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Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones (born September 14 1973 ), known commonly as '''Nas''', is a prominent African American Rapper . He was raised in the infamous Queensbridge housing projects in Long Island City . The son of Jazz trumpeter Olu Dara , Nas is best known for his 1994 debut LP '' Illmatic '', widely considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. This album established Nas as one of hip-hop's most celebrated Lyricists , introducing his signature poetic style and storytelling abilities. In the years following the release of ''Illmatic'', Nas pursued a more commercial direction, which resulted in wider success but decreased artistic credibility among critics and hip-hop purists. Furthermore, Nas' increased commercial success was accompanied by stylistic changes that fostered accusations of " Selling Out ". Nevertheless, the LP '' Stillmatic '' is often credited for restoring Nas' credibility among fans. Since the success of ''Stillmatic'', Nas continues to maintain a high profile within the hip hop community, and has pursued a decidedly Progressive and personal aesthetic. While Nas' current artistic direction differs greatly from his most successful work, it has ensured that he remains one of the most respected and acclaimed contemporary rappers. BIOGRAPHY 1973–1992: Childhood and early career Nas was born in , the Bible and the Five Percent Nation . He also studied the origin of Hip Hop Music , taping records that played on his local radio station. As a child, Nas had wanted to be an instrumentalist (at the age of three, Nas played his father's trumpet on the step of their Brooklyn home) and also a comic book artist. Shortly after his parents separated, Nas began to write short stories as he immersed himself deeper into hip-hop culture. By his preteen years, he had settled on pursuing a career as a rapper, and as a teenager enlisted his best friend and upstairs neighbor Willie " Ill Will " Graham as his DJ. Nas first went by the nickname Kid Wave before adopting his more commonly known alias of Nasty Nas. Nas and Graham soon met hip-hop producer and Queensbridge resident Large Professor , who introduced Nas to his group, Main Source . In 1991 , Nas made his on-record debut with a verse on "Live at the Barbeque", from Main Source's LP ''Breaking Atoms''. Despite the substantial buzz for Nas in the underground scene, the rapper was rejected by major labels and was not signed to a recording deal. Nas and Graham continued to work together, but their partnership was cut short when Graham was shot and killed by a gunman in Queensbridge on May 23 , 1992 . 1992–1995: The recording and release of ''Illmatic'' debut, '' Illmatic '', had a Profound Influence on East Coast Hip Hop during the mid-1990s]] In mid-1992, Nas was approached by MC Serch of 3rd Bass , who became his manager and secured Nas a record deal with Columbia Records the same year. Nas made his solo debut on the single "Halftime" from Serch's soundtrack for the film '' Zebrahead ''. The single increased the buzz surrounding Nas and when MC Serch’s solo album is released later in the year, Nas’ standout appearance on "Back To The Grill" only intensified interest in his upcoming album, amid immense anticipation. Hailed as the second coming of Rakim , his rhyming skills attracted a significant amount of attention within the hip-hop community. However, many were concerned that Columbia, being a major label, would try to dilute his New York based style. In 1994 , Nas' debut album, '' Illmatic '' was finally released. The album featured production from Large Professor, Pete Rock , Q-Tip (of A Tribe Called Quest ) and DJ Premier , as well as guest appearances from Nas' friend AZ and his father Olu Dara on the song "Life's a Bitch", ''Illmatic'' was immediately hailed as a masterpiece by critics, and is still highly regarded as one of the definitive Hip-hop albums of all time. Notable songs on the album included "NY State of Mind" (produced by Premier), " The World Is Yours " (produced by Pete Rock), " One Love " (produced by Q-Tip) and " It Ain't Hard To Tell " (produced by Large Professor and featuring a sample of " Human Nature " by Michael Jackson ). However, due in part to extensive Bootlegging , the record sales fell below expectations. Illmatic today is considered by most to be one of the best Hip-Hop albums of all time. Following ''Illmatic'', Nas appeared on AZ 's '' Doe Or Die '' album, and collaborated with his Queensbridge-associates, Mobb Deep , on their album, the '' The Infamous ''. One notable achievement during this period was Nas' verse on "Verbal Intercourse" on Raekwon 's '' Only Built 4 Cuban Linx ''. After this appearance, Nas received a '' Source '' Quotable as he had the distinction of being the only non- Wu-Tang Clan member to be featured on one of the group's solo albums. 