Twenty-five years ago on July 2nd,1996 the sophomore follow-up to the undisputed classic Illmatic was titled It Was Written, and in contrast to the urban bleakness of his debut, the second album had Nas dipping his toes into the world of mafioso rap.

Amidst production from heavy hitters like Trackmasters, Dr. Dre, L.E.S., Havoc of Mobb Deep, and Illmatic-collaborator DJ Premier, among others, Nas wove evocative narratives of gang warfare, downtrodden neighborhoods, drug deals gone awry, and gangsta triumph, against a backdrop of samples from Sam Cooke, Etta James, the Isley Brothers, and even Sting.

It Was Written was not hard up for top-tier guests either, featuring major guest turns from Lauryn Hill and Joel “JoJo” Hailey of K-Ci & JoJo. It also introduced the world to The Firm, the brief Nas-led supergroup featuring rappers AZ, Foxy Brown, and Cormega. It even managed to cause some minor controversy in the hip-hop community for its collaboration with West Coast producer Dr. Dre, at a time when the East Coast/West Coast rap feud was reaching a fever pitch, briefly attracting the ire of one Tupac Shakur.

Not only was It Was Written received warmly by critics, but it also became a major commercial success, reaching the top of the Billboard 200 charts, reaching platinum sales status four times, and alongside albums like Raekwon‘s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, helped usher in the era of mafioso rap in the mainstream. It rendered chart hits out of singles like the Eurhythmics-mimicking “Street Dreams,” and the Grammy-nominated “If I Ruled The World (Imagine That),” and proved to be a major influence on artists like Kendrick Lamar, Lupe Fiasco, and many more.

Click here to pre-order “It Was Written” 25 year anniversary limited edition deluxe bundle now.

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This Fall J. Cole will be heading out on the road for The Off-Season Tour. He will be accompanied by 21 Savage and special guest Morray. Below are the confirmed dates, cities and venues

Sep 24 – Miami, FL – FTX Arena
Sep 25 – Orlando, FL – Amway Center
Sep 27 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
Sep 28 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum Complex
Sep 29 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
Oct 01 – Boston, MA – TD Garden
Oct 02 – Brooklyn, NY – Barclays Center
Oct 04 – Washington DC – Capital One Arena
Oct 05 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena
Oct 07 – Chicago, IL – United Center
Oct 10 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
Oct 11 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Arena
Oct 14 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena
Oct 16 – Las Vegas – MGM Grand Garden Arena
Oct 17 – Phoenix, AZ – Phoenix Suns Arena
Oct 20 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Arena
Oct 21 – Los Angeles, CA – The Forum