- 1998 : Nas recorded a whole concept double album. Unfortunately, because of the leaking of a promo 13 tracks of it in internet, Nas and Columbia decided to totally reconfigure the album into one single disc (with maybe the addition of some new tracks - or as a compilation of tracks from both discs).
### WORK IN PROGRESS... The original two discs tracklist is totally unknown (there is even a doubt about it). So our first disc follows the tracklist of the recently released Promo of I Am... The Autobiography (which had originally been leaked in late 1998), with the addition of some expected tracks. Except for its first two and last two tracks, the second disc does not follow a specific order and is filled with tracks supposed to correspond to the project. ###
Disc One : Life & Death of Escobar
- Life Flash (Intro)
- Fetus (My Belly Button Window) (Original)
- N.Y. State of Mind (Part. 2)
- Small World
- Money Is My Bitch *
- Project Window (Original) (feat. Ron Isley)
- Poppa Was A Playa
- Dr. Knockboot ***
- Day Dreamin' Stay Schemin
- Sometimes I Wonder (feat. Nature)
- Favor For A Favor (feat. Scarface)
- Hardest Thing To Do Is To Stay Alive *
- You Won't See Me Tonight (feat. Aaliyah) **
- Drunk By Myself
- Wanna Play Rough
- Blaze a 50
- We Will Survive
- Undying Love
- Disc 1 tracks 2, 4-10, 12, 14-17 are included in the I Am... The Autobiography Promo, leaked in Dec. 1998, finally released in 2023.
- Bold : added tracks to the Promo, all from I Am... released version. All are confirmed tracks from the original album, except maybe "Favor for a Favor" and the intro (or only the speaking part of it) which could have been recorded later.
Disc Two : Nastradamus, Rebirth of the Street's Disciple
-
The Afterlife (Intro)
- Amongst Kings
- Life Is What You Make It (feat. DMX) *
- Nas Is Like * **
- Find Ya Wealth
- U Gotta Love It (feat. AZ)
- Seeds of Heaven (Blackness)
- K-I-SS-I-N-G - original ??
- Your Mouth Got You In It
- Hate Me Now (Original) (feat. Puff Daddy) *
- Come Get Me
- Big Things
- Pray (feat. Bravehearts)
- Ghetto Prisoners
- The Curse * - snippet
- I Want To Talk To You
- The Rise And Fall
- My Worst Enemy
- Bold : tracks included for sure (or almost) in the 1998 original album. Tracks 1, 2, 17, 18 are supposedly at their right place.
- * tracks confirmed by the excerpts included in I Am... / For All Seasons Promo Sampler (1999), in this order : "Nas Is Like", "Hardest Thing", "Life Is What You Make It", "Money Is My Bitch", "Hate Me Now", The Curse.
- ** tracks announced in the original advertising of the album.
- *** announced as a B-side for the first single.
Other potential tracks for that album could be : "Hustlers & Killers", "Make It Last Forever", "Never Gonna Give It Up", "Tales From The Hood" and some Nastradamus songs. We thought they had more likely been recorded later for Nastradamus (1999) or Death of Escobar (Promo released in 2000, but probably with 1999 recorded tracks).
A concept album about writing in order to change his destiny
On the first disc, Nas put an end to his fictional gangster character Escobar by telling us the past life of a character like him, his birth, his childhood, his neighborhood, his father, the obsession to get money, the girls, the ghetto life, the troubles, the excess... until the death such a gangsta rapper could logically expect.
Because he didn't want to end up like 2Pac & Biggie, the thug rappers, the ones he feels close to, he kind of exorcised that fate by picturing himself dying of such a violent death, by dying from his own words. Symbolically, he commits the suicide of his gangster character by rapping, like 2Pac did concretely (his raps led him to be murdered, and he knew it so it could be considered as a suicide - what Nas depicts in "Your Mouth Got You In It"). The Notorious B.I.G. will live the same gangsta rap life with many similar justice troubles than 2Pac. The titles of his two albums Ready 2 Die and Life After Death the same living dangerously rap life. But his rhymes are more often about women and parties, the type of problems Nas decribe for himself in "Drunk By Myself". Nas Escobar was somewhere between both rappers at the time of The Firm album in 1997 started during Makaveli recordings, released months after BIG's second album.
