However, Nas's more commercial sound fostered accusations of selling out within the hip hop community, and its critical standing suffered with comparisons to the acclaimed Illmatic. It also heralded Nas's mainstream popularity as well as that of mafioso rap, joining similarly successful albums like Raekwon's Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… (1995) and Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt (1996). The album was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, while receiving mostly positive reviews. The recording also marked the first appearance of Nas's short-lived supergroup The Firm, featuring the rappers Foxy Brown, AZ, and Cormega. Produced largely by Trackmasters, it departed from the debut's raw, underground aesthetic and embraced mafioso and gangsta themes. After the modest commercial success of his debut album Illmatic (1994), Nas pursued a more polished, mainstream sound for It Was Written. It Was Written is the second studio album by American rapper Nas, released on July 2, 1996, by Columbia Records.
