wˌaɪl ɪlmˈæɾɪk ɐtˈeɪnd ɡˈoʊld stˈæɾəs, stˈaʊt kənvˈɪnst nˈæs tʊ ˈeɪm hɪz ˈɛfɚts ɪn ɐ mˈoːɹ kəmˈɜːʃəl dᵻɹˈɛkʃən fɔːɹ hɪz sˈɛkənd ˈælbəm, ˈæftɚ wˌɪtʃ nˈæs ɛnlˈɪstᵻd pɹədˈʌkʃən tˈiːm ðə tɹˈækmæstɚz, hˌuː wɜː nˈoʊn fɔːɹ ðɛɹ mˈeɪnstɹiːm səksˈɛs æt ðə tˈaɪm.
While Illmatic attained gold status, Stoute convinced Nas to aim his efforts in a more commercial direction for his second album, after which Nas enlisted production team the Trackmasters, who were known for their mainstream success at the time.