didn't. Also, Columbia wanted Nas to put out another album with the leaked tracks that didn't make I Am..., but he decided to make a new album instead (even though there are leftover songs like "Project Windows").
Nas said he was going through a lot around that time and it explains why that era was full of frustration and darkness in his lyrics. I think @Awesome Wells said that Nas didn't want to pay for high-end beats after the leak, which explains why some of the production in this era wasn't the best. Then there's the stuff that he recorded like Death of Escobar that was never actually released.
I feel like Nas was overflowing with ideas during this period, but they just weren't coming together into anything cohesive. It wasn't until Stillmatic that he was able to focus again and channel his ideas into another cohesive album like Illmatic and It Was Written.
Yeah, Nas was going through some shyt. The 1998-2000 era is intriguingUnpopular opinion, but this is my favorite Nas era. You could tell he was kind of in a dark place and it gave his writing an edge imo.
JFK to Laguardia, we come through to body ya![]()
Also, feature on Journey Through The Life
totally a bizarre and just wild verse, goes from digging in animals eye with a stick, sacrificing goats (probably A Devils Advocate reference)
"roll with killers and criminals, wit heroin habits they picked up in the penal"
throws some subs at Jay
"grown ladies throw themselves off the roof, nikkaz get paged then murdered at the phone booth"
That was on Puff's second album which came out in August 99...Nas also said something on that verse like "cause in this lifetime I'm reigning"...which could be seen as another sub at Jigga
I think you gotta add 02 in here because Lost Tapes kinda wrapped up the I Am leak debacle and God's Son which was obviously a really personal album with the loss of his mom and also a victory lap after the battle...
It's a fascinating era though for sure. Two unreleased albums in the original I Am and Death of Escobar. I think I read once that Death of Escobar was supposed to have three songs about Escobar dying. And then another rumor that he recorded 100 songs (!) during the I Am sessions. Don't know how much that is just internet rumors though.
A personal favorite from this era:
He was spazzing on guest appearances too:
So much great unreleased shyt too:
Some of his all time best songs...