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NAS
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones (/nɑːˈsɪər/; born September 14, 1973), better known by his stage name Nas (/nɑːz/), is an American rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, and investor.[1] The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas has released twelve studio albums, with seven of them certified platinum and multi-platinum in the US.
His musical career began in 1991, as a featured artist on Main Source's "Live at the Barbeque". His debut album Illmatic (1994) received universal acclaim from both critics and the hip hop community and is frequently ranked as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.[2][3] Nas's follow-up It Was Written debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200, stayed on top for four consecutive weeks, went Double Platinum in two months, and made Nas internationally known. From 2001 to 2005, Nas was involved in a highly publicized feud with Jay-Z, popularized by the diss track "Ether". Nas signed to Def Jam in 2006. In 2010, he released Distant Relatives, a collaboration album with Damian Marley, donating all royalties to charities active in Africa. His 11th studio album, Life Is Good (2012) was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.
In 2006, MTV ranked Nas at #5 on their list of "The Greatest MCs of All Time". In 2012, The Source ranked him #2 on their list of the "Top 50 Lyricists of All Time". In 2013, Nas was ranked 4th on MTV's "Hottest MCs in the Game" list. About.com ranked him first on their list of the "50 Greatest MCs of All Time" in 2014, and a year later, Nas was featured on "The 10 Best Rappers of All Time" list by Billboard. He is also an entrepreneur through his own record label; he serves as associate publisher of Mass Appeal magazine and the co-founder of Mass Appeal Records.
Early life
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones[4] was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on September 14, 1973.[5][6] His father, Olu Dara (born Charles Jones III), is a jazz and blues musician from Mississippi. His mother, Fannie Ann (née Little; died 2002) was a U.S. Postal Service worker from North Carolina.[7][8] He has a brother, Jabari Fret, who raps under the name Jungle and is a member of hip hop group Bravehearts. His father adopted the name "Olu Dara" from the Yoruba people.[9] "Nasir" is an Arabic name meaning "helper and protector", while "bin" means "son of" in Arabic.[10] As a young child, Nas and his family relocated to the Queensbridge Houses in the borough of Queens. His neighbor, Willy "Ill Will" Graham, influenced his interest in hip hop by playing him records.[11] His parents divorced in 1985,[11] and he dropped out of school after the eighth grade.[6] He educated himself about African culture through the Five Percent Nation (a splinter group of the Nation of Islam)[12] and the Nuwaubian Nation.[13] In his early years, he played the trumpet and began writing his own rhymes.[14]
Career
Late 1980s–1994: Underground beginnings and Illmatic
1995–1997: Mainstream direction and the Firm
1998–2000: Inconsistent output
2001–2003: Dispute with Jay-Z and artistic comeback
2004–2006: Double album and Def Jam
2006–2008: Politicized efforts and controversies
2009–present: Collaborations, Life Is Good and Nasir
MTV Video Music Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | "Hate Me Now" (featuring Puff Daddy) | Best Rap Video | Nominated |
| 2002 | "One Mic" | Video of the Year | Nominated |
| Best Rap Video | Nominated | ||
| 2003 | "I Can" | Nominated | |
| "Thugz Mansion" (with Tupac Shakur and J. Phoenix) | Nominated | ||
| 2005 | "Bridging the Gap" (featuring Olu Dara) | Best Hip-Hop Video | Nominated |
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