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The son of musical explorer Olu Dara, Nasir Jones — briefly known as Nasty Nas and also sometimes Nas Escobar — is a thoughtful and culturally ambitious rapper from New York City's Queensbridge projects. He calmly piles on the internal rhymes in the fast-flowing but brief Illmatic, an uncommon and impressive debut that flashes intelligence, pot, civic pride — and bits of anti-Semitism and homophobia. In "N.Y. State of Mind" (not the Billy Joel anthem), Nas evenly chronicles a gunplay incident; he claims a hustler past in "Life's a Bitch." In the same song, he offers up this irrefutable bit of pragmatic philosophy: "Life's a bitch and then you die/That's why we get high/'Cause you never know when you're gonna go." The MC's imaginative tracks were produced by some of New York's finest: DJ Premier, Q-Tip, Pete Rock and the Large Professor (who gave Nas his first break, having him rap on Main Source's "Live at the Barbeque"). Illmatic dresses a solid rhythmic backbone in fascinating embellishments: piano arpeggios running through "The World Is Yours," horns blurting all over "Halftime," Hammond organ in "Memory Lane (Sittin' in da Park)," xylophone and string bass in "One Love" (no Marley connection here), the ghostly vocals and subliminal brass in "It Ain't Hard to Tell." Nasty? Nah. Nas.
For all the critical acclaim earned by Illmatic, the debut offered no clear indication that Nas was poised on the brink of major stardom. Released in July '96, It Was Written — boasting a notable bi-coastal collaboration with Dr. Dre and contributions from Lauryn Hill and others — exploded out of the proverbial box and bombed in at the top of the pop album charts.

nas - get down

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GRAB A THUG PASSION,TWIST UP A BLUNT & TALK ABOUT NAS THE GREATEST RAPPER OF ALL TIME!!!

Nas’s debut album, Illmatic, was released in April 1994. The album received immediate attention and critical acclaim. In fact, it eventually went Gold. Today it is still considered to be a Hip-Hop classic. In the album, the rapper analyzed New York City and its citizens. In 1996, Nas released his sophomore album entitled It Was Written. The album was more pop-oriented than Illmatic. The songs, “Street Dream” and “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That),” did very well. The two songs were taken from 1980s pop songs; the Eurythmics “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of these) and Kurtis Blow’s “If I Ruled the World.” Although Nas was receiving much attention from MTV, he was beginning to lose credibility on the streets. The album was produced by Dr. Dre, DJ Premier, and Mobb deep. It featured artists such as Lauryn Hill from The Fugees and Jo from Joeci. Although the album was slightly criticized for being soft, Nas did explore themes such as; black-on-black crime, inner city violence, racial prejudice, urban politics, and social pressures.

In 1998, Nas co-starred with fellow rapper, DMX in the Hype William’s directed film, Belly. The rapper was also featured on the film’s soundtrack. That same year, Nas created a group he called The Firm. The group consisted of Foxy brown, AZ, Nature, Dr. Dre, and The Trackmasterz. In 199, Nas released the album entitled I Am. That same year, he also released Nastradamus. In 2000, Nas compiled an album called QB Finest, which consisted of all the rappers from his home area of the Queensbridge Projects. By 2001, the rapper who had once owned the rap industry; lost his career. He suffered personal problems throughout that year; his mother was diagnosed with cancer, and his girlfriend cheated on him. Nas’s career dropped even more when longtime rival, and Hip-Hop power house Jay-Z publicly attacked Nas on his hit album, Blueprint. On the lead track, “Takeover,” Jay-Z called Nas a has-been and said he had not had a single hit since his album, Illmatic. Jay-Z also made references to Nas’s girlfriend being unfaithful.Nas responded strikingly in December 2001 with Stillmatic, the title a reference to his one undeniable masterpiece, Illmatic, which had been released nearly a decade earlier. Most notably, Stillmatic opened with the song "Ether," a very direct response (featuring the chants "f*ck Jay-Z" and "I will not lose"), followed by perhaps Nas' most aggressive single ever, "Get Ur Self A...." These two songs in particular rallied the streets while the moving video for "One Mic" received heavy support from MTV. Throughout 2002, Nas continued his comeback with a number of guest appearances, among them Brandy's "What About Us?," J-Lo's "I'm Gonna Be Alright," and Ja Rule's "The Pledge," as well as yet more headline-worthy controversy, this time involving his no-show at popular radio station Hot 97's annual Summer Jam.