On the second disc, following B.I.G.'s second album title and 2Pac/Makaveli's album cover, Nas got resurrected as a new himself - a very Gospel thing. You have to die to yourself, to give up your illusions, the circle of your selfish obsessions (ambition, wealth, popularity) to get to a new dimension of being (same thing in Buddhism) ; to reach the heaven also. So he delivers his new visions of himself, the ghetto... his new mission to light up the way to a better future for the people from the ghetto. A new teacher (like KRS-One, Chuck D...), a prophet. But it is not that simple and he could be caught back by his demons...
So Nas shows us the power of writing. He tells the danger of writing by
its impact to reality ; the power of writing to make one's life better ; the limits of rap.
A Legendary project...
The promo of that project was leaked in internet in the very late 1998. Consecutively, Nas and Columbia decided to totally re-conceive the project by dropping most of that promo, and probably by combining the rest of both CDs in one single album, eventually with a couple of new songs...
A misunderstood Message - The danger to be a thug
2Pac started to diss Nas in his songs right after having listened Nas' new album first song "The Message" (starting by "fake love, no love" ; second verse about a man taking shots in his legs and leaving the hospital the same night ; ending the verse by "a thug changes, love changes and best friends become strangers"....). The album also had producing credits by Dr. Dre & Stretch... two enemies of Tupac. It was released the 2nd of July. The next day, written on a REEL, Daz was working at a new version of "How Do U Want It" over an instrumental of his (finally used for Dogg Pound "Gitta Strippin"). Freshly back from his trip to Italy, 2Pac would eventually have dropped new vocals to it. But, probably instead of that, over that same instrumental, he recorded the whole diss song "War Gamez" starting by these lines : "that nigga rappin' about my muthafuckin life ? ...he got shot and left hospital the same day ? ...you ain't firm nigga, you soft... fuck ya clique" (cf. Killuminati, Original Diss Album). He then considered him among his usual enemies Bad Boy Records, Mobb Deep, Jay-Z... And he accused Dr. Dre who produced songs for him to have "switched sides". Probably the same day, 2Pac also recorded "U Don't Have 2 Worry" which also contains some references to Nas and the Firm : "no love shown... why you change ? ...there's only one clique... one love". The day after, at The House of Blues, 2Pac introduced his new song "Troublesome" by citing Nas among his enemies... Then after the show, about Death Row East project, he mentions Nas among weak rappers...
In the whole month of July, 2Pac was into the recording of a whole diss album. Killuminati starts by "Bomb First" words against Nas depicted as "the ring leader" from "a conspiracy to assassinate the character of not only Mr. Shakur but of Death Row records as well." A lot of other unreleased songs leftover from the album had lines about that : "Watch Your Mouth" ("I heard Nas got beef cause i was dissin his clique [probably referring to Mobb Deep]"), "When Thugz Cry" (outro "hey Nas remember that shit you said ? ...I know you been listening cause you've been biting this shit so recognize and realize before your ass get rolled on"). This is like if 2Pac was entertaining a distant conversation with the friend, the nigga, he had respect and love for, finding a way to express, to expel his hurt. "Me And My Girlfriend" (where 2Pac considers his gun as being his most faithful girlfriend) almost sounds like an answer to "I Gave You Power" (a gun is talking). It reached the highest peak at the closure of the album, the infamous "Against All Odds". First verse : "This little nigga named Nas think he live like me, talkin' 'bout he left the hospital, took five like me" ; last verse : "Listen to me, God don't like ugly, it was written. Ayo Nas, your whole damn style is bitten (You sound like Rakim, man). You heard my melody, read about my life in the papers... now you wanna live my life ? so what's a 'chazzer', Nas ? 'niggaz that don't rhyme right, you've seen too many movies. Load em up against the wall, close his eyes, since you lie you die, goodbye !" (cf. Killuminati, The 3 Day Theory / The Don Killuminati, The 7 Day Theory).
