Nas featuring Lauryn Hill "If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)"

Album: It Was Written (Columbia; 1996)
Songwriters: Samuel Barnes, Nasir Jones, Jean-Claude Olivier and Kurtis Walker
R&B Peak Position: #17

"And we will walk right up to the sun/ Hand in hand..."

Nas received much flack upon the release of his second album, It Was Written. Based in slicker production styles and featuring the birth of his mafioso alter-ego Nas Escobar, Written confounded fans who had anticipated a more allegiant continuation of the jazz-baked beats, sharp ghetto-life narratives and concise length found on his widely heralded classic of a debut, Illmatic. The comparison was blatantly unfair (rappers spend most of their teenage and young adult lives crafting their debuts, and a small fraction of that time creating successive releases), but it would take years before purists' dissatisfaction with Written waned.

Nevertheless, despite all the critical balking, the album managed to become Nas' biggest commercial success, mostly thanks to a lead-off single that effectively blended intelligent lyrical heft with a wider-appealing sound.

A song that found Nas scripting out his version of a Utopian environment if he had the ultimate power, "If I Ruled The World" had everyone pausing to ponder over his epic vision. A world where jealousy is nonexistent and everyone is living like billionaires ("Imagine everybody flashin'/ Fashion/ Designer clothes, lacing your click up with diamond rolls")? Coretta Scott King is Mayor? Political prisoners are "set free/ stress free"? Some of his ideals feel a little too materialistic, self-serving ("It sounds foul but every girl I meet would go downtown") or crude ("If coke was cooked without the garbage, we'd all have the top dollars"), but due to the frivolous additions, Nas had found a way to project his message beyond the usual, capturing the attention of both the corner hustler and the kids.

Alas, you can't speak of "World" without applauding the potent soul voice of Miss Lauryn Hill. While she's only credited as the featured guest, she's probably the main reason towards the song's uber-success, re-interpreting the track's swiped lines from Kurtis Blow's "If I Ruled The World" and The Delfonics' "Walk Right Up To The Sun" with a gut-wrenching, inspirational fervor that would only heighten fans' anticipation for her eventual solo project.

Best Moment: The vivifying bridge section and the track's robust, Whodini-sampling beat.

Nas & Lauren hill - If I ruled the world
Uploaded by kmel

DL: "If I Ruled The World" (YFH)



DL: "Walk Right Up To The Sun" (YFH)