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The success of fellow East Coast act The Notorious B.I.G. Meanwhile, his excessive spending habits left him with little money, and Nas was forced to ask for a loan to purchase clothes to wear to the Source Awards ceremony in 1995. He began to dub himself as Nas Escobar on these guest appearances. Nas began to make appearances on other artists' work, including Kool G Rap's "4,5,6" (1995) and Raekwon's "Verbal Intercourse" on his album Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… (1995), which made Nas the first non- Wu-Tang Clan member to appear on one of its solo recordings. This was due in part to Nas's shy personality and uninvolvement in promoting the record. Despite its significant impact on hip hop at the time, Illmatic did not experience the larger sales of most major releases at the time in hip hop, such as Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle (1993). With at least 2.5 million copies sold, and certified triple platinum, It Was Written remains Nas's best-selling album.įollowing the critical acclaim of his debut album Illmatic (1994), Nas chose to concentrate his efforts in a more mainstream direction, in contrast to the raw, unpolished and underground tone of his debut. 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.