Nas probably heard about what 2Pac was saying around about him stealing his style, being inspired by his life, being weak... It could be the time Nas recorded his disses to 2Pac in unreleased "Real Niggas" ("From tube-socks in Timbs to blue rocks and Benz, who got the ends, the type of nigga 2Pac pretends" which seems to answer to "Against All Odds"...) and in "Welcome To The Firm (The Firm Intro)" ("black pirellis rolling over this Makaveli" - which sounds like a direct answer to "When Thugz Cry"). Unless he recorded them after he heard the Killuminati album and couldn't help to give any answer to it... Nas said he almost cried when he first heard 2Pac's "Against All Odds" in 1996 (after 2Pac's death)... In Nature's verse from the same "Welcome to the Firm" leaked in the DJ Clue mixtape : "fake thugs style glue together saying old rhymes show signs. You're tough whatever, eat your heat out... I watch y'all get shot down [DJ Clue screaming 'Killuminati']". (cf. DJ Clue, Nas Vs. The Firm)
Showdown with Tupac in Central Park, the 4th of September 96
Sept. 4, 1996. 2Pac flew to New York to attend the MTV Awards as a nominee for best rap video ("California Love"). Nas was scheduled for a surprise performance with the Fugees at the awards show. It has been said they crossed paths once or twice and said some neutral words like "do your thing, I do mine". During that time New Jersey Fatal Hussein & Young Noble team and Nas friends from Queens also locked eyes.
When Nas confronted 2Pac (video anime made by MemoDashDigital)
Very funny and well made anime re-construction even if some elements - taken from discussed interviews - are said to be wrong.
Later
at the MTV Awards party at the Central Park, the two teams faced each
other. It was a very tense moment. But Nas came to 2Pac and they started
to speak in each other's ears. It seems they quickly solved the thing.
2Pac would have said that his album had some bad lyrics against him but
if he was true, he would not answer... They eventually talked about
recording a song together (maybe for One Nation). Nobody would ever know if the Makaveli album had been released whilst 2Pac was still alive, would really Nas have not given any answer to it ? Maybe the album would have had many diss removed but how to remove the things from the wonderful "Against All Odds" ?
Somebody had compiled every interviews and documents about this encounter. Unfortunately, the video is not active anymore in Youtube. List of elements :
-
0:00 Nas version 1 talking about 2Pac in 1996
- 0:53 2Pac talks House of Blues incident before Central Park
-
1:53 Eric B's version 1 talking about 2Pac was going to do songs with Nas
-
3:47 Kurt Kobane confirming 2Pac was studying Nas - It Was Written after the confrontation
-
4:31 Eric B's version 2
-
8:17 Snoop's version 1
-
9:37 Reggie Wright's version disputing Snoop's version
-
11:40 Napoleon's version 1 disputing Snoop's version
-
15:05 Outlawz' version
-
16:38 Jungle's documentary version (can't find Jungle's street version)
-
18:22 Nas version 2 in 2020
-
21:51 Hussein Fatal's version
-
24:11 Fatal's brother Yadi Yas' version
-
26:15 Snoop's version 2
-
27:57 Suge Knight's version
-
29:04 Napoleon's version 2
-
30:57 2Pac's bodyguard Frank Alexander's version
-
32:30 Tragedy Khadafi's version with Havoc
-
33:00 Prodigy talked about it in his book - The Infamous Life
-
33:34 Nas version 3 in 2006. that Nas book never coming out, lmao
-
35:22 Nas' We Will Survive verse talking about 2Pac
-
35:57 Nas' & 2Pac's words for each other on 2Pac Duets
-
36:31 Nas stopping his concert & had Ed Lover announce 2Pac's passing
It is commonly said that the most truthful versions are Nas and Fatal and his goons versions.
