Nas

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

66

Gender

Male

Birthday

1973-09-14 (52 years old)

Place of Birth

Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Nas

Biography

Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones (September 14, 1973), better known by his stage name Nas, is an American rapper and businessman. Rooted in East Coast hip hop, he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Jones's musical career began in 1989 as he adopted the moniker of "Nasty Nas" and recorded demos for Large Professor. He was a featured artist on Main Source's "Live at the Barbeque" (1991), also produced by Large Professor. Nas's debut album Illmatic (1994) received universal acclaim upon release, and is considered to be one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time; in 2021, the album was inducted into the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry. His second album It Was Written (1996) debuted atop the Billboard 200 and charted for four consecutive weeks; the album, along with its single "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" (featuring Lauryn Hill), catapulted Nas into international success. Both released in 1999, Nas's albums I Am and Nastradamus were criticized as inconsistent and too commercially oriented, and critics and fans feared that his output was declining in quality. From 2001 to 2005, Nas was involved in a highly publicized feud with Jay-Z, popularized by the diss track "Ether". It was this feud, along with Nas's albums Stillmatic (2001), God's Son (2002), and the double album Street's Disciple (2004), that helped restore his critical standing. After squashing the feud, Nas signed to Jay-Z's Def Jam Recordings in 2006 and went in a more provocative, politicized direction with the albums Hip Hop Is Dead (2006) and his untitled 9th studio album (2008). In 2010, Nas released Distant Relatives, a collaboration album with Damian Marley, donating all royalties to charities active in Africa. His 10th studio album, Life Is Good (2012), was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. After receiving thirteen nominations, his 12th studio album, King's Disease (2020), won him his first Grammy for Best Rap Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards; he then followed it by releasing his 13th studio album, King's Disease II (2021), as the album's sequel. In the same year, his 14th studio album, Magic, was released on Christmas Eve. In 2012, The Source ranked him second 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. Nas has released fourteen studio albums since 1994, ten of which are certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum in the U.S. Description above from the Wikipedia article Nas, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

  • The Daily Show

    The Daily Show

  • The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

    The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

  • Hawaii Five-0

    Hawaii Five-0

  • Real Time with Bill Maher

    Real Time with Bill Maher

  • The Colbert Report

    The Colbert Report

  • The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

    The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

  • Jimmy Kimmel Live!

    Jimmy Kimmel Live!

  • MTV Video Music Awards

    MTV Video Music Awards

  • All That

    All That

  • Finding Your Roots

    Finding Your Roots

  • The Wendy Williams Show

    The Wendy Williams Show

  • The Arsenio Hall Show

    The Arsenio Hall Show

  • The Chris Rock Show

    The Chris Rock Show

  • Uptown Girls

    Uptown Girls

  • The Shop

    The Shop

  • Diary

    Diary

  • Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues

    Louis Armstrong's Black & Blues

  • TMZ Presents | The Downfall of Diddy 2: The Indictment

    TMZ Presents | The Downfall of Diddy 2: The Indictment

  • The Last Dance

    The Last Dance

  • John Q

    John Q

  • Wu-Tang Clan & Nas: NY State of Mind Tour at Climate Pledge Arena

    Wu-Tang Clan & Nas: NY State of Mind Tour at Climate Pledge Arena

  • Billy on the Street

    Billy on the Street

  • Ticker

    Ticker

  • Biggie: The Life of Notorious B.I.G.

    Biggie: The Life of Notorious B.I.G.

  • Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

    Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping

  • Alicia Keys - Here in Times Square

    Alicia Keys - Here in Times Square

  • The Game: The Documentary 2

    The Game: The Documentary 2

  • The Defiant Ones

    The Defiant Ones

  • DJ Cinema Presents: Masterpiece Theater Blend Dvd

    DJ Cinema Presents: Masterpiece Theater Blend Dvd

  • Belly

    Belly

  • Yo! MTV Raps

    Yo! MTV Raps

  • Rhyme & Reason

    Rhyme & Reason

  • Black Nativity

    Black Nativity

  • In Too Deep

    In Too Deep

  • Billy Joel: And So It Goes

    Billy Joel: And So It Goes

  • David Blaine: The Magic Way

    David Blaine: The Magic Way

  • B.I.B.L.E. - The Documentary

    B.I.B.L.E. - The Documentary

  • Fresh Dressed

    Fresh Dressed

  • Monster

    Monster

  • Beef

    Beef

  • Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3

    Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3

  • Jay Z: Live at the Royal Albert Hall

    Jay Z: Live at the Royal Albert Hall

  • The Notorious B.I.G BET Official presents

    The Notorious B.I.G BET Official presents

  • Nas: Live from the Kennedy Center

    Nas: Live from the Kennedy Center

  • Victory

    Victory

  • Murda Muzik

    Murda Muzik

  • Nas: Time Is Illmatic

    Nas: Time Is Illmatic

  • The American Epic Sessions

    The American Epic Sessions

  • Word is Bond

    Word is Bond

  • Let God Sort Em Out

    Let God Sort Em Out

  • Hype Williams: The Videos Vol. 1

    Hype Williams: The Videos Vol. 1

  • One Night in Vegas

    One Night in Vegas

  • Fugees: Live at New Pop Festival 1996

    Fugees: Live at New Pop Festival 1996

  • DJ SWB Volume 6 | This Is How We Do

    DJ SWB Volume 6 | This Is How We Do

  • Amazon Music Live: Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and De La Soul's 'N.Y. State of Mind Tour'

    Amazon Music Live: Wu-Tang Clan, Nas, and De La Soul's 'N.Y. State of Mind Tour'

  • And You Don't Stop: 30 Years of Hip-Hop

    And You Don't Stop: 30 Years of Hip-Hop

  • American Epic

    American Epic

  • Rapture

    Rapture

  • Short Circuitz

    Short Circuitz

  • DJ Juice: The King is Back Mixtape Blend DVD Vol. 70

    DJ Juice: The King is Back Mixtape Blend DVD Vol. 70

  • The Grammys

    The Grammys

  • You're Watching Video Music Box

    You're Watching Video Music Box

  • Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives

    Stretch and Bobbito: Radio That Changed Lives

  • Black America since MLK: And still I rise

    Black America since MLK: And still I rise

  • The MC: Why We Do It

    The MC: Why We Do It

  • Nas: Made You Look - God's Son Live

    Nas: Made You Look - God's Son Live