Nas – It Was Written

More images

Genre:	Hip Hop
Style:	Conscious
Year:	1996

Tracklist

		Album Intro	2:28
		The Message	4:10
		Street Dreams	4:41
		I Gave You Power	3:56
		Watch Dem Niggas	4:06
		Take It In Blood	4:49
		The Set Up	4:26
		Black Girl Lost	4:32
		Suspect	4:16
		Shootouts	3:46
		Nas Is Coming	5:40
		Affirmative Action	4:20
		Live Nigga Rap	3:46
		If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)	4:44

Credits (12)

Faith Newman
A&R [Direction]
L'Oreal Coppedge*
[istrative Assistance]
Joy Burrell*
[istrative Assistance]
Aimée Macauley
Art Direction, Design
Nas
Executive-Producer
Steve Stoute
Executive-Producer

Versions

Filter by

Format

Labels & Companies

Country

Year

62 versions

Image	,	–			In Your Collection, Wantlist, or Inventory	Version Details	Data Quality
	It Was Written LP, Album	Columbia – 484196 1	Europe	1996	Europe — 1996	Recently Edited
	It Was Written LP, Album	Columbia – C 67015	US	1996	US — 1996	Recently Edited
	It Was Written CD, Album	Columbia – col 484196 2	Europe	1996	Europe — 1996	Recently Edited
	It Was Written CD, Album	Columbia – CK 67015	US	1996	US — 1996	Recently Edited
	It Was Written CD, Album	Columbia – 484196 2	Australia	1996	Australia — 1996	Recently Edited
	It Was Written Cassette, Album	Columbia – Ct 67015	US	1996	US — 1996	Recently Edited
	It Was Written CD, Album, Clean	Columbia – CK 67745	US	1996	US — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written CD, Album	Columbia – col 484196 6		1996	— 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written (Clean Version) CDr, Album	Whitfield Street – none	UK	1996	UK — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album	Columbia – 484196 4	Turkey	1996	Turkey — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album, Unofficial Release	Music World (2) – 1871	Russia	1996	Russia — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written (Clean Version) Cassette, Album	Columbia – CT 67745	US	1996	US — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album	Columbia – COL 484196 4	Bulgaria	1996	Bulgaria — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written CD, Album, Club Edition	Columbia – CK 67015	Canada	1996	Canada — 1996	Recently Edited
	It Was Written CD, Album	Sony – SRCS 8063	Japan	1996	Japan — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album	Columbia – COL 484196 4	Europe	1996	Europe — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written CD, Album	Columbia – CDCOL 5116 K	South Africa	1996	South Africa — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album, Unofficial Release	Not On Label (Nas) – none	Russia	1996	Russia — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written CD, Album, Club Edition	Columbia – CK 67015	US	1996	US — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album	Columbia – 4841963	Netherlands	1996	Netherlands — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album	Columbia – C - 9760996	Indonesia	1996	Indonesia — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album	Columbia – CT 67015	Canada	1996	Canada — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album	Columbia – COL 484196 4	Poland	1996	Poland — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written CD, Album, Promo	Sony – SRCS 8063	Japan	1996	Japan — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written CD, Album	Columbia – CK 67015	Canada	1996	Canada — 1996
	It Was Written 2×LP, Album, Reissue	Columbia – C 67015	US	1996	US — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written CD, Album	Columbia – CK 67015	US	1996	US — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album	Columbia – MCCOL5116	South Africa	1996	South Africa — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album, Promo	Columbia – none		1996	— 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album, Clamshell Case	Pan Music – 00249	India	1996	India — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written CD, Album	Columbia – col 484196 2	Europe	1996	Europe — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album	Columbia – 484196 4	Philippines	1996	Philippines — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written CD, Album, Club Edition	Columbia – CK 67015	Canada	1996	Canada — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album	Columbia – 485118 4	Thailand	1996	Thailand — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album, Unofficial Release	Columbia (2) – ck 67015		1996	1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album, Remastered, Unofficial Release	RONEeS – none	Russia	1996	Russia — 1996	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album	Columbia – Ct 67015	India	1997	India — 1997	New Submission
	It Was Written Cassette, Album	Columbia – 4841964	India	1997	India — 1997	New Submission
	It Was Written CD, Album	Columbia – 752.377/2-484196	Brazil	1997	Brazil — 1997
	It Was Written 2×LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, 180g	Columbia – 484196 1	UK	2005	UK — 2005	Recently Edited

