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Nasir Jones, , (born September 14, 1973), better known by his stage name
Nas, , formerly
Nasty Nas, is an American
rapper. 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 attained a high degree of literacy that he would later use in his lyrics.
Nas was signed to
Columbia Records in 1994, when his debut album
Illmatic came out.
Illmatic was a critically acclaimed bestseller 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 Emcees of all time.
Also in 2006, he signed to
Def Jam, releasing his albums
Hip Hop is Dead in 2006 and
an untitled album in 2008.