1996–1998: From ''It Was Written'' to ''The Firm'' '' had a more commericial feel than his landmark debut, '' Illmatic ''.]] Columbia began to press Nas to work towards more commercial topics like the rapper , a supergroup consisting of Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown , and Cormega . The album also introduced Nas's Mafioso-inspired character "Nas Escobar", who lived more of a '' Scarface ''/'' Casino ''-esque lifestyle. On the other hand, ''Illmatic'', which, while having numerous references to Tony Montana and the theatrical hit featuring Al Pacino , was more about Nas' life as a teenager in the projects, hustling and smoking marijuana. '', which co-stars Nas and DMX ]] The Firm signed to '' was finally released in 1997 to mixed reviews and lackluster sales and the members of the supergroup went their separate ways. At about this time, Nas became a spokesperson for the Willie Esco urban clothing line, but had no other connection with the clothing line. He stopped promoting Willie Esco in 2000 , dissatisfied with the company's operations. During the same period, Nas co-wrote and starred in Hype Williams ' 1998 feature film '' Belly '', which also featured DMX , Taral Hicks , and T-Boz of TLC among its cast. 1998–2000: ''I Am...'' to ''Nastradamus'' '' still managed to go multi-platinium despite extensive Bootlegging .]] In 1998, Nas began work on a double album to be entitled ''I Am...The Autobiography'', which he intended as the middle ground between the extremes of '' Illmatic '' and '' It Was Written ''. The album was completed in early 1999, and a Music Video was shot for its lead single, ''Nas Is Like'', produced by DJ Premier and featuring vocal samples from ''It Ain't Hard to Tell''. However, much of the LP was leaked in MP3 format onto the Internet , and Nas and Stoute quickly recorded enough substitute material to constitute a single-disc release. The second single for ''I Am'' was " Hate Me Now ," featuring Sean "Puffy" Combs (now "Diddy"), was used as an example by Nas' critics for moving towards commercial themes. Hype Williams shot an allegorical video for the single, which featured Nas and Puffy being crucified in a manner similar to Jesus ; After the video was completed, Combs, a Catholic , requested his crucifixion scene be edited out of the video. However, the unedited copy of the "Hate Me Now" video made its way to MTV , and was premiered on April 15 , 1999 on '' TRL ''. A furious Combs and his bodyguards allegedly made their way into Steve Stoute's office and assaulted him, at one point apparently hitting Stoute over the head with a Champagnes bottle. Stoute pressed charges, but he and Combs settled out-of-court that June. Columbia had scheduled to release the pirated material from ''I Am'' under the title '' Nastradamus '' during the latter half of 1999 , but, at the last minute, decided Nas should record an entirely new album for release. ''Nastradamus'' was therefore rushed to meet a November release date. Though critics were not kind to the album, it did result in a minor hit, the Timbaland -produced "You Owe Me," featuring R&B singer Ginuwine . The only pirated track from ''I Am...'' to make it onto ''Nastradamus'' was "Project Windows," featuring Ronald Isley . A number of the other bootlegged tracks later made their way onto '' The Lost Tapes '', a collection of underground Nas songs that was released by Columbia in September 2002 . The collection saw decent sales and received glowing reviews. 2000–2001: The ''Nas vs. Jay-Z rivalry'' and ''Stillmatic'' The highly publicized rivalry between Nas and Jay-Z began as a rivalry between Nas and Jay-Z's protege, Memphis Bleek . On his debut album ''Coming of Age'', Bleek made a song entitled "Memphis Bleek Is", which was similar in concept to Nas' single "Nas is Like". On the same album, Bleek recorded "What You Think Of That" featuring Bleek's mentor Jay-Z , which contains the refrain, ''"I'ma ball 'til I fall/what you think of that?"''