Even those freestyles where he's saying 'Escobar season begins' are more the lyrical, storytelling side of Nas than the gangster side. The spirit of a Queensbridge kid pumps through that LP. Sure, he also delivered a healthy amount of wealthy gangsterness too, but it was still all the way hood, with plenty of realism and next level lyricism. Not with shit like “I Gave You Power,” “Take It in Blood,” “Black Girl Lost,” and “If I Ruled the World” on it. And even though it was the official solo birth of Nas Escobar, I’m not necessarily sure I would classify it as a purely Esco-style album. He's at his best when he plays both sides of the game: the poet and the gangster.ĭaniel: It Was Written was a natural progression from Illmatic, and it contains some of the dopest Nas raps and flows of his career. He let opinions get in the way of his creativity. Are we going to get Escobar, his new money, pink suit wearing, rich mobster persona, or the street poet, the wunderkind who ably scribbled the tribulations of the world into his notepad, or some mix of the two? People like to shun It Was Written because he went commercial, but that album matched his state of mind at the time perfectly. Life Is Good is a damn good album, and we're eager to hear what's in store for his upcoming 11th album. This is an issue he's finally figuring out almost two decades later.

His releases between It Was Written and Life Is Good all have two things in common: dope lyrics, weak beats (for the most part). The former prodigy turned chip-toothed Don turned street philosopher turned OG was never able to settle on a sound, something Jay Z brought up on the Blueprint 2 title track: 'Is it 'Oochie Wally' or is it 'One Mic?' Is it 'Black Girl Lost' or shorty owe you for ice?' Like his sound, Nas' ear for beats has been inconsistent as well. Nasty has had a roller coaster of a career since releasing Illmatic in 1994. It's the age old question: When will Escobar Season return? We thought it was happening when Nas released 'The Season' a couple months ago-instead we got a couple bars over a Dilla beat and a hashtag (#SeasonofNasir).

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