Best 3 Album Run In Rap History???

I am from the school of thought that It Was Written is Nas's second best album. I wouldn't say it's close to illmatic though. I always felt the Esco persona was corny af. I just don't believe It Was Written is better than Tribes first 3 albums. You and I just disagree, that's all there really is to it. The fact that you have to disrespect Tribe in the process just validates why I think you have no credibility. Sure you might have come up in the same era as I did, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. Ask anyone who's respected in this culture about Tribe and they'll tell you that they are arguably the greatest group in Hip Hop history.
 
I prefer It Was Written, I love both though. It's not like its mad better. Illmatic is dope as hell and I love how short it is but IWW gotta few joints that Illmatic doesn't have.
 
SoleByThePound said:
I am from the school of thought that It Was Written is Nas's second best album. I wouldn't say it's close to illmatic though. I always felt the Esco persona was corny af. I just don't believe It Was Written is better than Tribes first 3 albums. You and I just disagree, that's all there really is to it. The fact that you have to disrespect Tribe in the process just validates why I think you have no credibility. Sure you might have come up in the same era as I did, but that's pretty much where the similarities end. Ask anyone who's respected in this culture about Tribe and they'll tell you that they are arguably the greatest group in Hip Hop history.
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thats cuz you gravitate to that backpack rap, & tribe were gods in that subset, Nas's it was written hit on all cylinders, da only people who were mad at it were da backpackers who felt "Nas went too commerical" crabs in da bucket mentality, when his Rhymes were AS good as illmatic plus it was laid on better production & longer.

and as far as groups? pssh

id take Mobb, Outkast, and Wu before id touch tribe.

that Native tongues sounds wasn't more influential than da aforementioned groups i named, especially when you track da legacy left behind years later.. people were literally cookie cutter status with Wu-tang formulas to this day.
 
illphillip said:
ninjahood said:
you got people who actually prefer It Was Written to Illmatic all da time, that's how good it was.
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I have never in my life met one of these people.
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http://www.complex.com/music/2014/01/nas-it-was-written-better-than-illmatic

been elaborated on among Nas fans.

especially when you look at both in retrospect.

Illmatic is the pinnacle of hip-hop; it gets no better. It Was Written? A famous instance of a rapper compromising the art for commercial reasons. A bid for pop radio appeal that succeeded sales-wise, but was, as Insanul Ahmed noted yesterday in our Most Anticipated Albums of 2014 list, "ultimately disappointing." Everyone knows this, right?

Wrong. For all the ways the bible changed the world—all the various sects of the Christian church, all the religious fanaticism, all the crusades and missionary movements—you’ve read more gripping books, haven’t you? It Was Written is one of those books. Storylines, concept songs, new characters. It had chart-topping singles and gritty street joints side by side. Nas kept it thug over squeaky-clean Trackmasters beats and even threw a couple jabs at Jay Z in the process. Not only had he updated his style, he'd improved upon it. Time heals all backpacker wounds, and the past 18 years have revealed one essential truth about Nas’ discography: It Was Written is better than Illmatic.
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Dat Dude Chris said:
ninja you just killed your own point by bringing up a Complex article... :smh:

You shoulda known better than that :lol:
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I'm sayin' :lol:

This dude talking about "truth" like such a thing exists in these conversations.

You don't need to look much further than this thread to see where that "truth" lies with most.

ninjahood said:
and as far as groups? pssh

id take Mobb, Outkast, and Wu before id touch tribe.

that Native tongues sounds wasn't more influential than da aforementioned groups i named
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VERY debatable but what is not is that if you want to talk about people "gravitating" to a sound/era, you are a prime suspect right now.

"better production" on IWW also VERY debatable. I could give a damn if the album is longer or not.

Tribe were not "gods" in a "subset". They were very popular and successful hip hop artists across the board.

You're talking about these dudes like they're Company Flow or Atmosphere :lol:
 
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across da board? IDK bout that.

It was written as one album sold basically more then Tribe's whole Discography history back when sales mattered.
 
You don't know. A lot of what you're saying makes you seem wildly out of touch.