How to not end up like 2Pac & Biggie ?
In 1996, with his second album It Was Written (released the 2nd of July), Nas aka Escobar is at the top 10 rappers. One of the best. A superstar. Two months later, 2Pac is killed. 6 months later, Notorious B.I.G. is killed...
Of course, Nas knew Stretch and Big L who also got killed in 1995, and the West coast veteran also Eazy-E died from Aids. But this was different, 2Pac and Biggie died after having reached the top... Because they still lived a crazy life, between the ghetto style and the luxury. The new rich man attracts envy, jealousy... lost himself in the vanity world. Will the ghetto also caught him back ?
So, after the total failure of The album
with The Firm in 1997 (released the 21st of October), Nas decided to
get rid of his "Escobar" character, of his ghetto gangster rapping who
has no future, to become someone else.
The autobiography is the way to put an end to his gangsta lifestyle. To tell everything from the first step, even before, to the logic end it could. To invent himself the death he could have had if he would have kept his way of doing - he thinks to a depression and a suicide because of his wife, and they really had troubles at that time -, is a kind exorcism. Nas killed the mafioso in him to gain access to a new dimension of him. That is what he was supposed to present in the second disc of his album.
Inspired by Jesus Gospels, and by 2Pac in his Makaveli album, Nas imagines and tells his resurrection, his elevation to a new dimension of human rapping. From the ghetto leader to the street prophet. If the word play "Nas-Nos-tradamus" is weak, the imagery behind that and the new persona is interesting. Jesus says in the Gospels that a man has to die and to reborn to get access to a more soothed humanity, to get rid of the usual flesh preoccupations, to get access to the light and to the heaven.
So in the disc two, Nas gives an overlooking eye over above the world he's living in, detached. He now wants to act, to influence the world by telling his gospel...

DETAILED TRACKLIST
DISC ONE
- "Intro (Life Flash)", said produced by DJ Premier (?). The I Am... intro is a life flash for the original scenario of the first disc, as well as a medley reminding listeners of Nas' classics. It anticipates the end of the first disc (or it is the end of the disc ?). A wonderful piece of DJing (by DJ Premier ? Gosh !). Not sure the Jungle part (over "The Afterlife" beat) was originally in it, but it could be to make listeners understand after their first full listening that the medley was a life flash and that all the other songs from the first disc could be understood as part of his life flash.
- "My Belly Button Window (Fetus Original)", producer unknown. Remixed in The Lost Tapes (2001).
- "N.Y. State of Mind, pt. 2", by DJ Premier. Nas speaks from a children point of view. His eyes, feelings and dreams are filled up by these images from the projects. So he is still a kid and the song could be in the first of the disc.
- "Small World", by The Hitmen.
- "Money Is My Bitch", by Al West, Poke & Tone.
- "The Game Lives On (Project Window Original)", by The Hitmen. Remixed in Nastradamus (1999). From Death of Escobar (Unreleased, 2000).
- "Poppa Was A Player", by D. Dot & Kanye West. Remixed in The Lost Tapes (2001).
- "Dr. Knockboot", by Poke & Tone. I suspect "Dr. Knockboot" could be initially aimed to be just a B-side to "Nas Is Like" or "Hate Me Now" planned first single, added to the promo. It doesn't stick neither the life&death story... neither a serious teacher style which could be in the second disc.
- "Day Dreamin' Stay Schemin'", producer unknown. From Death of Escobar (Unreleased, 2000).
- "Sometimes I Wonder", producer unknown. From Death of Escobar (Unreleased, 2000).
- **** "Favor For a Favor", by L.E.S.. Not if it was recorded for the original album, but it is kind of recalled/announced in "Hardest Thing" lyrics ("I did a favor for a favor").
- "Hardest Thing To Do Is Stay Alive", by L.E.S..
