Nas-I Am...The Autobiography (Original Version)

A lot of us know the story behind Nas's 3rd album "I Am." This is for those that don't.

Basically, "I Am..." was supposed to be titled "I Am...The Autobiography" and released as a double disc album. Unfortunately Nas caught an L when part of his album leaked and he was forced to redo some of the album before the release date. This of course ended up as the retail version of "I Am..." which in my opinion wasn't bad but it definitely wasn't up to par with his other releases. I was curious about how the actual original album would have sounded so I started searching for it. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find much information on it. Just a bunch of track listings that were labeled as "the closest we may ever get to the true track listing." All of these track listings were the same so I figured I would make a playlist that had the songs sequenced just like the track list I had found online and give it a listen. The end result is definitely different.

The first disc is rather strong and seems to be a believable sequencing of the songs. Then second disc? Not so much. Mostly because there's a few tracks from Nastradamus when numerous sources have said the only song from the original session that went onto Nastradamus was "Project Windows." After listening to both "discs" I can say that if that is the official track list, its not an unreleased CLASSIC but it is a damn good album and its a shame that bootlegging kept it from being released in it original format.

Although its not a CLASSIC, there are a lot of classic songs on here. "Fetus" is an amazing song rapped from the perspective of Nas in his mothers stomach. "Poppa Was A Player" is a cool song about the way is pops was. Yes, I know most of these songs are available on I Am, Nastradamus, and Lost Tapes BUT hearing them on an album together gives them a different feel and in some cases makes songs sound even better. Here's the track listing I've found all over the internet. Let us know what you think about this version AND if anyone has more information on the actual track listing, let me know.

Disc 1

1. Fetus (Belly Button Window)
2. NY State Of Mind Pt. II
3. Life Is What You Make It
4. Small World
5. Hardest Thing To Do Is Stay Alive
6. Poppa Was a Playa
7. Nas Is Like
8. Blaze A 50
9. Favor For A Favor
10. We Will Survive
11. Some Of Us Have Angels
12. Project Windows
13. Day Dreaming, Stay Scheming
14. Sometimes I Wonder
15. Undying Love

Disc 2

1. After Life (Intro)
2. Amongst Kings
3. Life We Chose
4. Drunk By Myself
5. Pray
6. God Love Us
7. Ghetto Prisoners
8. Last Words
9. Family
10. Come Get Me
11. Find Your Wealth
12. U Gotta Love It
13. Wanna Play Rough
14. The Rise And Fall
15. My Worst Enemy