What was it really like when It Was Written dropped?

[prophecypro]

Mainstream huge, underground disappointed.

 

[Whitty Hutton]

when if i ruled the world video dropped people were feeling the song because of lauryn, NOT that chump nas, then the album dropped, shyt was lukewarm amongst critics, even vibe (who was major legit at the time) kinda shytted on it... the thought at the time was that chump nas was a studio gangsta all of a sudden rappin about the mafia lifestyle when everybody knew he was just some punk kid who wasnt about that life.. in other words it was a disappointment

it wasnt until years later when the internet was booming that his fakkit stans started fronting online like it was a classic .. fukk outta here shyt has mad weak joints on there

lol @ you still stanning Dipset. 2004 was a loooong time ago boy boy. You think holding on to those 15 minutes makes you better than a Nas stan?

Only ones that really had gripes with the album were ones that were down with Nas since Illmatic. But for a lot of people it was really their introduction to Nas. The album was popular and the singles were ALWAYS on the radio MTV, BET & The Box. I cant remember what awards show it was, but Nas did If I Ruled the World, and when he opened up with the first lines "Imagine hanging out in the street without cops harrasing" and the crowd cheered and clapped lol. I think it was the same show where LL was performing "Hey lover" and they were bleeping out words like "kissing your thighs" and "searching your body with my tongue"

 

[DredScott]

i've posted this before in another thread talking about IWW and albums that dropped in '96, but here's how i felt when IWW dropped...

It was written is a great album, but man i can't lie i was hating on that shyt hard when it dropped...

this is basically how i feel about this album.

i can understand how ppl can honestly say they like IWW more than Illmatic now in retrospect, but you gotta admit that you were disappointed at least at first. there's nobody alive that actually listened to Illmatic before IWW that can say they weren't at least slightly disappointed with IWW when it dropped.

all i can remember is me and alotta other cats i know copping IWW the day it dropped and being disgusted with it and dubbing it and taking it back to the store the next day. we were disappointed as fukk. it was like after Illmatic, he makes this? disappointing tracks like "Street Dreams" and "Nas Is Coming"? with that horrible hook? dre allowed that?

from what i remember seeing alotta ppl that really enjoyed the lp were the same kids who didn't know who Nas was til "If I Ruled The World" hit the radio and MTV, not all of them were newjacks, but the majority of the kids i knew who bought IWW were, that's why IWW was sold like it did. shyt i remember kids (mostly white boys) in school fukking his name up at first all the time on some "nah man, his name is pronounced Nazzz". shyt was sad...

in retrospect, IWW is a great album, but at the time it came out it was a major disappointment to me and alotta other ppl. i just wasn't expecting that sudden change in beat selection and lyrical content. that tape dub of IWW didn't get much play for awhile either, i just went back to rocking the America Is Dying Slowly compilation, nutty professor soundtrack and the great hype soundtrack and kept it moving. (sidenote: man i miss the days of dope hip-hop movie soundtracks and compilations.)

to be honest though, i was in full blown "Keep It Real" mode back then so it took me awhile to get outta my timbz and fatigues backpacker mode before i could truly appreciate the greatness of It Was Written.

 

[ItalianoCAC]

ignoring the teachers, sitting with my head phones and sony walkman in class with It Was Written bumping, while reading the insert with the lyrics while everyone else was looking at a textbook >>>>>>

 

[LandryFieldsDad]

i've posted this before in another thread talking about IWW and albums that dropped in '96, but here's how i felt when IWW dropped...

Great post

I miss the soundtracks too
Was bumping soul in the hole this morning

 

[god shamgod]

I copped it was written the it day it dropped ,If I ruled the world had a nice buzz on the videos and radio and right before iww was released the message got played as a sneak peak and the message was super dope cuz that was the song we all heard at the beginning of If I ruled the world video

this album kind of got lost in the shuffle that was right after pac dropped hit em up and 96 was a strong year in hip hop

I dont recall critics hating iww but affirmative action,I gave u power and the message were the 3 songs that people were like

 

[god shamgod]

I also recall Jay was getting mad tick in summer 96

People try to act like he was completely irrelevant but aint no nikka,cant knock the hustle,the song wit fox "I'll be" and brooklyns finest were gettin mad play,along wit get money remix,Aint nothing but a gangsta party,how do u want it,camp lo luchini,outkast elevators,then the fall hell on earth,makeveli 7 day theory,foxys ill na na dropped

96 = greatest year in hip hop history imo

 

[DredScott]

Great post

I miss the soundtracks too
Was bumping soul in the hole this morning

man, i'm admittedly an east coast biased head, although not as much in the last decade or so, but man Soul In The Hole soundtrack is the best hip-hop soundtrack ever IMO. no skippable joints on there.

shyt takes out Above The Rim, New Jersey Drive (both volumes), The Show, Menace II Society, etc.... although i can see west coast biased cats saying otherwise, since i'm like the polar opposite.

 

[Canada Goose]

How did people react to Street Dreams having the exact same beat as the title track off of "All eyes on me"?

Its crazy as Pac probably was like about the new album until he heard "fake thugs no love you get the slugs" then was like and probably hopped in his Royce to the studio to record a song dissing Nas that's still in the vault.

Nikka probably heard "Street Dreams" and was like

 

[tae29]

nas got shytted on by so called hip hop heads

 

[L. Deezy]

Lets see, I wasnt a real Nas fan until IWW. I had his singles from Illmatic but wasnt sold on him. I think at that time I was in to punchline rap. Like Redman and Keith Murray. Nas was more of just lyrics. But actually, a girl I was with at the time made me a fan.

But when I listened to IWW in full, I started to get his style.

 

[Mr. Pink]

I've always thought of Illmatic and IWW as seasons 1 and 2 of The Wire.

After S1/Illmatic everyone was all
When S2/IWW dropped people were not just expecting quality, but a specific type of quality. They thought they had that shyt pegged. That's why the first reaction was "wtf happened?". But after a bit of time passed and people had time to digest they were all ""

 

[powerpainpleasure]

There's been v few songs that has a final verse as brilliant as Nas' Every Ghetto. He has the greatest discography bar none in the history of hip hop. There are far too many people with idiotic opinions on this site. I'm not saying everything dude has sp?t on is stellar but in terms of released albums there is none near. And if I hear ne1 mention Rakim I'll spazz out!

 

[DANJ!]

How did people react to Street Dreams having the exact same beat as the title track off of "All eyes on me"?

Its crazy as Pac probably was like about the new album until he heard "fake thugs no love you get the slugs" then was like and probably hopped in his Royce to the studio to record a song dissing Nas that's still in the vault.

Nikka probably heard "Street Dreams" and was like

I can't speak for everyone of course, but I don't recall that bein' a big deal. Stuff like that used to happen all the time, where one artist would have the same sample as another around the same time.

shyt, look how many people sampled "Between the Sheets"

 

[Scotch Hall]

I was a kid, what I remember was that it was a hot album. Not a classic, not wack. Just hot like Jays vol 2 (not as hot though). Some cats were disappointed cause he was making gangster/ignorant music to sell records even though they fukked with it. I'd guess that the amount of people saying that, were the same amount saying that it was on the same level as Illmatic. From looking at the reviews they were very mixed. No classic reviews and no weak reviews either.

not as hot as vol.2 you serious b?
critics or not, that album is better than vol.2