Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones (pronounced /nɑːˈsɪər/; born September 14, 1973), who performs under the mononym Nas (/ˈnɑːz/), formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, he was born and raised in the Queensbridge housing projects in New York City. Although he dropped out of middle school, he managed to attain a high degree of literacy which is prominent in his lyrics. His debut album Illmatic, was released i...
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Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones (pronounced /nɑːˈsɪər/; born September 14, 1973), who performs under the mononym Nas (/ˈnɑːz/), formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, he was born and raised in the Queensbridge housing projects in New York City. Although he dropped out of middle school, he managed to attain a high degree of literacy which is prominent in his lyrics. His debut album Illmatic, was released in 1994 on Columbia Records. Illmatic was critically acclaimed and would go on to be widely hailed a classic. Nas was part of hip-hop supergroup The Firm, which released one album.
From 2001 to 2005, Nas was involved in a widely publicized feud with rapper Jay-Z; both rappers verbally attacked each other in their songs. The two formally ended their rivalry through duet performances at concerts sponsored by New York City-area hip-hop radio stations. In 2006, he was listed number five on MTV's 10 Greatest MCs of All Time. Also in 2006, he signed...
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