I Am… is the third studio album by American rapper Nas, released April 6, 1999 on Columbia Records. Following the commercial and critical success of 1996's It Was Written, Nas put to work on a double album that merged the styles of his first two albums and detailed entire aspects of his life. But a majority of the material leaked onto the internet in MP3 format forced him to record new material for single-disc release. The album debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200, selling over 470,000 copies in its first week. I Am… would later be certified Double Platinum in the United States, making this Nas' second best-selling release behind It Was Written. Upon its release, I Am... received generally positive reviews from music critics.