Historical Figure
Nas
b. 1973
American rapper and entrepreneur (born 1973)
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Biography
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, known mononymously as Nas, is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and record producer. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas began his musical career in 1989 under the moniker "Nasty Nas", and recorded demos under the wing of fellow East Coast rapper Large Professor. Nas made his recording debut on Professor's group, Main Source's 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque".
In Their Own Words (5)
You a slave to a page in my rhyme book
Made You Look , 2002
Had 8 partners growin' up/ 8 turned to 7/ 7 turned to 6 n!*@%^$/ got 2 in heaven/ 6 of us, holdin it, now it's 5 rollin' thick/the 6th one's parole flipped, 5 n***az went to 4 quick/ when he went O.T, college life, converted into gangbangin/ 4 n***az still hangin/ years passin, slang changin/ 3 of us now, 4th n***a ain't around/ we all thought he was real, he did that snake shit, fake shit/ beat his ass down/ yo his mouth could've got us all wasted/ what a fuckin clown/ all I got left in the end is two of my best friends/ and we all goin' out 'till the death of these ends
"N.Y. State of Mind Pt. II" , 1999
(speking) "You hear about, you see about it/ it's in your papers/ it's in your daily news/ (get money!) / New York chronicles, every day/ the crime rate, the murder rate/ the money rate, the paper chase, youknowwhatImean?/ New York State of mind, baby, check it out.
"N.Y. State of Mind Pt. II" , 1999
A thug changes, and love changesand best friends become strangers, word up
1996
fake thug no love, get the slugCB4 gusto ur luck low, i didn't know til i was drunk thoyou freak niggaz played out, get fucked and ate outprostitute turned bitch got the gage out96 ways i made outmontanna way, good f-e-l-l-a, verbal AK spray
1996
Timeline
The story of Nas, told in moments.
Born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, raised in the Queensbridge Houses in Long Island City. The largest public housing project in North America. His father, Olu Dara, was a jazz musician. Nas dropped out of school in eighth grade.
Releases Illmatic. Ten tracks. Forty minutes. He's 20. The album is produced by DJ Premier, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, LES, and Large Professor. It sells modestly at first. Critics call it the greatest hip-hop album ever made. They haven't stopped.
His feud with Jay-Z peaks. Jay-Z releases "Takeover." Nas responds with "Ether," a track so devastating that "ethered" becomes slang for total verbal destruction. The beef defines an era of New York rap.
Releases Life Is Good. On the cover, he holds a green dress that belonged to his ex-wife Kelis. No explanation. The album debuts at number one. He's 38 and still rapping about Queensbridge with the same precision he had at 20.
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