Before Nipsey Hussle was killed in 2019, the late rapper was devising a way to examine Nas’ I Am… album. In an interview with NME, Nas revealed he’d given his blessing to Nipsey to make a documentary about the 1999 LP.
“It was more to do with business and investment business,” Nas said of Nipsey’s plans. “One thing he wanted to talk to me about was putting together a documentary on I Am… Once [that album] got bootlegged, I didn’t even want to hear it again. I didn’t want to hear those songs again. I was just upset, you know?”
He continued, “Nipsey was really serious about doing a documentary about it and he was working on it. Not as far as like gathering footage, but I gave him my blessing to do it.”
Nas’ I Am… was originally meant to be a double album, but the acclaimed MC’s idea for the project got scrapped due to multiple tracks leaking online. Some of those songs, such as “Blaze A 50,” were officially released when Nas dropped The Lost Tapes compilation in 2002.
Fans never got to hear Nas’ true vision for I Am…, resulting in the version of the LP that was released in 1999.
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Although the album’s often regarded as one of his lesser works, it was successful at the time. The project debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry of America (RIAA).
Revisit Nas’ I Am… below.
Every time I hear something about another plan that Nip had in the works it crushes me each time. I’m ashamed to say it but I never fully understood the magnitude of his moves until after he passed.
I AM is NOT one of Nas’ lesser works. That’s one of his better albums. Joint wit Scarface, Joint wit DMX, joint wit Aaliyah, joint wit Diddy, Dr. Knockboot, joint wit R Kelly, NY state of mind 2, Nas is Like. that whole album bangs even today. FOH wit that lesser album bullshii
lesser work ?. You need to be fired. That album is a blessing . Classic shit – double platimum and a lesser work. Gots to be a fake college writer that does not know shit album hip hop and the moments before and after the album. You wasn’t there. That album has hate me now – Steve stout/Puffy shit. You won’t see me tonight (queen A r.i.p) – I wish BS writers and critics disappear – its’s 2021 we no longer need anyone to tell us what to feel or think. Just let the facts speak- don’t need professional opinions unless you were present at that time and moment. I assure you the writer is under 40 or just started listening to hip hop –
Only broke ass Nas stans wont admit to the fact that “I Am” is trash. Soooo many trash beats on that album that it’s not even funny. King HOV was right, one hot album every ten year average, went from top ten to not entitled at all. This was when people began to realize that Nas wasn’t as great as he was made out to be. The high sales were because he gained new mainstream fans from his pop radio songs and left him in the dust when he wasn’t hot anymore, which explains the drop in sales on his later albums. King HOV gained new fans with Vol 2 and was super consistent throughout his career that made both his day one fans and new fans stay with him, thus resulting in him being the GOAT with 14 #1 albums with all of them going platinum or higher. That broke woman beater Nas only wishes to shine King HOV’s shoes for pennies. Just hit you peasants with the facts. You may now proceed with the denials. It’s the ROC in here!
and after typing that essay NOT ONE SINGLE FUCKETH HATH BEEN GIVEN by any of us here.
Not a lesser work, I could’ve lived without the Scarface track but that album was great. Nastradamus and the two albums after gods son was trash to me but the majority of Nas discography is pretty good…Jay Z has only a couple of great albums too…only consistent NY rappers to me are Kiss and Busta
Lmao.
Kiss never had a classic.
Busta out out more trash akbums than nas or jay.
Only ny rapper as consistent than Jay is ghostface.
Lesser work? LMAO!!!! BITCH PLEASE!!!
I loved I am ,nostradamus, it was written the only one I didn’t like was street disciple. GODS SON great also.
Hated I AM…..Gods Son classic…..Streets Diciple underrated despite most sounding the same and being too mellow …needed a few Preemo beats ….please give us the original I AM track list release ….dig into the vaults ….for old time sake
take a trip down memory lane…..i remember in the first half 99 when there was huge anticipation for I AM,partly due to the Firm album kinda fell short of expectation and partly due to many artists putting out double albums at the time, it was kind of trendy to do so, between 97-99, Wu, Scarface, No Limit, Southwest riders compilation, 8 ball MJG (with a triple album), maybe even E-40, all released double albums, also a couple of Pac’s posthumous albums…. so Nas had been saying for minute at the time that he was gonna put one out,then shit got leaked and this was even before Napster really took off…most of the ppl got the bootlegged version in real audio format…yeah RA files lol seems like a century ago…Project Windows was one of them, Blaze a 50, as well as Purple, among others….then the I AM as we know it came out, got 4.5 mics in the Source…which i think is right where it should be: a near classic….nas is like, favor for a favor, dr knockboot, black girl lost, ny state of mind 2,we will survive, ghetto prisoners etc….the joint with x i wasnt feeling and a couple other songs…but overall definitely one of Nas stronger albums to date….if he had replaced some of that shit with Purple, Fetus(project window) then it might be a legit five mic classic