- ***** "You Won't See Me Tonight", by Timbaland. The song was announced in the advertising poster of the original album. It was also kind of announced by the chorus of "Hardest Thing" and could introduce the mood of "Drunk By Myself". Anyway the songs sounds like an Escobar love story, not a new dimension of love.
- "Drunk By Myself", by Al West, Poke & Tone. From Death of Escobar (Unreleased, 2000) and The Lost Tapes (2001).
- "Wanna Play Rough", by Dame Grease. From Death of Escobar (Unreleased, 2000).
- "Blaze A 50", by L.E.S., Poke & Tone. From The Lost Tapes (2001).
- "We Will Survive", by Jamel Edgerton, Poke & Tone. From I Am... (1999).
- "Undying Love", by L.E.S.. From I Am... (1999).
DETAILED DISC TWO
- "The Afterlife (Second Chance)", producer unknown. From Death of Escobar (Unofficial, 2000). The beat is also in the second part of I Am... album intro (what was a mysterious prolepse to the end of the first disc). So it is clearly the transition between the death of Escobar in "Undying Love" and the resurrection as Nastradamus in "Amongst Kings".
- "Amongst Kings", producer unknown. Unknown source.
- "Life Is What You Make It", by L.E.S.. Included in Excerpts from I Am... Promo Sampler and in I Am.... It is announced or recalled in "Nas Is Like" lyrics. The first verse has a kind of distant point of view on the ghetto life and the message is mostly positive (existentialist, you are not prisoner of a tragic ghetto destiny whatever you do), if we except the last Nas line... So Nas can define himself now. So Nas is like...
- "Nas Is Like", by DJ Premier. Included in Excerpts from I Am... Promo Sampler and in I Am.... If Nas didn't present himself as Nastradamus, he says he's a prophet.
- "Find Ya Wealth", by L.E.S.. From QB's Finest (2000).
- "U Gotta Love It", by L.E.S.. From Death of Escobar (Unreleased, 2000) and The Lost Tapes (2001). At least a small AZ featuring !
- "Seeds of Heaven (Blackness)", by Infinite Arkatechz. From Death of Escobar (Unreleased, 2000). Same producer as "My Worst Enemy". It sounds like the perfect topic Nas would have explored with his new identity of prophet/teacher : black pride.
- "K-I-SS-I-N-G (Original)", producer unknown. Unknown Source, be careful to correct the wrong pitch of the usual leaked track. Remixed in I Am... (1999). Is it a real original ?
- "Your Mouth Got You In It", by Dame Grease. From Death of Escobar (Unreleased, 2000). Despite his dark mood beat, the song perfectly fits the post-resurrection. Why did the thug rappers die violently ? because they open their mouth, so they have to live and die by the gun. It could be felt as a diss to some rappers, even to 2Pac, but in fact most likely against Nas himself. He does not have to keep on this way of rapping. And it also mentions "Puff's party", so it could be linked to "Hate Me Now".
- "Hate Me Now (Original)", by D-Moet & Pretty Boy. Included in Excerpts from I Am... Promo Sampler and Remixed in I Am... (1999). The video depicts the whole double album project. Death of the gangster and resurrection of a prophet. The Christ topic is clear. Nas follows that way of being sacrificed to live again. What is Puff Daddy ? a bad devil calling him back to his old character ? So he's already in a fight with himself. And that could be a link to "Some of Us Have Angels" or more likely to "My Worst Enemy".
- "Come Get Me", by DJ Premier. From Nastradamus (1999). This song is the only one we kept from Nastradamus, but it was very probably recorded specifically for it.
- "Big Things", by Al West. From I Am... (1999). Not sure, there is no "Nastradamus" reference in it and it is a kind of
repetition of "Your Mouth Got You" topic. It also could be the kind of new
thing Nas had tried in a second time to move to a new air for
his album after dropping the original rigid structure...