. In retaliation, "Nastradamus", the title track from Nas' second 1999 album, featured a reference to "What You Think Of That" The lyrics state, ''"You wanna ball till you fall, I can help you with that/You want beef? I could let a slug melt in your hat."'' Memphis Bleek perceived the reference on "Nastradamus" as a diss, and therefore dissed Nas on the lead single for his ''The Understanding'' LP, ''My Mind Right". ''QB's Finest'' was a compilation album that featured Nas and a number of other rappers from Queensbridge , including Mobb Deep , Nature, Littles, The Bravehearts (which included Nas' younger brother Jungle among its members), and Cormega, who had briefly reconciled with Nas. The album also featured guest appearances from Queensbridge hip-hop legends Roxanne Shante , MC Shan , and Marley Marl . Shan and Marley Marl both appeared on the lead single "Da Bridge 2001", which was based on Shan & Marl's 1986 recording "The Bridge". "Da Bridge 2001" also featured a response from Nas to Memphis Bleek, in which Nas called out most of the Roc-A-Fella Records roster, including Bleek, Damon Dash , Beanie Sigel , and Jay-Z . '' (2001) is said to have revitalized Nas' career after many critics believed it was waning.]] Jay-Z responded to Nas' songs with an onstage swipe during the 2001 Hot 97 Summer Jam concert in New York City , when he premiered his song " Takeover ." Initially, the song was to only be a Mobb Deep diss, only including one line about Nas near the end. Nevertheless, Nas recorded the "Stillmatic Freestyle," an underground single which sampled Rakim and Eric B. 's " Paid In Full " beat, and attacked Jay-Z and his Roc-A-Fella label. On his 2001 album, '' The Blueprint '', Jay-Z rewrote "Takeover," dedicating half of the song to dissing Nas, claiming that ''Illmatic'' was his only good album and that he had fabricated much of his past. Nas responded with " Ether " , a track begins with gunshots and a repeated, slowed-down sample of Tupac rapping "Fuck Jay-Z." (taken from Tupac's "Fuck Friends") In "Ether," Nas accuses Jay-Z of stealing ("biting") lyrics from The Notorious B.I.G. and brown-nosing Nas and other rappers for fame. Ether was included on Nas' fifth studio album, '' Stillmatic '', released in December 2001. ''Stillmatic'' managed to be not only a critically-acclaimed comeback album, but a commercial success as well, debuting at #7 on the Billboard album charts and featuring the hit singles " Got Ur Self A... " and " One Mic ". Jay-Z responded to "Ether" with a freestyle entitled " Supa Ugly ." going into detail about how he had sex with Carmen Bryan , the mother of Nas' daughter Destiny. Nas dismissed the track by claiming that he was no longer with Bryan during the time the affair took place. In a recent interview, however, New York radio station Hot 97 settled the battle taking votes comparing "Ether" and "Supa Ugly," and Nas won with 58% while jay-z got 42% of the votes . By 2005 , the two rappers had eventually ended their feud without violence or animosity. During Jay-Z's ''I Declare War - Power House'' concert, Jay-Z announced to the crowd, "It's bigger than 'I Declare War'. Let's go, Esco!" Nas then joined Jay-Z onstage, and the two then performed "Dead Presidents" together, which Jay-Z had sampled from Nas' song "The World is Yours." ''.]] 2002–Present: From ''God's Son'' to ''Street's Disciple'' and beyond In December 2002 , Nas released the '' God's Son '' album. and its lead single, "Made You Look". The album debuted at #18 on the Billboard charts despite widespread internet bootlegging. The second single, the inspirational " I Can ", which reworked elements from Beethoven 's " Fur Elise ", became Nas' biggest hit to date during the spring and summer of 2003 , garnering substantial radio airplay on Urban , Rhythmic , and Top 40 radio stations, as well as on the MTV and VH1 music video networks. ''God's Son'' also includes several songs dedicated to memory of Nas' mother, who died of Cancer in 2002. In 2003, Nas was featured on the KoЯn song "Play Me", from KoЯn's '' Take A Look In The Mirror '' LP. ''.]] Nas released his seventh studio album, the Double-disc '' Street's Disciple '', on November 30 , 2004 . The album's first singles were "Thief's Theme" and "Bridging the Gap", which features his father Olu Dara on vocals. The album also includes "These are Our Heroes", which accuses prominent sports stars and actors such as Kobe Bryant , Tiger Woods , and Cuba Gooding, Jr. of neglecting their heritage and background in favour of white values. The videos for "Bridging the