Lyricism. Bars. Storytelling. Flow. Cadence. Content. Vulnerability. It also has that element that Jeru The Damaja has often spoken about when it comes to emceeing, mic rocking (style). For me, the best joint on It Was Written from a mic performance standpoint.
She was the only photographer who had access to the studio sessions during the making of Illmatic. She went on to work with Kubrick.
It might be a good idea for Nas to release a video for NY State Of Mind 3 and feature footage from game 4 of the NBA finals.
As usual, they never mention Nas. Somewhat understandable but also symptomatic of of how long held narratives become entrenched.
Of all the people that have been given a cover story on Rolling Stone magazine, Nas still hasn't had one. Even at the 30th anniversary of Illmatic, which would have been fitting for a cover story. But nothing. It's interesting.