Double vinyl LP pressing. I Am... is the third studio album by 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. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, selling over 470, 000 copies in it's 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. This album was originally to have been a double album titled I Am... The Autobiography, however most of the original sessions were bootlegged forcing Nas to discard many songs and adjust the release.