Nas

For other uses, see Nas (disambiguation).

Nas

Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones (born September 14 1973), known simply as Nas, is a prominent American rapper and producer. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas is best known for his 1994 debut album Illmatic, considered by some to be one of the best hip-hop albums of all time. 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 spanned through early hip-hop, including the Juice Crew, Marley Marl, and MC Shan. He is married to the R&B singer, Kelis.

In the years following the release of Illmatic, 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 that compromised the style his fans enamored. 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 personal aesthetic. He remains one of the most respected and acclaimed contemporary rappers, both with audiences and critics alike. album hip hop is dead

Biography

1973–1992: Childhood and early career

Nas, whose given name Nasir means "helper and protector" in Arabic, would spend the first years of his life in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. His father, Olu Dara was a jazz trumpeter and his mother Fannie Ann Jones was a Postal Service worker. He had one sibling, a brother named Jabari who assumed the alias "Jungle" because he was born in The Congo. While in Brooklyn, Nas would listen to his father's trumpet on his house's stoop at age four. The family soon after moved to the Queensbridge Houses, the largest public housing project in the United States. Olu Dara left the household in 1986, when Nas was 13, and Ann Jones raised her two boys on her own. Nas soon dropped out of school in the eighth grade. He educated himself, reading about African culture and civilization, the Qur'an, the Bible and the Five Percent Nation [1]. He also studied the origin of hip hop music, 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 artist[2]. Shortly after his parents separated, Nas began to write short stories as he immersed himself deeper into African 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[3]. Nas and Graham soon met hip-hop producer and Queens 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

File:NasIllmatic.jpg

Nas' landmark 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.

In 1994, Nas' debut album, Illmatic was finally released. Critically acclaimed and widely regarded as one of the best hip-hop albums ever created, Illmatic featured lyrics that portrayed stunning visual imagery and production courtesy of several legendary producers. The album featured production from Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip (of A Tribe Called Quest) 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 its lack of commercial appeal, and massive bootlegging, 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.

1996–1998: From It Was Written to The Firm

Columbia began to press Nas to work towards more commercial topics like the rapper The Notorious B.I.G., who had become successful by releasing street singles that still retained pop-friendly appeal. Nas traded manager MC Serch for Steve Stoute, and began preparation for his second LP, It Was Written, consciously working towards a crossover-oriented sound. It Was Written, chiefly produced by Poke and Tone of Trackmasters Entertainment, was released during the summer of 1996. Two singles, "If I Ruled The World (Imagine That)" (featuring Lauryn Hill of The Fugees) and "Street Dreams" (a remix features R. Kelly) were instant hits. These songs were promoted by big-budget music videos directed by Hype Williams, making Nas a common name among mainstream hip-hop. It Was Written featured the debut of The Firm, a super group consisting of Nas, AZ, Foxy Brown, and Cormega. The album also expanded on Nas' Escobar persona, 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.

File:Belly.jpg

The DVD cover for the 1998 film Belly, which co-stars Nas and DMX

The Firm signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment label, and began working on their debut album. Halfway through the production of the album, Cormega was fired from the group by Steve Stoute, who had unsuccessfully attempted to force Cormega to sign a deal with his management company. Cormega therefore became one of Nas' most vocal opponents, releasing a number of underground hip-hop singles dissing Nas, Stoute, and Nature, who was Cormega's replacement in The Firm. Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album was finally released in 1997 to mixed reviews and lackluster sales 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, which also featured DMX, Method Man, Taral Hicks, and T-Boz of TLC among its cast.

1998–2000: I Am... to Nastradamus

In 1998, Nas began work on a double album and this was to be entitled I Am...The Autobiography, which he intended as the middle ground between the extremes of Illmatic and It Was Written. It was supposed 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. Those leaked tracks include "Amongst Kings," "Blaze a 50," "Drunk By Myself," "Hardest Thing to Do Is Stay Alive," "U Gotta Love It," "Find Ya Wealth," "Project Windows," "Fetus," "Wanna Play Rough," "Sometimes I Wonder," and "Daydreamin, Stay Scheming."

The second single for I Am was "Hate Me Now," featuring Sean "Puffy" Combs, 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 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. 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 bottle[4]. 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

Further information: Nas vs. Jay-Z

The highly publicized rivalry between Nas and Jay-Z began as 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 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 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, 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".

File:Nas stillmatic.jpg

Stillmatic (2001) is said to have revitalized Nas' career after many critics believed it was waning.

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, only including one 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 rewrote "Takeover," dedicating one verse to dissing Nas, claiming that he had a "...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 Ether, a track begins with gunshots and a repeated, slowed-down sample from "Fuck Friendz" of Tupac Shakur rapping "Fuck Jay-Z." In "Ether," Nas accuses Jay-Z of stealing ("biting") lyrics from The Notorious B.I.G., getting the name "Blueprint" from a previous KRS-One album of the same name, and brown-nosing Nas and other rappers for fame. Nas also claimed that all of Jay-Z's raps on The Blueprint were inferior to the one guest verse on the album (Eminem's on "Renegade"): "Eminem murdered you on your own shit...". "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, 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." In terms of commercial success, Jay's The Blueprint was certified triple-platinum, while Stillmatic went double-platinum.

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"/"Stillmatic" and "Takeover"/"Supa Ugly," and Nas won with 58% while Jay-Z got 42% of the votes.

Jay-Z also responded to Nas on Jay-Z's 2002 album, The Blueprint 2: The Gift & the Curse 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. On "Blueprint 2" Jay-Z also appeared to have conceded the rap battle with the line:

I will not lose/But even in defeat/There's a valuable lesson learned/So that evens it up for me.

