[FRESH VIDEO] Offset- Ric Flair Drip - HipHop

I'm not exactly sure how much this topic has been discussed on this sub reddit, but I thought it was an interesting topic so here I am giving my thoughts.

In 1999 Nas returned for his 3rd LP with 'I am...' after a 3 year break. Originally, the album was supposed to be a double disk autobiographical album detailing Nas' life from childhood to hip hop superstar. Unfortunately for him, the album became one of the first albums to leak on the internet which led to him re-recording the entire album in around 7 months and cutting the album in half. Instead of the original double disk which likely would have had around 24 tracks, we got the 16 track 'I am...' and the commercial disaster that was 'Nastradamus'. Whilst laying around the house on a snowy day I was wondering just how much the industry would have changed if the album we were supposed to get was released.

Despite the album leaking on the internet, it could have been possible for Nas to release the album as he originally intended. Fans have released their own tracklists based on what they thought album would have looked like, and of course we have the 2002 release 'The lost Tapes' to draw our own conclusions. Even though the album was not as good as we hoped, I still feel that 'I am...' is a solid album which is often dismissed despite having awesome tracks like 'Nas is like', 'Hate me now' and 'NY State of Mind Pt II' amongst others. But if we were to get the original release, I feel as if this most comfortably would have been Nas' 2nd best release and probably a top 25 album. Speculation says tracks from 'The lost tapes' like 'Fetus' and 'Poppa was a playa' would have appeared on 'I am...' and in my opinion these are some of Nas' best songs outside of Illmatic.

If we look at the impact the leak had on Nas' career we obviously have to look at 'Nastradamus', by far the worst release of Nas' collection. Despite selling relatively well the album was, to put it bluntly, ridiculed by critics and labelled as a disaster. If 'I am...' was released in it's original format it's likely this album doesn't exist. People often use the album against Nas when discussing all time great rankings (although most people still have him amongst the best), and it's hard to disagree. If we had the original 'I am...' in it's predicted format we quite possibly could've had the best sequence of albums to start a career we have ever seen.

As for the industry in general it's likely that the Jay Z/Nas feud does not reach the heights it eventually did. Although the beef started in 1996, one of the main points Jay Z had was Nas' subpar (in his opinion) portfolio. I actually disagree with Jay on 'Takeover' where he describes 'It was written' as 'nah'. This LP was not on the level of Illlmatic (are there many albums that are?) But I personally think 'It was written' was a great sophomore album, especially considering that Illmatic would be one of the hardest debut albums to follow. Nas has yet to reach the heights of Illmatic again, and that is not anything to be ashamed of. Back to Jay Z though, on Takeover he says 'That's a 1 hot album every 10 year average.' If we received the original 'I am...' would Jay even have an argument here? Sure Nas might not have reached the heights of Illmatic, but to this point Jay had not released a project in the same stratosphere as Illmatic. I love 'Reasonable Doubt' but in my opinion his best work came in 2001 and 2003 with 'The Blueprint' and 'The Black Album'. It's likely that we would not have received 'Nastradamus' if we got the original 'I am...' and judging from the fan created track lists (I know these aren't official but we have yet to see the official one), this would have made Nas have three amazing albums in a row. Whilst I like the previously mentioned Reasonable Doubt and the 'In my lifetime' series (No.2 in particular), I feel like these albums would not match up to Nas' discography at the end of 1999.

So even though we received two disappointing releases from Nas in 1999, he came back all guns blazing with his 2001 release (Stillmatic.) This LP featured the awesome diss track 'Ether' and other great tracks such as 'One Mic' and '2nd Childhood' (a personal favourite.) If 'I am...' had came out the way it was supposed to would Nas have even had the fire inside of him to release 'Stillmatic'? In addition to this, we wouldn't have received 'The Lost Tapes' without the leak of 'I am...', which is another personal favourite of mine. In a way we could say that the leak was a blessing in disguise, even if it brought us 2 below standard (I am... not so much) LPs.

However, the question to be answered still is 'How different would Nas' career and the hip hop industry in general look if 'I am...' did not leak in the internet?' In my opinion it would undoubtedly lead to Nas having one of the best discographies in hip hop (if he doesn't already.) However if you are a huge 'Stillmatic' or 'Lost Tapes' fan you might argue that the leak was what rejuvenated Nas' career. Some have Nas as the best MC ever to grace the Earth, and he is most certainly up there. I feel that heading into the 21st century there would be no question asked about who was the best MC (alive) if we got the intended 'I am...' release.

This is just my opinion, and I'm not sure if anyone will read all of this but I thought it was an interesting topic so thanks if you have. How do you feel the industry and Nas' career would have changed if we received the original 'I am...'?

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Daily Discussion Thread 03/01/2018

Posted: 01 Mar 2018 02:31 PM PST

Welcome to the /r/hiphopheads daily discussion thread!

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