[PAR] [TLE] It Was Written [SEP] It Was Written is the second studio album by American rapper Nas, released July 2, 1996 on Columbia Records in the United States.  Following the moderate sales success of his acclaimed debut album, "Illmatic" (1994), Nas chose to focus his efforts in a more mainstream direction.  Primarily produced by Trackmasters, it is a departure for him from the raw, underground tone of his debut album towards a more polished, mainstream sound.  The album features mafioso and gangsta themes, and marks the first appearance of Nas's short-lived supergroup The Firm, which included rappers Foxy Brown, AZ, and Cormega. [PAR] [TLE] The Message (Nas song) [SEP] "The Message" is the third and final single from rapper Nas' second album "It Was Written".  It is produced by the Trackmasters, who sample Sting's "Shape of My Heart" for the song's beat.  The song features scratching provided by Kid Capri and lyrics about the life of a thug.  "The Message" was only released as a single in France and did not manage to reach any music charts.  A black-and-white music video was made for the song.  "The Message" also features vocal samples from Nas's 1994 classic "N.Y. State Of Mind" with Nas saying "I never sleep/cuz sleep is the cousin of death".  And, "I ain't the type of brother made for you to start testin'".  And "Halftime" after his second verse saying "There ain't an army that can strike back".
[PAR] [TLE] It Was Written [ SEP ] It Was Written is the second studio album by American rapper Nas , released July 2 , 1996 on Columbia Records in the United States . Following the moderate sales success of his acclaimed debut album , " Illmatic " ( 1994 ) , Nas chose to focus his efforts in a more mainstream direction . Primarily produced by Trackmasters , it is a departure for him from the raw , underground tone of his debut album towards a more polished , mainstream sound . The album features mafioso and gangsta themes , and marks the first appearance of Nas 's short - lived supergroup The Firm , which included rappers Foxy Brown , AZ , and Cormega . [PAR] [TLE] The Message ( Nas song ) [ SEP ] " The Message " is the third and final single from rapper Nas ' second album " It Was Written " . It is produced by the Trackmasters , who sample Sting 's " Shape of My Heart " for the song 's beat . The song features scratching provided by Kid Capri and lyrics about the life of a thug . " The Message " was only released as a single in France and did not manage to reach any music charts . A black - and - white music video was made for the song . " The Message " also features vocal samples from Nas 's 1994 classic " N.Y. State Of Mind " with Nas saying " I never sleep / cuz sleep is the cousin of death " . And , " I ai n't the type of brother made for you to start testin ' " . And " Halftime " after his second verse saying " There ai n't an army that can strike back " .
Second album The Message and its single It Was Written are by which rapper?
Second album The Message and its single It Was Written are by which rapper ?
Nas
Nas