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, The Drug Lord focuses on Escobar's contradictory drives to be a good husband; a decent, upstanding, Colombian citizen; a left-wing politician; a supporter of the poor; and a wealthy, powerful "bandido" (an endearing term for criminal, like "rascal"), all while seeking ever more political power, wealth, and sexual exploits. The series was created by Camilo Cano and Juana Uribe, vice president of Caracol TV and the series' producer. Cano's father, Guillermo Cano, who was publisher of newspaper "El Espectador", was murdered by Escobar in December 1986. Uribe's mother, Maruja Pachón, was kidnapped on Escobar's orders, and her uncle, presidential candidate Luis Carlos Galán,