- "Pray", by Ez Elpee. From I Am... (1999) bonus only cassette editions (between "Big Things" and "K-I-SS-I-N-G"). Logically, Nas made a place for his brother's group. It is something like a ghetto Muslim call to pray. It totally fits his Nastradamus perspective of being a prophet so to gather people to look to a new direction. I tend to think that if it was still in the cassette version of the album, it was because it was a song he didn't want to take off until the last time. Not a song he would have recorded for replace old ones in a second time. Nas didn't really rap in this one, but he lets his friends shine (otherwise he would have overshadowed them).
- "Ghetto Prisoners", by Dame Grease. From I Am... (1999).
- "The Curse", by L.E.S.. Included in Excerpts from I Am... Promo Sampler but finally leftover. Still unleaked. What is the curse ? It could be the chain from the ghetto destiny or the responsibility for a rap star from the ghetto to use well his new position, like what is said from Marvel Comics superheroes (the superpower is a gift and a curse).
- "I Want To Talk To You", by Al West & L.E.S.. From I Am... (1999). It perfectly fits the new Nastradamus project, his mission, also making a link with the Egyptian imagery of the cover. A directly political thing that confirms he wanted to evolve into the direction of KRS-1 or Chuck D.
- "The Rise & Fall", by Poke & Tone. From Death of Escobar (Unreleased, 2000).
- "My Worst Enemy", by Infinite Arkatechz. From Death of Escobar (Unreleased, 2000).
OTHER POTENTIAL TRACKS
- "Never Gonna Give It Up" feat. Product G&B - Al West. From Death of Escobar (Unreleased, 2000). Al West produced a hand of tracks for I Am... and does not appear in Nastradamus LP credits, so the song could have been recorded for The Autobiography... The vibe is kind of compatible. Nas tells about his platinum chain (after The Firm album). Considering the lyrics about his girl who didn't like when he goes out with his boys, about his mom and about wanting a normal life, not being Nas every day, it could really fit the second disc as a strain from being a prophet all day, receiving jealousy...
- "Make It Last Forever" - L.E.S.. From Death of Escobar (Unreleased, 2000) and The Lost Tapes (2001). Topic of the song can give the idea of a song written for the second disc of The Autobiography with a Carpe Diem message for listeners and a kind of warning for himself before "Hate Me Now"...
- "Tales From The Hood" - Curt Gowdy. From Death of Escobar (Unreleased, 2000). Curt Gowdy produced "Executive Decision" for The Firm album. Nas says in his verse : "this ends the first chapter of another Nas classic" So it would be an alternate ending to the first disc...? Or it was specifically recorded for the aborted project Death of Escobar.
- "Hustlers & Killers" - Rich Nice, Poke & Tone. From Nastradamus 12'' (1999) and Hustlers & Killers Promo Single (1999). Rich Nice appears for the first time in Nastradamus credits as producer and engineer, so the song is very likely a 1999 recording leftover from Nastradamus LP.
- "Gangsta Tears" - Bud'da. From Exit Wounds soundtrack (2001). Kind of elegiac song, but with a generally distant point of view. Not sure it'd perfectly fit the Prophecy disc topic. More likely post Nastradamus recorded.
- "Queens Style" feat. Noreaga - L.E.S. (?). The song presumably recorded n 1997-1998 was then remixed with Nature verses added as "Triple Threat" and given to Nature for first solo album For All Seasons (2000). This remix appearing in Excerpts from I Am... Promo Samplerthe original was very probably not included in I Am... The Autobiography in late 1998.
Tracks from Nastradamus.
- "Come Get Me" / prod. DJ Premier
- "Life We Chose" / prod. L.E.S.
- "Some of Us Have Angels" / prod. Dame Grease
- "Last Words" feat. Nashawn / prod. L.E.S.
- "Family" feat. Mobb Deep / prod. Havoc
- "God Love Us" / prod. Dame Grease
- "Shoot Em Up" / prod. Havoc
I personally love the Havoc's beat of "Shoot Em Up" but the lyrics seemingly do not fit the second disc of I Am... The Autobiography.
