Information AboutNas |
Nasir Jones (born September 14 1973 ), known simply as '''Nas''' and formerly '''Nasty Nas''', is an American Rapper . Son of jazz musician Olu Dara , Nas is well known for his 1994 debut album '' Illmatic '', which many consider to be one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.1 This album established Nas as one of hip-hop's most profound Lyricists , introducing his signature poetic style. Raised in the notorious Queensbridge housing projects in New York City , he represents a continuation of a hip-hop tradition in Queensbridge that has spanned through early hip-hop, including the Juice Crew , Marley Marl , and MC Shan . Following ''Illmatic'' with '' It Was Written '', Nas pursued a more mainstream 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 giving in to corporate wishes and compromising the style that had enamored his fans of him. Nevertheless, the album '' Stillmatic '' is often credited for restoring Nas' credibility among fans. Since the success of ''Stillmatic'', Nas has continued to maintain a high profile within the hip-hop community, and has pursued a decidedly personal aesthetic. He remains one of the most respected and acclaimed contemporary rappers with audiences and critics alike. BIOGRAPHY Nas, whose given name Nasir means "helper and protector" in , taping records that played on his local radio station. Nas' interests moved away from playing the trumpet as a child to being a comic book hero artistFrye, Sebastian. Master Series: Nas . Lucid Forge: 2007. By his golden years, he had settled on pursuing a career as a rapper, and as a teenager enlisted his best friend and upstairs neighbor Willie " (William Mitchell), who introduced Nas to his Toronto -based group, Main Source . In 1991, Nas made his on-record debut with a verse on "Live at the BBQ's", 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'' 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. Hailed as the second coming of Rakim , his rhyming skills attracted a significant amount of attention within the hip-hop community. In 1994, Nas's debut album, '' Illmatic '' was finally released. Critically acclaimed and widely regarded as one of the best hip-hop albums of all time,4 Illmatic featured lyrics that portrayed stunning visual imagery. It also featured production from Large Professor, Pete Rock (one half of legendary group with C.L. Smooth ), Q-Tip (frontman for A Tribe Called Quest ), L.E.S. and DJ Premier (one half of Gang Starr ) as well as guest appearances from Nas' friend AZ and his father Olu Dara. Aside from ''Halftime'', three moderately popular singles were released in order to promote ''Illmatic''. However, due to widespread bootlegging and a lack of corporate appeal, the album did not do well in terms of record sales. Following ''Illmatic'', Nas appeared on AZ 's '' Doe Or Die '' album, and collaborated with his Queensbridge-associates, Mobb Deep , on their album, '' The Infamous ''. One notable achievement during this period was Nas' verse on "Verbal Intercourse" on Raekwon 's '' Only Built 4 Cuban Linx ''. It earned Nas a '' Source '' Quotable, and gave him the distinction (at the time) of being the only non- Wu-Tang Clan member to be featured on one of their songs. It also continued his "Nas Escobar" persona, in keeping with the Mafioso-theme of the album (the alias was introduced on Mobb Deep's "Eye for an Eye" from "The Infamous" album. 1995–1998: From ''It Was Written'' to ''The Firm'' Columbia began to press Nas to work towards more commercial topics, such as that of the rapper . Last accessed August 13, 2007. The Firm signed to '' was finally released in 1997 to mixed reviews and lackluster sales (though still reaching platinum) and the members of the super group 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 1998–2000: ''I Am...'' to ''Nastradamus'' In 1998, Nas began work on a double album. It was to be entitled ''I Am...The Autobiography'', which he intended as the middle ground between the extremes of '' Illmatic '' and '' It Was Written ''. The plans were for it to be a double album autobiography of Nas with each track detailing a part of his life. The album was completed in early 1999, and a Music Video was shot for its lead single, " Nas Is Like ." It was produced by DJ Premier and contained vocal samples from " It Ain't Hard To Tell ." Much of the LP was leaked into 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 Diddy , which was used as an example by Nas' critics of him moving towards commercial themes. Hype Williams shot an allegorical video for the single, which featured Nas and Diddy being crucified in a manner similar to Jesus ; after the video was completed, Diddy, 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 ''. Within minutes of the broadcast, 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 Champagne bottleRock, Rich. Diddy Ordered Tupac Hit Says Lawsuit . StreetGangs.com: October 3, 2003. 