Knockboot ”) and uninspired album cuts that featured seemingly half-baked concepts and, for his caliber, subpar rapping (“Big Things,” “K-I-SS-I-N-G,” and “I Want to Talk To You”). II” ), critics have widely accepted it as one of his weaker releases, due to attempts at crossover hits (“Hate Me Now,” “ You Won’t See Me Tonight ,” and “ Dr.
While it includes a couple of Nas’ classics (“Nas Is Like” and “ N.Y. While the Queens MC once again found commercial success with I Am… - it sold 470,000 copies during its first week and became his second No. Twenty years ago, Nas released the most divisive LP in his catalog: I Am… By April 6, 1999, he had an underground classic ( Illmatic ) and a commercial breakthrough ( It Was Written ) under his belt. We reexamine the legendary rapper’s third studio album, I Am…, and detail an alternate history of what its legacy would be today.