FUCK JAY-Z! WHAT IS NAS HOLDING? PASS THAT SHIT!
Amid all of the drama, Nas managed to salvage his esteemed reputation and reclaim his lofty status atop the New York scene. Stillmatic earned immediate wide acclaim from fans and critics alike and sold impressively, while Columbia furthered the comeback fervor with two archival releases, one of remixes (From Illmatic to Stillmatic [2002]), the other of outtakes (The Lost Tapes [2002]). Then at the end of the year Columbia released a new studio album, God's Son, and Nas once again basked in widespread acclaim as the album sold well, spawned sizable hits ("Thugz Mansion," "Made You Look," "I Can"), and received rampant media support. Two years later Nas returned with Street's Disciple (2004), a sprawling double album that delved deeply into various issues, most notably politics and his impending marriage to Kelis. The two-sided "Thief's Theme"/"You Know My Style" single dropped in summer 2004, several months before the album's release, and was followed that fall by the proper lead single, "Bridging the Gap."

But before Nas gets to the more serious business at hand there are some scores to settle first. God's Son's lead single, "Made You Look," is a slice of hardcore street hip-hop that's been blasting from every car on every corner in every hood since the moment it dropped. "You a slave to a page in my rhyme book" is Nas' take on all the backstabbing pretenders who've come after him in the past few years. On "The Cross" -- produced by Eminem -- Nas mentions no names but takes deadly aim at phoney thugs and R&B pseudo-rappers. "The Cross" is Nas' proclamation of the unmatched wisdom and experience he's gained in his struggle to the top. "There's a new king of the streets/I was the old king of the streets that y'all once hated/and now I reinvented myself and y'all waited." "Last Real Nigga Alive" provides a detailed history of Nas' entire career as well as his relationship with the late Notorious B.I.G. and his over-hyped feud with Jay-Z. Here Nas describes himself as the rapper's rapper: the one that real heads will always be sure to choose in a battle.

Nas has always been considered a gifted MC since his voice first graced waxin 1991 on Main Source's "Live at the BBQ." This cameo led to Nas' classic debut lllmatic, in which Nas painted unforgettable portraits of his hustlin' days in the notorious Queensbridge Projects while vividly detailing the struggles of everyday ghetto living. The Village Voice hailed Nas as "easily one of the most important writers of the century." On his multi-platinum-selling albums It Was Written (1996) and I Am... (1999) and the platinum Nastradamus (1999), Nas went on to pioneer the Mafioso trendin rap, writing songs as dense and action-packed as a gangster movie, while working with some of the biggest stars in the hip-hop galaxy. 2001'sStillmatic -- featuring the hit single "One Mic" -- reminded everyone who may've forgotten that Nas was still a lyrical force to be reckoned with. Nas' resume boasts a dozen years of hip-hop experience which encompasses six solo albums and various group projects -- a span of success unmatched by any hardcore MC. It's the wealth of this experience that Nas draws uponto create his seventh full-length album, the groundbreaking God's SoN.
Thugz Mansion" begins with the gentle strumming of an acoustic guitar and finds Nas rhyming about helping a young black man in danger, because "every thug's face is my mirror." The second verse is performed by the late Tupac Shakur -- permission to use this powerful recording was given to Nas by the Shakur estate -- and the combination of these two brilliant street poets rapping together is both eerie and unforgettable. God's Son's mixing of the sacred with the profane is most evident on the album's last few cuts. "Warrior Song" -- produced by and featuring Alicia Keys -- presents an unorthodox definition of a warrior: a man who's not only strong in battlebut fully present for his mother and daughter when times are rough. "Dance" is Nas' plaintive desire for just one more dance with his beloved mother and showcases the emotional depth and lyrical complexity that have always been his trademarks. The track's haunting coda comes from Olu Dara, internationally famous jazz trumpeter and Nas' father.

On God's Son, Nas has reached a level of lyrical skill and personal maturity that may be unprecedented in hip-hop. Nas provides a whole new dimension to the often hackneyed phrase "keep it real." "Real" to Nas means a fully-realized life with all its pains and struggles. Like jazz greats Charlie Parker or John Coltrane at their peaks, Nas' musical skills grow larger and more complex with each offering. With God's Son, Nas proves once again that all he needs is one mic to change the world.

Trivia
Daughter named Destiny. Her mother is Carmen.

an on-going feud with rapper Jay-Z and Cormega.

Son of jazz musician Olu Dara and the late Fannie Ann Jones.

His mom died of breast cancer. At the hospital, he held her in his arms until she passed on.

Rumors spread that he had joined Murder Inc., most likely started because of his collaboration with Ja Rule and Ashanti.

Has a song dedicated to his mother entitled "Dance" which can be heard on his latest album, "God's Son."

Has made eight albums: "Illmatic," "It Was Written," "I Am...," "Nastradamus," "Stillmatic," "From Illmatic to Stillmatic," "The Lost Tapes Vol. 1,"God's Son", "Streets Disciple."

Met his soon-to-be wife, Kelis, for the first time during an after-party at Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs's bacchanal at the luxurious Cipriani restaurant.

Proposed to Kelis in her mom's house on Christmas Eve, 2002.

Recorded a hiphop-jazz collaboration with his father called "Bridging The Gap".

Grew up with rappers such as Cormega, Nature, Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z