Took home, Ready to Die, listened, studied shit,
Now they on some money shit, successful out the blue...” – Notorious BIG, Kick in the Door
For the record, I think Nas’s debut album Illmatic is a classic. The lyrics are on point, and the beats, even though some of them sound dated, are a picture perfect reflection of New York City in the mid-90s
That leads me to point out how the handful of East Coast publications like The Source had praised Illmatic like the second coming of Jesus before the album saw the light of day. Now that I think about it, Nas was promoted as the Messiah, the emcee with the power to snatch the microphone under the limelight away from California’s rap commercial dominance in the early to mid-90s. The problem with labeling Nas as the Messiah was that Illmatic wasn’t the right album to introduce him as one
You see, Russell Simmons was right. He refused to sign Nas to Def Jam because…
You see, Russell Simmons was right. He refused to sign Nas to Def Jam because…
A) He thought Nas sounded too much like Kool G Rap during an era when it was criminal to sound like another rapper unlike today
And
B) Illmatic wouldn’t sell
B) Illmatic wouldn’t sell
It took years for Illmatic to hit platinum. Mind you, record sales aren’t important to me as a listener. My favorite albums didn’t sell too well, so don’t even try labeling me as superficial. Illmatic failed to live up to expectations in sales based on media hype, and the album wasn’t the threat or the answer to the dominance of West Coast Hip-Hop at the time
Enter Biggie’s Ready to Die
Ready to Die was more of a threat because the album was not only commercially appealing, but also hardcore enough to appease the die hard Hip-Hop fan. Biggie was one of the few New York MCs who kept it street and still sold records without being accused of a "sell out" regardless of heads gettin' on his case for designer clothes and champagne name drops.
Illmatic failed to appeal to a wider audience unlike Ready to Die
Ready to Die was catchy enough to grab the casual listener's attention while keeping the die hard rap fans on the edge of their seats which isn’t an easy task to do
The rise of the Notorious BIG and Bad Boy Entertainment prompted rival recording label Death Row Records and its CEO Suge Knight to take notice to the point where Suge called out Puffy in front of the world @ the 1995 Source Awards. Death Row pretty much had the rap game on lock at the time, and Bad Boy threatened their position even though there’s room for everyone in the game to eat
Ready to Die was transcendent (groundbreaking) and appealed to people who might not listen to rap music. As dope as Illmatic is, the album lacks the power to grab Middle America because it’s too pure. Not to say Ready to Die is watered down, but Illmatic is for Hip-Hop heads who appreciate a great album without radio friendly songs to satisfy their listening experience
Biggie was more of an answer to the West Coast than Nas. Biggie was probably one of the main reasons why Nas flipped his style when he released his sophomore album It Was Written which to me is his best album to date (peep the Kick in the Door rhyme at the top of the blog for the shot at Nas)
And guess what???
Illmatic lovers hated It Was Written. Gee, I wonder why. Sometimes I think rap fans wanna see their favorite rappers broke…LOL…straight up. Illmatic showcased Nas as a lyricist while It Was Written highlighted Nas as an ARTIST
Big difference, people
The mainstream and underground crowds kill me sometimes. They need to learn from each other. Real talk. The mainstream needs to learn why and how underground MCs are more respected for their craft, and the underground needs to learn why and how the mainstream is able to touch a larger audience
Illmatic achieved one of the two. Ready to Die achieved both. Therefore, Biggie was more of the Messiah to bring the East Coast back to the forefront and snatch the crowns off the heads of the West Coast in the mid-90s
Quick shout out to Wu-Tang, Jeru the Damaja, Black Moon, Smiff n Wessun, The Roots, Redman, and Mobb Deep. They also had a hand in the resurrection of the East. Biggie didn’t do it alone, but homie was the front man of the movement
Before I close out this blog, I also wanna point out that I think It Was Written is consistent throughout, and is a good mixture of commercialism with the essence of the “fuck a sell out” mood of Hip-Hop
Heads got on Nas's case about the track Street Dreams...claimed it was "too commercial"...I actually liked the joint...and I wouldn't necessarily pull Nas's card about making that record considering he spat raw lyrics over a "light" beat that I thought was dope
Illmatic achieved one of the two. Ready to Die achieved both. Therefore, Biggie was more of the Messiah to bring the East Coast back to the forefront and snatch the crowns off the heads of the West Coast in the mid-90s
Quick shout out to Wu-Tang, Jeru the Damaja, Black Moon, Smiff n Wessun, The Roots, Redman, and Mobb Deep. They also had a hand in the resurrection of the East. Biggie didn’t do it alone, but homie was the front man of the movement
Before I close out this blog, I also wanna point out that I think It Was Written is consistent throughout, and is a good mixture of commercialism with the essence of the “fuck a sell out” mood of Hip-Hop
Heads got on Nas's case about the track Street Dreams...claimed it was "too commercial"...I actually liked the joint...and I wouldn't necessarily pull Nas's card about making that record considering he spat raw lyrics over a "light" beat that I thought was dope
Nas is a great lyricist, but I was never into his music as a whole. Money needs to learn how to pick better beats. As much as I love supreme lyricism, music is a marriage between the beat and the rhyme. Sometimes I believe Nas can’t pick a beat to save his life
I copped Nas’s recent album Life is Good…yes, I bought the album and didn't cop the bootleg...I’ll give that joint 4 pimp sticks outta 5. The start and middle of the joint was cold blooded...I didn’t care too much about the later part of the album
And with that said, I’m Audi 5 stacks
I hope you enjoyed my breakdown
Until then
Peace and Afro Grease
Nah’Sun the Great
I hope you enjoyed my breakdown
Until then
Peace and Afro Grease
Nah’Sun the Great
