It Was Written

After Illmatic made him the most respected young rapper in New York, Nas returned with a bigger, glossier second album. Its cover is a warm, sepia-toned close-up of his face, blended with a faded image of city apartment blocks, under his name in metallic letters.

The art direction and design are credited to Aimée Macauley, with photography by Danny Clinch, the photographer known for his portraits of musicians from Bruce Springsteen to Tupac. The concept came from Nas himself. His manager Steve Stoute told Complex that the team worked on the cover together, "but it was Nas' idea," and that it showed Nas as a kid and then as a man.

It Was Written was released on 2 July 1996 and debuted at number one, carried by "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" with Lauryn Hill. The image of the boy growing into the man matched an album about Nas stepping out of Queensbridge into stardom.