Tracks from Death of Escobar and various sources :
"My Way" / prod. The Alchemist- different way of rapping and new sound"You Don't Know Me" feat. Kelis / prod. Trackmasters- re-uses "Hardest Thing" beat so very probably recorded specifically for this aborted project- "Your Mout Got You In It"
- "The Rise & Fall"
- "U Gotta Love It"
- "Nothing Lasts / Make It Last Forever" / prod. L.E.S. - new style ?
- "My Own Worst Enemy"
"The Foulness (Interlude)". Famous freestyle given to DJ Clue's mixtapes in 1995 (cf. DJ Clue Vs. The Firm)."Street Dreams Remix" feat. R Kelly - prod. Trackmasters. Old track recorded for the single "Street Dreams" in 1996.- "Never Gonna Give It Up" feat. Product G&B / prod. Al West - new style ?
- * "Tales From The Hood" / prod. Curt Gowdy - specifically conceived as the last song of this project ? or was it recorded for an early version of I Am... ?
- "Drunk By Myself"
"Projects Too Hot" feat. Nature & 50 Cent / prod. Chop Diesel. Not related to the topic of Nastradamus in Nas' lyrics, even if 50 Cent refers to it in his verse. The song was probably recorded around the time of that album but was for 50 Cent's projects. Not in Power of a Dollar promo, it was probably recorded after it.- "Poppa Was A Player"
- "Seeds of Heaven"
- "Gangsta Tears"
- "Another Day in The Projects"
"The Second Coming (I'm A Villain)" / IAM- Third verse mentions Pop, his partner in a song from QB's Finest compilation, this song recycles Nas three verses of the album- "In Too Deep"
- "Outro"
"Tales from The Hood" announcing : "this ends the first
chapter of another Nas classic" ! But it would be an alternate ending to
the first disc... "Seeds of Heaven" fits perfectly well to the Jesus
inspired second disc and to the mystic sound of it. The title could
refer to the second disc of I Am... and the come back as Nastradamus.
"Your Mouth" sounds old and could be a kind of advice to gangsta rappers, a diss to Cormega (answering to his "Never Personal (Fuck Nas & Nature)") and to all rappers who talk too much. Reminding of 2Pac and his craziness way of reacting too quickly. His mouth maybe costed his life. But knowing Nas' respect for him, except if the song is from 1996, it now sounds like a warning to himself. His Escobar persona of the first disc has been a victim of himself. He is his own worst enemy. But the song could also already be dissing Jay-Z...
"Gangsta Tears" has been released in a soundtrack from 2001, but it fits the topic. "Hustlers & Killers" has the I Am/Nastradamus style but it sounds maybe a bit too new stylish. "Queens Style" is the song "Triple Threat" recorded in 1998 before they gave the song to Nature for his album (included in I Am... / For All Seasons sampler), who replaced one verse of each other.
My WaySoundtrack To The Streets feat. Kid Capri (1998)- You Don't Know Me feat. Kelis (2000)
Your Mouth Got You In ItHustlers & Killers (1999)The Rise And FallU Gotta Love ItQueens Style (1998)Make It Last ForeverMy Worst EnemyThe Second Coming (I'm A Villain) (2000)The Foulness (Interlude)In Too Deep (feat. Nature) (1999)Sinful LivingEye For An Eye Freestyle (DJ Clue) (2000)- Never Gonna Give It Up (The Life) feat. Product G&B
- Tales From The Hood
Drunk By MyselfNo Idea's Original (Original) (2000)- Projects Too Hot feat. 50 Cent & Nature (2000)
Poppa Was A PlayerQueens Finest (The Professional) (1998)Seeds of HeavenGangsta Tears (Exit Wounds) (2001)
BONUS TRACKS- When Thugs Die (2000)
- Rich Niggas (Too Late) (feat. Bravehearts) (2000)
- Stillmatic (H. To The O.M.O.) (2000)