Your 2nd comment is absurdly off base. Stick to facts that aren't facts because things that can be supported with data are going to work against you.

IWW sold more than Illmatic and I, like many, have already said we think Illmatic is the stronger project and you yourself called IWW his 2ND most critically acclaimed album so that should tell you what sales mean to actual fans of hip hop/rap.

Lead single with Lauryn Hill after The Score when she is on fire in the US is going to help you move some units.

Incredible that a group that only appealed to a "subset" had the #1 album in the country 6 months ago.
 
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illphillip said:
You don't know. A lot of what you're saying makes you seem wildly out of touch.

Your 2nd comment is absurdly off base. Stick to facts that aren't facts because things that can be supported with data are going to work against you.

IWW sold more than Illmatic and I, like many, have already said we think Illmatic is the stronger project and you yourself called IWW his 2ND most critically acclaimed album so that should tell you what sales mean to actual fans of hip hop/rap.

Lead single with Lauryn Hill after The Score when she is on fire in the US is going to help you move some units.

Incredible that a group that only appealed to a "subset" had the #1 album in the country 6 months ago.
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-number 1 album in da country don't mean jack in this era, you and i both know​ that, da quantities is no where near da same.

-It Was Written isn't a stronger project compared to Illmatic is dogma for folks that consider it da best Album of all time for rap, it was written from a objective perspective literally improves upon everything illmatic sonically while keeping da lyrics as good.

its like cars... people will disregard how much better say a modern stingray Corvette is compared to da classic split window C2 because of what it was at da time compared to how it actually still runs.

Nas flow Still raps like It was written even today, he hasn't flowed like that live from da BBQ Illmatic, since Illmatic...goes to show you what was da actual durable style.

illmatic was da perfect bookend closing of da boombap stripped down jazzy era of rap, some people unfairly criticized Nas for making that It Was Written move, which in retrospect was da right move...it was Nas at his highest zenith, both critically and commercially.
 
ninjahood said:
illphillip said:
You don't know. A lot of what you're saying makes you seem wildly out of touch.

Your 2nd comment is absurdly off base. Stick to facts that aren't facts because things that can be supported with data are going to work against you.

IWW sold more than Illmatic and I, like many, have already said we think Illmatic is the stronger project and you yourself called IWW his 2ND most critically acclaimed album so that should tell you what sales mean to actual fans of hip hop/rap.

Lead single with Lauryn Hill after The Score when she is on fire in the US is going to help you move some units.

Incredible that a group that only appealed to a "subset" had the #1 album in the country 6 months ago.
Click to expand...

-number 1 album in da country don't mean jack in this era, you and i both know​ that, da quantities is no where near da same.

-It Was Written isn't a stronger project compared to Illmatic is dogma for folks that consider it da best Album of all time for rap, it was written from a objective perspective literally improves upon everything illmatic sonically while keeping da lyrics as good.

its like cars... people will disregard how much better say a modern stingray Corvette is compared to da classic split window C2 because of what it was at da time compared to how it actually still runs.

Nas flow Still raps like It was written even today, he hasn't flowed like that live from da BBQ Illmatic, since Illmatic...goes to show you what was da actual durable style.

illmatic was da perfect bookend closing of da boombap stripped down jazzy era of rap, some people unfairly criticized Nas for making that It Was Written move, which in retrospect was da right move...it was Nas at his highest zenith, both critically and commercially.
Click to expand...

See. You do much better with facts that aren't facts.

I don't consider Illmatic the best album of all time for rap. I just consider it stronger than IWW.

I just googled best hip hop albums of all time again and not a single list i saw has IWW over Illmatic and none of them have IWW over all 3 of the first Tribe albums.

But you are, of course, entitled to your own opinion.
 
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I like IWW but if doesn't have the classic songs. The Message, Street Dreams and I Gave You Power, those are the only great songs on there. Everything else is just good. Pretty much every song on Illmatic is a classic, has been sampled, bars been bitten by other rappers. I thought the production on Illmatic was better too. Some of those beats on IWW are boring.
 
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