So is this what the sequel to “Illmatic” was destined to sound like before Nas hit up Trackmasters?

[LOST IN THE SAUCE]

this was produced by Marl too

This too

 

[Ziggiy]

Nah, he got it right. He planned to have Marley do his entire second album at first. In their first sessions he recorded True Dialect and On The Real. Marley ended up throwing Cormega and the guy from Screwball on to On The Real without Nas' permission and then played it on his radio station, along with turning True Dialect into a radio promo. Nas wrote him off after that.
After leaving Marley he recorded Life Is Like a Dice Game with Easy Mo Bee. I think Understanding with Extra P was recorded either right before linking with Marley or right around the same time. Stoute only found him after that. I think Deja Vu was recorded after the Stoute link, but I'm not 100% on that.

Deja Vu was recorded after the Stoute link according to the Producer. They did two songs together, Deja Vu and a song called Black Velvet that I think got erased.

 

[zayk35]

Good thing he went more commercial because he would've headed right into "dusty land" maybe he goes barely gold again in real time if even that. I am not a fan of "Illmatic: like that anyway GOAT album of hip hop my ass

 

[Yehuda]

All the tracks in here sound dope, has he ever dropped them on a Lost Tapes type deal?

 

[DontEemTry]

Yeaaah...finally up in this nikka

 

[StoneColdSteveAustin]

Thank god he went the trackmasters route

 

[HARLEM AL]

song is fire but that song has been out way after 2nd album.

 

[BmoreGorilla]

On the Real was included on the Illmatic 10th anniversary release

 

[Funcrusher]

Deja Vu is a top 5 Nas song imo. Still need the real cdq of that, producer confirmed it exists.

 

[African Peasant]

Better than IWW, especially Life is like A Dice Game and Deja Vu.

Deja VU is Nas' at his PEAK.

 

[Detroit Wave]

Dude ain’t a Nas fan but somehow finds his way in every Nas thread. I don’t even open threads for artists I’ve got no interest in.

Yall lost for engaging him in the first place. No detroit nikka who is a lakers fan, bulls fan or celtics fan can be trustworthy

 

[Canon]

Better than IWW, especially Life is like A Dice Game and Deja Vu.

Deja VU is Nas' at his PEAK.

Life is like a dice game could have been flipped into a nasty Firm song

 

[Cladyclad]

Yall lost for engaging him in the first place. No detroit nikka who is a lakers fan, bulls fan or celtics fan can be trustworthy

And a dude who go pillow talk to other dudes about another resident is 1000% untrustworthy

 

[Whips-n-Chains]

Some of the trackmasters stuff is too soft, but it probably saved his career, or extended it a lot further. By 1996, boom-bap style beats had been more or less phased out, and everyone was on the OB4CL/G Rap Mafioso ish... illmatic style beats would've sounded ancient in 1996.

I still would've loved a mixtape of illmatic-esque beats. I also think there could've been 1-2 less trackmasters beats, and insert another preemo beat, or grab a beat from RZA. Or more "shootouts" type of trackmasters and less "black girl lost" trackmasters beats. Could've still done some harder production like on The War Report or Hell On Earth which came out after.

 

[Detroit Wave]

And a dude who go pillow talk to other dudes about another resident is 1000% untrustworthy

Dog really thinking about men laying up with @Another Man you lwo nikkas weirdos fr