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 The World Is Yours. Some critics speculate that Jay and Nas ended the feud for business purposes while Prodigy claims that it was their answer to Mobb Deep joining G-Unit Records[5]. Though the two insist that it was "all about respect"

2002–2005: From God's Son to Street's Disciple

The well received album God's Son

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. Time Magazine named his album best hip-hop album of the year. Vibe Magazine gave it 4 stars and The Source gave it 4 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, 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.

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, 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!". 50 Cent responded on his single “Piggy Bank” by speaking negatively about Nas’ wife, Kelis; implying that she was promiscuous and calling Nas a "sucker for love." Nas was quoted as saying that he feels no obligation to retaliate, remarking "[50 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 Columbia Records.

2006-present: Hip Hop is Dead & controversy

Nas' 2006 album, Hip Hop Is Dead

In January 2006, Nas signed a label deal with Def Jam, further emphasizing the Jay-Z/Nas truce and raising expectations for a collaboration even higher. After kicking around several titles, Nas announced the title Nigger or Nigga; it arose controversy, was dropped, and led to the name The N. Not long after, he changed the working title once more to Nasdaq: Dow Jones [6].

After some time, Nas and Def Jam agreed on an official title, Hip Hop is Dead...The N, which was 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 and Scott Storch, as well as longtime Nas collaborators L.E.S. and Salaam Remi. A "street single," one record leaked to the internet to generate response, was released in the early Summer of 2006 (Late June 2006). It was called "Where Y'all At" and was produced by Salaam Remi, though it didn't make the final cut.

His first single, bearing the name of the record, was produced by will.i.am and sports the same Iron Butterfly sample as Nas' earlier song, "Thief's Theme," a single released for Street's Disciple, though receiving a decidedly more enthusiastic response. The album debuted on Def Jam and Nas' new imprint at that label, The Jones Experience, at number one on the Billboard 200 charts, selling 355,000 copies--Nas's 3rd number one album, along with 1996's It Was Written and 1999's I Am... Nas, upon signing with Def Jam, will be releasing a further 3 records/albums under the label as part of his contract.

The title of the album generated plenty of controversy, as many fans and artists (particularly those of Southern origin) began to debate over the actual state of rap music's vitality; several Southern acts took offense to the title, taking it to be directed at their region in particular.[7][8][9]

"Hiphop Is Dead" is highly acclaimed by critics and fans alike, most with the view that it is Nas's finest work since Stillmatic at the turn of the century, after two albums with mixed reviews.

Nas also 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. Blood Diamond is set in the year 1999 during Sierra Leone's civil war; the title refers to "blood diamonds", which are usually mined in war zones and are sold to finance the conflicts. [10]

Critical acclaim

Nas is considered by many to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. MTV ranked him the fifth best MC of all time, behind only Rakim, Tupac Shakur, The Notorious B.I.G. and Jay Z. Golden age hip hop artist, Slick Rick has offered much praise of Nas saying:

"I think Nas is a great MC because he's like a Tupac in a way: He doesn't waste a lot of time bragging. He comes with emotions, he speaks on positivity for the growth of kids and women. He pretty much tells his life in a humble way. I think that's a great thing that shows the variety rap has. When he came out, he made a hellafied impact. It's his God-given talent that stands out in the crowd. I thought he was an excellently skillful rapper. It was only a few skillful rappers: Kane, Rakim ... he was up there with them. He had raw talent. He was a child when he came out; now he's a married man. He's showing the streets can grow. He has the ability of giving you a vivid look in a new-generation way with that rugged rap skill. There aren't too many rappers who can compete with him.

Discography

Main article: Nas discography

Solo albums

• Illmatic (1994)
• It Was Written (1996)
• I Am... (1999)
• Nastradamus (1999)
• Stillmatic (2001)
• God's Son (2002)
• Street's Disciple (2004)
• Hip Hop Is Dead (2006)

Collaboration albums

• Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album (1997)
• Nas and Ill Will Records Present QB's Finest (2000)

Compilation albums

• The Best of Nas (2002)
• From Illmatic to Stillmatic: The Remixes (2002)
• The Lost Tapes (2002)
• The Lost Tapes 2 (2007)

Video albums

• Made You Look: God's Son Live (2003)
• Video Anthology Vol. 1 (2004)

Singles

• "Halftime" (1992)
• "It Ain't Hard to Tell" (1994)
• "The World Is Yours" (1994)
• "Life's a Bitch" (1994)
• "One Love" (1994)
• "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" (1996)
• "Street Dreams" (1996)
• "Affirmative Action (St. Denis Remix)" (1997)
• "Escobar '97" (1997)
• "Nas Is Like" (1999)
• "Hate Me Now" (1999)
• "In Too Deep" (1999)
• "Nastradamus" (1999)
• "Analyze This" (1999)
• "Got Ur Self A..." (2001)
• "One Mic" (2002)
• "Made You Look" (2002)
• "I Can" (2002)
• "Get Down" (2003)
• "On the Real" (2004)
• "Thief's Theme" (2004)
• "Bridging the Gap" (2004)
• "Just a Moment" (2005)
• "Hip Hop Is Dead" (2006)

References

• http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip_hop_week/2006/emcees/index7.jhtml
• VH-1 Driven: Nas (TV-series episode/documentary). New York. 2004. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |distributor= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |producer= ignored (help)
• "Shots fired during UK rap concert", BBC News. March 22 2005. Retrieved October 26 2005.
• Vibe's Guide to the History of Hip-Hop; Vibe

External links

• Official website (Def Jam)
• Official website (Sony/Columbia)
• Official forums
• nas. website
• Nas Daily (fansite)
• Nas at IMDb
• Template:Nndb name
• 2006 Interview with Pitchfork