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The Nas Escobar moniker he adorned himself with definitely would set the tone and we would hear glimpses of that persona coming out on his guest appearances on “Verbal Intercourse” from the Only Built For Cuban Linx album by Raekwon, and even more so on AZ’s “Mo Money, Mo Murder, Mo Homicide” off his classic Doe or Die Debut. Nas would go for a more commercial sound, as I mentioned earlier, but he definitely played into the mafia theme as well. Ladies and gentlemen, this is It Was Written. This year, 20 years later, we look back at one of the seminal Hip Hop releases of 1996, and what I feel is Nas’ best album. Enlisting the service of Steve Stoute as his manager and a new bevy of producers, Nas would create something that is recognized by many as his best album, and one of the best Hip Hop albums of the 90’s (or all time even). Lyrically, Nas was still as focused as ever and he wasn’t showing signs of missing a beat either. There were more samples and loops along with lush arrangements and concepts. Now, while Illmatic was true to form boom bap Hip Hop at its finest, this new album Nas was putting together had different elements in it. Nas would undergo what was seemingly a style change and with it, came a different sound and more of a creative freedom. This would manifest in Nas beginning to gravitate to a more mafioso-rap style along with a more commercial sound to achieve the success he desired (and presumably help get him out of whatever debt he had accumulated). He would christen himself Nas Escobar and with it came a fascination with the mafioso lifestyle. Nas had developed expensive taste and his spending habits became an issue. One story about this album that always sticks with me is the report that Nas was struggling with money during 1995 and had to take out a loan to make purchases for the Source Awards (mostly clothes and jewelry from what I have heard). Nas was riding the high of a gold selling debut classic with Illmatic, and he would be enjoying the success that came with it. It holds a very special place in my heart. The album that I believe is the greatest Hip Hop album ever.