Nas.txt

Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones (/nɑːˈsɪər/; born September 14, 1973),
better known by his stage name Nas (/nɑːz/), is an American
rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop, he is regarded as one of the
greatest rappers of all time.[1][2][3] The son of jazz musician Olu
Dara, Jones began his musical career in 1989 as he adopted the
moniker of "Nasty Nas" and recorded demos for Large Professor.
He was later featured on the 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque" by
Main Source.
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;[4][5] in 2020, the album was inducted into the
Library of Congress's National Recording Registry.[6] 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.[7] 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 ninth studio album (2008). In 2010, Nas released
Distant Relatives, a collaboration album with Damian Marley,
donating all royalties to charities active in Africa. His tenth studio
album, Life Is Good (2012), was nominated for Best Rap Album at
the 55th Annual Grammy Awards. After receiving thirteen
nominations, his twelfth studio album, King's Disease (2020), won
him his first Grammy for Best Rap Album at the 63rd Annual
Grammy Awards; his subsequent five studio albums: King's
Disease II, Magic (2021), King's Disease III (2022), Magic 2 and
Magic 3 (2023) would receive generally favorable reviews and
have production entirely helmed by producer Hit-Boy.
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