It was written > illmatic

[mitter]

Illmatic absolutely better but IWW is still very very good

Yeah, I don’t know why people can’t leave it at “very good.” These days, anything that was not wack is being called a “classic.”

 

[DeuceCypherUno]

The thing is IWW was Nas doing what a lot of others were doing. While it's still a great album, it's not the best of its kind. Not even close. He'll I thought 4,5,6 > IWW, not to mention shyt like RD or Cuban Linx or The Infamous


But Illmatic is THE quintessential album of project window perspectives and nostalgic emotion.


So it's not close here

 

[DeuceCypherUno]

alot of albums were considered disappointments when they first dropped by critics

the streets of NYC was bumping IWW more than Illmatic tbh

But that's only because it had a more accessible sound and Nas gradually built a fanbase.

 

[Ty-Fife]

It could go either way, IWW is my favorite ever. But what I will say is lyrically Nas on IWW > Illmatic.

 

[mitter]

It could go either way, IWW is my favorite ever. But what I will say is lyrically Nas on IWW > Illmatic.

what on IWW is lyrically on par with “NY State of Mind” or “Memory Lane” or “Life’s a Bych”?

 

[ThirdAct]

It's a weird thing where Illmatic is the technically better album but IWW is probably more entertaining. I can see preferring either. IWW aged like a fine wine.

 

[Ty-Fife]

what on IWW is lyrically on par with “NY State of Mind” or “Memory Lane” or “Life’s a Bych”?

Take it in Blood, Suspect, Shootouts, Watch Dem nikkas, Live nikka Rap, The Message, Affirmative Action?

His bar structure clearly evolved on IWW whereas Illmatic it was more straight forward and G Rap-ish.

 

[Wacky D]

the album was mid to fans in real time
https://groups.google.com/g/rec.music.hip-hop/c/k5Li9c1HjVQ/m/s4a51Xj2I9EJ

95% of what was said, sums up the way I feel about the album.

Somebody said that It Was Written was too dark. That's funny, because people thought the production was too clean, so which is it?

That's 2 different things

You can be dark & clean at the same dam time.

 

[Mike Wins]

This is absurd

IWW has a few great songs (The Message, I Gave You Power, Affirmative Action, Take It In Blood) and the rest of the album is a cut below, in “solid but not great” territory.

The worst song on Illmatic (whatever you think that is) is at least as good as the best on IWW

This revisionism about IWW needs to stop. It was considered a major let down when it dropped. That’s why the entire narrative before I Am dropped was about whether Nas could regain his old form and redeem himself.

The comment that the worst song on Illmatic is as good as the best songs on IWW is more absurd than saying IWW > Illmatic. One Time For Your Mind isn't anywhere close to Take It In Blood, The Message, Shootouts, I Gave You Power

Revisionist history ain't a bad thing in every case either. Few things you gotta remember. Illmatic was more than an album to a lot of people. To them it represented the pinnacle of a certain style of hip hop and Nas was the savior of that sound.

Those circles were extremely vocal in their hate of IWW because it was a such a drastic shift in production style. It was seen as a betrayal. And those circles had a real loud voice in the press too. And no doubt they shyt on it heavy.

But in 1996, outside the NYC hip hop purist bubble, IWW was a huge album that people were feeling and 90% of them hadn't even heard Illmatic. So it's also revisionist history to say IWW was universally disliked, and to act like it didn't dominate summer of '96. Pac and BIG passing right afterward sort of overshadowed its run and impact at the time. But IWW was one of the first albums to have that glossy, expensive sounding production almost all the way through married to street content and high level lyricism. Like, BIG had that on the RTD singles but the rest of that album was grimy NY shyt like Illmatic.

IWW gets revisionist love because it's more accepted now for what it is vs what it isn't. It straddled the line between street and commercial about as well as any album you can list. And Nas was locked in. Put it this way, if the lyrics and flows he had on the top 9 songs on IWW were over Premier, Pete Rock, Large Pro and RZA beats instead of Trackmasters and that was the album, the same haters would've been calling it another classic. But a lot of them still not over the fact he never tried to make another Illmatic or reproduce that sound.

 

[nose hair]

No

 

[Mike Wins]

Take it in Blood, Suspect, Shootouts, Watch Dem nikkas, Live nikka Rap, The Message, Affirmative Action?

His bar structure clearly evolved on IWW whereas Illmatic it was more straight forward and G Rap-ish.

After Magic, ran through the Nas catalog again like I always do when he drops a new one.

IWW is his best album from a straight rapping perspective. No question. His lyrics and flow were insane on IWW. Bars, rhyme schemes, concepts, overall focus were flawless. Every damn song. The musical version of an A-list crime film. If he dropped the same rhymes over Illmatic style beats it'd be consensus

 

[Mr. Negative]

it was just a few days ago I realized the disconnect I had with Illmatic.

I'll admit, Nas was RAPPING rapping

but I realized I didn't get to hear (in real time) the transition from the Rakim hip hop to the east coast more embracing the Kool G Rap way of things to Nas combining both.

I (and prolly the rest of the nation) didn't get the concept til IWW. Before IWW, we had plenty of NY artists to warm us up to it.


But hey, that's just my personal experience. I appreciate Illmatic a lot more now, but still IWW>>>>>>>>

 

[bigbadbossup2012]

Easily too. It's better in every possible way.

 

[LiveFromLondon]

It Was Written is the best any rapper has ever rapped on a album

 

[Soymuscle Mike]

Been going back and forth on this one since '96, right now I'm pulling towards IWW