After such an unprecedented debut record, expectations were understandably high for Nas' follow-up.

What came next threw critics and fans for a loop, but was no less influential than 'Illmatic', and would become the most commercially successful album in the entirety of Nas' discography.

The 1996 follow-up was titled 'It Was Written', and in contrast to the urban bleakness of his debut, had Nas dipping his toes into the world of mafioso rap.