It Was Written "Illmatic", the album contains a more detailed and elaborate production, while it shares similarity to the G-funk sound, relying heavily on sampled and looped funk grooves. "It Was Written" has Nas experimenting with a theatrical mafioso concept under the alias of "Nas Escobar" (inspired by the Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar). The album's subject matter has been noted for its focus on materialistic excess and other mafioso lyrical themes. Jon Pareles of "The New York Times" wrote of Nas's shift in lyrical themes from "Illmatic", stating he "repeatedly cites the Colombian drug kingpin Pablo Escobar and drops brand names of
Pablo Escobar of Córdoba and Urabá. "Los Pepes" carried out a bloody campaign, fueled by vengeance, in which more than 300 of Escobar's associates, his lawyer and relatives were slain, and a large amount of the Medellín cartel's property was destroyed. Members of the Search Bloc, and Colombian and United States intelligence agencies, in their efforts to find Escobar, either colluded with "Los Pepes" or moonlighted as both Search Bloc and "Los Pepes" simultaneously. This coordination was allegedly conducted mainly through the sharing of intelligence to allow "Los Pepes" to bring down Escobar and his few remaining allies, but there are reports