NYSTATEOFMIND
Superstar
I really wish things would have played out different with Nas and Mega during the Firm run
Cormega Giving Props To It Was Written
- Thread starter Ziggiy
- Start date
Tres Leches
Empire Business
put poetry inside a crack pot and blow 
That said, Nas is Coming was such a disappointing track. I always thought that Nas and Dre's styles together were very hit or miss
The streets loved it, the critics hated it because it wasn't Illmatic 2.
As always tho you know the sentiment...fukk a critic, lol...why would somebody I wouldn't even let sit with us at lunch back in school ever have an opinion that matters to me regarding some street shyt, which hip hop is? Never understood the logic. Look at Elliot Wilson man,
, why on earth would you ever value his cornball ass opinion? This nig probably smell like cheese and lost his virginity at 27. Corny nigs opinions mattering is the real reason hip hop died
As always tho you know the sentiment...fukk a critic, lol...why would somebody I wouldn't even let sit with us at lunch back in school ever have an opinion that matters to me regarding some street shyt, which hip hop is? Never understood the logic. Look at Elliot Wilson man,
, why on earth would you ever value his cornball ass opinion? This nig probably smell like cheese and lost his virginity at 27. Corny nigs opinions mattering is the real reason hip hop died
Piff Perkins
Veteran
Loooot of people sick to their stomach Nas isn't out here destitute about to release Illmatic III on some wack independent label. Touring bars and shyt with Pete Rock DJing. All for the crime of refusing to become a dinosaur, and then refusing to let their guy son him in a battle.
IllmaticDelta
Veteran
It's not so much that they hated IWW (the streets loved IWW); it was more that it wasn't a dusty/backpack type rap, an image that they assigned to Nas and never wanted him to leave.
Had to run the album in full yesterday. Nas was something else on this album. It's crazy because he upped the ante creatively and conceptually. IWW is also heavy on the storytelling.
What I never got is how could people love "Life’s a bytch" and "It Ain't Hard To Tell", but hate IWW and say Nas sold out.
What I never got is how could people love "Life’s a bytch" and "It Ain't Hard To Tell", but hate IWW and say Nas sold out.
filial_piety
Banned
even when Nas and Mega had their differences in the past I never really heard Mega trash Illmatic and IWW...i think he thought that they were dope albums by a guy who wasn't "real"...which is where a lot of his attacks were aimed at back in the day...but he never went in on the skills of IWW...the only thing I can remember him even saying critical of it is how some of the beats sounded like shampoo commercials lol.. and he once said something about writing a few lines on Affirmative Action for him
But I personally go in and out of phases with IWW since it dropped...every so often I run it like it just came out even 25 years later...i went through a phase with it about 3 months ago
But I personally go in and out of phases with IWW since it dropped...every so often I run it like it just came out even 25 years later...i went through a phase with it about 3 months ago
filial_piety
Banned
all true...I was one of those types when IWW...I loved the album, but thought it was a step down at the time because i ran illmatic so much....but when I really sit back and put all that shyt out of my mind..IWW is a 5 star album...no matter the decade, it doesnt sound dated and shyts on just about everything no matter the year
It makes sense why so many hip-hop heads (and people who casually like hip-hop) think Illmatic is his best album. It's Nas mastering this very traditional airtight style, distilling influence from his favorite rappers (Kane, Kool G Rap, Rakim, etc.) over beats from some of the most iconic rap producers of that era - Premier, Q-Tip, Pete Rock, Large Pro, etc.
I just think It Was Written is superior because it was more original, and his flow evolved from this heavily syllabic thing that he got from a previous generation into this airier style that left more space in his rhymes and felt more imaginative. He also developed his song structure, no doubt with help from The Trackmasters, who people hated on for their production style but clearly helped Nas reach that next level of stardom and broaden his technique. His narrative storytelling, his emotive songwriting... IWW wasn't perfect but it showed his progression into a more fully rounded MC. I listen to it more today because it's just more interesting to me.
I just think It Was Written is superior because it was more original, and his flow evolved from this heavily syllabic thing that he got from a previous generation into this airier style that left more space in his rhymes and felt more imaginative. He also developed his song structure, no doubt with help from The Trackmasters, who people hated on for their production style but clearly helped Nas reach that next level of stardom and broaden his technique. His narrative storytelling, his emotive songwriting... IWW wasn't perfect but it showed his progression into a more fully rounded MC. I listen to it more today because it's just more interesting to me.