Recommendations

Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)
Wu-Tang Clan

1993 US

Vinyl —
LP, Album, Stereo

Shop
The Infamous
Mobb Deep

1995 US

Vinyl —
LP, Album

Shop
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx...
Tony Starks

1995 US

Vinyl —
LP, Album, Stereo

Shop
Muddy Waters
Redman

1996 US

Vinyl —
LP, Album, Stereo

Shop
Black On Both Sides
Mos Def

1999 US

Vinyl —
LP, Album

Shop
Beats, Rhymes And Life
A Tribe Called Quest

1996 US

Vinyl —
LP, Album, Stereo

Shop
Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version
Ol' Dirty Bastard

1995 US

Vinyl —
LP, Album

Shop
Wrath Of The Math
Jeru The Damaja

1996 US

Vinyl —
LP, Album

Shop
Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star
Black Star

1998 US

Vinyl —
LP, Album, Stereo

Shop
Wu-Tang Forever
Wu-Tang Clan

1997 US

Vinyl —
LP, Album

Shop

Reviews

Kfitzmaurice29 Apr 20, 2025
referencing It Was Written (2×LP, Album, Reissue) C 67015

I have this. It’s a bootleg. The running order is lifted from the CD version -presumably because that’s what it was ripped from. C4 (Suspect) even skips at the end like a marked CD would. (Note to bootlegger: if you’re going to do this then at least do it PROPERLY!) Having said that, I’m not complaining as I picked it up in a charity shop for £2.50.
jbern17 Feb 13, 2025
referencing It Was Written (2×LP, Album, Reissue, Gold / Black Marbled) 19658828851

Great pressing. Was surprised to hear the hidden track “silent murder” on this.
rdinfante920 Jan 3, 2025
referencing It Was Written (2×LP, Album, Reissue, Gold / Black Marbled) 19658828851

The whole thing bangs. Grab this copy for a great price if u can find it.
mikewilliamson Dec 19, 2024
referencing It Was Written (2×LP, Album, Reissue) C 67015

Very little info on this release. Anyone know if it's a bootleg?
theGr8KnowMadder Nov 25, 2024
Edited 5 months ago

referencing It Was Written (2×LP, Album, Reissue, Repress, Gatefold) GET51479-LP

It’s pretty bad. Get On Down is an absolute PoS of a vinyl club. I should have learned with Raekwon’s OB4CL. If you actually listen to the albums you buy and care about a good soundstage then this isn’t for you. If you just want to say “yeah I got that in gatefold” then…
75r6q3 Nov 9, 2024
referencing It Was Written (Cassette, Deluxe Edition, Limited Edition, Reissue) GET 51461-CA

The actual tape used in this release is quite bad, likely NAC tape stock. Great album but I still can’t believe how they managed to make Nas sound this bad on cassette.
dvespo81 Sep 1, 2024
referencing It Was Written (LP, Album) C 67015

My copy is very quiet and has a decent amount of surface noise. That said, it's still pretty great. This is a classic album that is criminally underrated.
boozo050579 Jun 6, 2024
referencing It Was Written (2×LP, Album, Reissue, Gold / Black Marbled) 19658828851

Best sounding pressing besides the Simply Vinyl issue...FCKUCKUKINYEAHAH... Love It...
boozo050579 Jun 6, 2024
referencing It Was Written (2×LP, Album, Limited Edition, Reissue, 180g) SVLP 382

I love Illmatic but this album still has some killer tracks and I think it comes in a close second.
All personal preference in the end. Simply Vinyl had some very good quality releases....
acidica Mar 10, 2024
referencing It Was Written (2×LP, Album, Reissue, Gold / Black Marbled) 19658828851

Great music...Disgusting coloured vinyl. How can Nas not step in and say hold on one moment that looks like shit!