Do you agree with an excerpt from an It Was Written review, stating why Illmatic is better?

Writer Joe Katz wrote in a review of the album It Was Written for
Sputnikmusic, stating "The lyrics were there, but some of the emotion
was gone. Maybe it was the world around Nas changing, or maybe it was
changing in himself, but no one can listen to this after Illmatic and
not see a change ... If Illmatic was the kind of nightmare you can't
wake up from and don't really want too, then IWW is a regular dream,
not quite "real" but enjoyable all the same."

I think that is brilliantly put, and as great as It Was Written was
(and still is), the gritty emotion and realness of Illmatic puts it in
another leauge.