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, Nas decided that he should record an entire new album for the 1999 release of Nastradamus . ''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, " You Owe Me ." It was produced by Timbaland and featured 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 started when Nas failed to show up to a scheduled recording session to record a guest verse on Jay-Z's Reasonable Doubt track, "Can I Live." After the Notorious BIG died, there was much debate over who would be "King of New York". Even though it was obvious to most hip hop heads that a rivalry existed between Nas and Jay-Z, the rivalry wasn't made known to the general public until a rivalry between Nas, and Jay-Z's protégé, 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 Jay-Z . This 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 the quote, ''"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 an insult, and retaliated against Nas on the lead single for his next album, '' The Understanding ''. That single, "My Mind Right," stated "''And only a few fit in, your lifestyle's written/So who you supposed to be, play your position''". In 2000, '' QB's Finest '' was released on Nas' Ill Will Records . ''QB's Finest'' is a compilation album that featured Nas and a number of other rappers from Queensbridge projects, including Mobb Deep , Nature , Capone , The Bravehearts , Tragedy Khadafi , Millennium Thug 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 retaliated with ''"Oh you didn't, wanna know whose life was written/The life I'm livin"'' and ''"Jaws is broke, your whole crew is coffin bound/Your ho, your man, lieutenant, your boss get found"''. Jay-Z responded to Nas' songs with an on stage 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 it only included a single line about Nas near the end. Nevertheless, Nas recorded the "Stillmatic Freestyle," an underground single which sampled Eric B. and Rakim 's " Paid In Full " beat, and attacked Jay-Z and his Roc-A-Fella label. On his 2001 album, '' The Blueprint '', Jay-Z added a third verse to "Takeover" dissing Nas, claiming that he had ''"...one hot album every ten year average"'' record (referring to ''Illmatic''), that his flow was weak, and that he had fabricated his past as a hustler. Nas responded with '', released in December 2001. ''Stillmatic'' managed to be not only a critically-acclaimed comeback album, but a commercial success as well, albeit not on the level of ''It Was Written'' and ''I Am...'', the album debuted at #7 on the Billboard album charts and featured the singles " Got Ur Self A... " and " One Mic ." Jay-Z responded to ''Ether'' with a song entitled " Supa Ugly ," going into detail about how he had sex with Carmen Bryan , the mother of Nas' daughter Destiny. This wasn't the first time Jay-Z alluded to his relationship with Nas' baby mother the song "Is That Your Chick" the lost verses addition was said to be all about Jay-Z, Carmen and Nas. Nas dismissed the track by claiming that he was no longer with Bryan during the time the affair took place.Ashare, Matt. Nas On His Battle With Jay-Z And Its Effects . Yahoo! Music: January 26, 2002. In a recent interview, however, New York radio station Hot 97 settled the battle taking votes comparing "Ether"/"Stillmatic" and "Takeover"/"Supa Ugly," and Nas won with 58% while Jay-Z got 42% of the votes.http://www.hiphop-beef.com/category/jay-z/ Jay-Z also responded to Nas on Jay-Z's 2002 album, on the track named "Blueprint 2." On that track, Jay-Z says that no matter what happened in the battle, he's never been phony and that Nas is hypocritical for recording songs like 'Black Girl Lost" and then turning around and taking advantage of those same lost black girls on tracks like 'You Owe Me'. Jay-Z also claims that he single handedly revitalized Nas' career by dissing him in the first place. Nas spoke about the battle once more on the track "Last Real Nigga Alive" from the album God's Son . On this track Nas breaks down how the battle went down. He raps about coming up in the game with fellow artists like the Wu-Tang Clan , Biggie Smalls and others. Nas raps how Jay-Z came in the mix with this line: "Jigga started to flow like us, but hit with 'Ain't No Niggas'", how Jay-Z tried to attack when Nas and his mother went through a difficult time: "I gave it all up so I can chill at home with mama/She was getting old and sick so I stayed beside her/We had the best times, she asked would I make more songs/I told her not till I see her health get more strong/In the middle of that, Jay tried to sneak attack/Assassinate my character, degrade my hood/Cause in order for him to be the Don, Nas had to go". And on the track Nas had claimed victory, "I was Scarface, Jay was Manolo/It hurt me when I had to kill him and his whole squad for dolo". By October 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 '': October 29, 2005. 