Maps of Music

I Am... (1999)

Where the lyrics of I Am... take you, and where it was really made.

The album was planned as a double LP, but leaked MP3 tracks forced Nas to cut it down to a single disc.

Key places

D&D Studios, New York City (1999)

Recording site D&D Studios — The credits list D&D Studios as a recording location for this album. Its listed coordinates are at building level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

The Hit Factory, New York City (1999)

Recording site The Hit Factory — The Hit Factory is credited as a recording and mixing location for many tracks on this album. Its listed coordinates are at building level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Sony Music Studios, New York City (1999)

Recording site Sony Music Studios — Sony Music Studios is credited as a recording location for some tracks on this album. Its listed coordinates are at building level. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Third studio album by American rapper Nas
• Released April 6, 1999 by Columbia Records
• Originally planned as a double album titled I Am...The Autobiography
• Leaked MP3 tracks forced Nas to adjust the release to one disc
• Guest appearances from Puff Daddy, Scarface, DMX, and Aaliyah
• Themes include fame, the rap industry, urban life, and childhood in Queensbridge

Background

• Followed It Was Written (1996), which was a commercial and critical success
• Most of the original sessions were bootlegged, so many songs were discarded
• One of the first major label releases to be widely leaked using MP3 technology
• Some leaked songs appeared later on the 2002 compilation The Lost Tapes
• Nastradamus was released the same year as a separate single-disc project

Recording

• Recorded at D&D Studios and The Hit Factory in New York City
• Sony Music Studios is also credited as a recording location

Cover

• Photographer Danny Hastings shot the cover
• The mask on the cover was made from a clay mold of Nas' face

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com · pt.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones on September 14, 1973 in Brooklyn, New York City; raised in the Queensbridge Houses, Queens.
• Son of jazz and blues musician Olu Dara; began as "Nasty Nas" in 1989 and recorded demos under Large Professor.
• Made his recording debut on Main Source's 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque"; signed with Columbia Records in 1992.

Career

• Debut album Illmatic (April 19, 1994) is regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop albums; selected for the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.
• It Was Written (1996) debuted atop the Billboard 200; single "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" featuring Lauryn Hill brought mainstream success.
• Feud with Jay-Z (2001–2005) via the diss track "Ether"; Stillmatic and God's Son helped restore his critical standing.
• Released Hip Hop Is Dead (2006) and Distant Relatives (2010) with Damian Marley, whose royalties went to African charities.
• King's Disease (2020) won his first Grammy for Best Rap Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.
• Released King's Disease II, Magic, King's Disease III, Magic 2 and Magic 3, all produced by Hit-Boy.
• Announced Light-Years with DJ Premier, a 2025 collaborative album.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Upon its release, the album received generally mixed reviews from critics
• Yahoo! Music's Billy Johnson Jr. described the production as somber
• Salon's Jeff Stark wrote that the songs do not sound coherent
• Robert Christgau gave the album a B- and named it dud of the month in his consumer guide for The Village Voice
• Craig Seymour of The Washington Post attributed its thematic inconsistency to the replacement of tracks that leaked to the Internet prior to the album's release
• Kris Ex of Rolling Stone gave it three-and-a-half out of five stars
• Steve Jones of USA Today gave it four out of four stars
• Carlito Rodriguez of The Source wrote a rave review

Reappraisal

• AllMusic editor M.F. DiBella gave the album three out of five stars in a retrospective review and noted blandness in its production
• DiBella cited Nas Is Like and N.Y. State of Mind, Pt. 2 as highlights
• RapReviews' Steve Juon gave it eight-and-a-half out of 10 and viewed it as an improvement over It Was Written
• Chris Ryan gave it two-and-a-half out of five stars in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004)

Records

• Debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200
• Sold over 470,000 copies in its first week
• Certified double platinum in the United States
• Nas' second best-selling release behind It Was Written
• Nominated for a Grammy Award in 2000 in the best rap album category

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · fr.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The cover mask was made from a clay mold on Nas' face, with air holes for breathing; the first attempt nearly suffocated him when clay got lodged in his nose.
• The album's concept was meant to work like an autobiography, and the leaked material included tracks such as Fetus that later appeared on The Lost Tapes.
• Nas Is Like features DJ Premier scratching vocal samples from Nas' It Ain't Hard to Tell into the chorus.
• We Will Survive paid tribute to Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. and criticized peers, most notably Jay-Z.
• The Hate Me Now video, directed by Hype Williams, was controversial.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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