Gap" and "Just A Moment" received moderate airplay on MTV and BET. Although the album went platinum, its commercial profile was relatively low compared to the rapper's previous releases and received decidedly mixed reviews from critics. Nas was featured on Kanye West 's album '' Late Registration '' on a song titled "We Major". West said the song was Jay-Z's favorite on the album, but West was unable to get Jay-Z to record a vocal for the final mix of the song. He also appeared on Damian Marley 's song "Road to Zion" (which also featured newcomer The Game in the video, widening Nas' still growing universally appreciated raps) and several other songs such as "Death Anniversary" and "It Wasn't You" (featuring Lauryn Hill). In addition, Nas was most recently married to the R&B singer '' Kelis '', who is mostly known for her work internationally, but nonetheless released great hits in the U.S. The couple wed on Jan. 8, 2005 in Atlanta, GA, after a two-year engagement. At a free concert in Central Park, New York, Nas made a statement regarding the quality of 50 Cent's music. "this is the real shit, not that 50 Cent shit!" In response, 50 Cent included a stab at Nas by speaking negatively of his wife Kelis on his single "Piggy Bank," implying that Kelis was promiscuous and calling Nas a "sucker for love." Nas was quoted as saying that he feels no obligation to retaliate, remarking " has got a good five to six more albums before I can really respond to him." Nas eventually decided to retaliate, and in July 2005 released "Don't Body Ya Self (MC Burial)", a song which taunts 50 Cent and his G-Unit crew, stating that 50 was "a sucka for death if I'm a sucka for love." However, despite all of this, Nas still claims to "have a lot of love towards 50." Claiming 50 didn't understand his moves when they both were together at Colombia Records. In January 2006, Nas signed a label deal with Jay-Z's Def Jam , further emphasizing the Jay-Z/Nas truce and raising expectations for a collaboration even higher. Nas' new label will be called "The Jones Experience" and his album due in fall of 2006 will come out in a joint deal with this imprint and Columbia Records. The new album was originally supposed to be named ''Nasdaq Dow Jones''. Recently, Nas told a NY Daily News reporter that he was naming his album '' N.A.S. (Not All Surrender) '' . MUSICAL STYLE AND TECHNIQUE Nas has long been famed for his creativity and storytelling prowess, which has earned him acclaim from both the hip-hop community and critics. In his early stages, from his first appearance on the Main Source 's '' Breaking Atoms '' and throughout the recording of '' Illmatic '', he was perhaps best known for his street-oriented topics, complex Lyrical schemes (which often incorporated multi-syllabic Internal Rhyme s), and witty phrasing and imagery. As he progressed and matured, Nas began to branch out into different subjects and developed a richer voice and slower rapping technique. Following '' Illmatic '''s release, Nas developed a penchant for hyper-visual storytelling and topical creativity. For instance, "Undying Love" (featured on '' I Am... '') is a tale of his wife's betrayal told in First Person , "Rewind" (featured on '' Stillmatic '') is a narrative in which a story is recited backwards, while on "I Gave You Power" (featured on '' It Was Written ''), Nas assumes the role of a "gun" who recounts brutal tales of murder and violence. Over the years Nas' style has changed significantly. In contrast to his previous work, Nas’ most recent material is distinctively socially aware and often politically inflammatory. Songs such as "I Can" (featured on '' God's Son '') convey moral messages of black Youth Empowerment , while "These Are Our Heroes ( Coon Picnic)" accuses several African-American celebrities of being Uncle Tom s. Furthermore, controversial songs such as "My Country" and "A Message to the Feds" (which are featured on '' Stillmatic '' and '' Street's Disciple '', respectively) question the conduct of the American Government . DISCOGRAPHY For a full discography of albums and singles, see Nas Discography . Studio albums ; Columbia releases:
; Aftermath release:
; Def Jam release:
Top Twenty singles The following tracks reached the Top 20 of one or more of the following music charts: Billboard Hot 100 , Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks , Hot Rap Tracks , or the UK Singles Chart . FILMOGRAPHY REFERENCES
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