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
Jaime Ramírez Gómez enemies such as John Jairo Velásquez, alias Popeye, lieutenant of Pablo Escobar, who published a book, "Surviving Pablo Escobar" (2015), where he described the crimes of the Medellín Cartel. Colonel Ramírez was murdered one month before what would have been his promotion to Brigadier General. After his death, the Direction of the Colombian Police suspended a posthumous promotion allegedly because "he died outside a police operation". After a legal battle of seven years, the Presidency of César Gaviria Trujillo ordered his posthumous promotion to Brigadier General. Jaime Ramírez Gómez Jaime Ramírez Gómez (July 4, 1940 - November 17, 1986) was