2002–2005: From ''God's Son'' to ''Street's Disciple'' In December 2002, Nas released the '' gave it four stars and The Source gave it four mics. The second single, " I Can ", which reworked elements from Beethoven 's " Für 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, including "Dance". In 2003, Nas was featured on the Korn song "Play Me", from Korn's '' Take A Look In The Mirror '' LP. Also in 2003, a live performance in New York City, featuring Ludacris , Jadakiss , and Darryl McDaniels (of Run-D.M.C. fame), was released on DVD as ''Made You Look: God's Son Live''. Nas released his seventh studio album, the critically acclaimed 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 and O.J. Simpson of not setting good examples for the kids that look up to them and 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. 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 " and several other songs such as "Death Anniversary" and "It Wasn't You" (featuring Lauryn Hill). In addition, Nas married R&B singer Kelis on January 8 2005 in Atlanta, Georgia, 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 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 Columbia Records. Mobb Deep after signing to G-Unit, decided to diss Nas since G-Unit had beef with Nas. They released a diss song targeting Nas and the Bravehearts sometime in 2005. It is titled "It's That..."http://www.nobodysmiling.com/hiphop/play-audio.php?rid=70639&path=mobbdeep_its%20that 2006-present: Hip Hop Is Dead and controversy In January 2006, Nas signed a label deal with Def Jam , emphasizing collaboration over competition with former rival Jay-Z. Nas' original title for his next album was ''Hip Hop Is Dead...The N'' (shortened to Hip Hop Is Dead ), though the UK release features a bonus track at the end called "The N." The album featured production from Will.i.am , Kanye West , Dr. Dre , Scott Storch , and NBA All Star Chris Webber , as well as longtime Nas collaborators L.E.S. and Salaam Remi . A street single named "Where Y'all At" was released in June of 2006 . It was produced by Salaam Remi, and contained a Sample from Nas' " Made You Look ," but it did not make ''Hip Hop Is Dead'''s final cut. The title record and first single was produced by boasts a sample from Nat King Cole 's "Unforgettable." The title of the album generated controversy, as many fans and artists (particularly those of : December 18, 2006. Nas worked on a song called "Shine On 'Em" for the film '' Blood Diamond '' starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou , which opened in US theatres on December 8 , 2006 . His song "Thief's Theme" was featured in one of the scenes in the Academy Award -winning movie The Departed directed by Martin Scorsese . Nas has recently mentioned a possible new release this year. According to an MTV interview he is quoted as saying, "New album is in the making right now," outside the set of his new video for "Can't Forget About You." Nas's video for '' magazine has reported that the show will premiere in 2008. Nas is preparing to release a greatest hits album this November through his former label, Columbia Records. The compilation will feature 12 songs from his eight studio LP’s, plus two newly recorded songs. One of the tracks, “Less Than An Hour,” debuted on AOL Music on August 10, and features Cee-Lo Green of Goodie Mob and Gnarls Barkley fame. The track is a new take on the theme to the hugely successful Rush Hour film trilogy starring Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, and will appear on the upcoming Rush Hour 3 soundtrack. Petipas, Jolene. Nas Preps "Greatest Hits," Records New Material . SOHH.com: August 13, 2007. Nas performed at a free concert for the (''"The Hip Hop Generation"''), who defended Nas and a accused that Fox News had " Cherry Picked " select fragments of the songs to make their case, O'Reilly shouted, "Even in his personal life, man, he's got a conviction for weapons, all right? He's got a weapons conviction, sir! On his sheet! This is a school that had a mass murderer with a pistol gunning down people - this guy has got-a-a-conviction for weapons, and you say he's appropriate? Come on!" O'Reilly repeated the claim another four times before cutting the segment short. O'Reilly Factor Talking Points Memo clip on YouTube . DISCOGRAPHY See Also: Nas discography
REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINKS
http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/news/2005-03-25-sharpton-rap-music_x.htm
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