Play Nas Radio
Nas
17,386,487 plays (557,894 listeners)
Listening now: HalfNakedDave, jelstro, jr_odm
Queensbridge, New York (1994 – present)
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, born September 14, 1973 in Queensbridge, New York, and more known commonly as Nas (formerly Nasty Nas and Nas Escobar), is a prominent American MC. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, he was raised in the infamous Queensbridge housing projects in New York City. His debut album Illmatic, released in 1994, was a critically acclaimed bestseller and is widely considered one of the greatest rap albums of all time. He married R&B singer Kelis in 2005, they have one son together, and she filed for divorce on the 29th of April 2009. Nas was also a part of hip hop supergroup The Firm, which released one album.
In the years following the release of Illmatic, Nas pursued a more commercial 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 “selling out”. 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 progressive and personal aesthetic. While Nas’ current artistic direction differs greatly from his most successful work, it has ensured that he remains one of the most respected and acclaimed contemporary rappers.
1973–1992: Childhood and early career
Nas was born in Brooklyn, New York, as the elder of Olu Dara and Fannie Ann Jones’s two children; his brother Jabari (nicknamed “Jungle” because he was born in the Congo) is the younger of the two. The family lived for a time in Brooklyn, before moving to Queensbridge, the largest public housing project in the United States.
In the years following the release of Illmatic, Nas pursued a more commercial 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 “selling out”. 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 progressive and personal aesthetic. While Nas’ current artistic direction differs greatly from his most successful work, it has ensured that he remains one of the most respected and acclaimed contemporary rappers.
1973–1992: Childhood and early career
Nas was born in Brooklyn, New York, as the elder of Olu Dara and Fannie Ann Jones’s two children; his brother Jabari (nicknamed “Jungle” because he was born in the Congo) is the younger of the two. The family lived for a time in Brooklyn, before moving to Queensbridge, the largest public housing project in the United States.
Top Albums
-
Illmatic
Nas
Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.99
- 7digital $9.99
- iTunes $9.90
- Buy Album
- Amazon $4.36
- eBay Search
-
It Was Written
Nas Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $8.99
- 7digital $9.99
- iTunes $9.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $98.06
- eBay Search
-
Stillmatic
Nas Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.99
- 7digital $9.99
- iTunes $9.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $4.90
- eBay Search
-
Hip Hop Is Dead
Nas Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.49
- 7digital Search
- iTunes $11.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $11.98
- eBay Search
Top Tracks
| 1 |
|
N.Y. State of Mind
full track
|
|||
| 2 |
|
The World Is Yours
full track
|
|||
| 3 |
|
Halftime
full track
|
|||
| 4 |
|
Life's a Bitch
full track
|
|||
| 5 |
|
It Ain't Hard to Tell
full track
|
|||
| 6 |
|
Represent
full track
|
|||
| 7 |
|
One Love
full track
|
|||
| 8 |
|
The Genesis
full track
|
|||
| 9 |
|
One Time 4 Your Mind
full track
|
|||
| 10 |
|
Memory Lane (Sittin' in da Park)
full track
|
|||
| 11 |
|
The Message
full track
|
|||
| 12 |
|
One Mic
full track
|
|||
| 13 |
|
Nas Is Like
full track
|
|||
| 14 |
|
I Can
full track
|
|||
| 15 |
|
Ether
full track
|
Shoutbox
-
RussellJones wrote:
"mos def and talib kweli have made more boring and unlistenable albums than the entire city of atlanta " WTF? shut up. // i can't wait for the new album with Damian !! it will be awesome!!!
-
WestSideTrippin wrote:
amazing, just amazing...
-
Boooobies wrote:
lol, 69 for me.
-
pex wrote:
best rapper alive
-
girugammesh wrote:
70 more to go for me
-
rellofello wrote:
Finally I have reached my 1000th play!
-
Raffetz wrote:
"Another legend at the head of the pack of a dying genre. All these noobs need to take a less from Nas, KRS, Talib, Mos Def and the Tribe." Noobs? Never discuss hip-hop again, seriously. Yet another nerd who's picked up on certain golden age artists thanks to google & last.fm and now thinks he's in a position to talk authoritatively on the genre. If you had any knowledge of it whatsoever you wouldn't waste time making such inane and boring comments. I like the way you said hip-hop is dying yet it's bigger now than it ever has been, stop taking Nas' album titles to be gospel and apply some logic." EXACTLY!
-
m-hide wrote:
@betoonking - "can't really pull it together for a great album" = WTF? U mean "Illmatic" is not a great album?! Duude... srly, stop lsitening hip-hop >.>
-
T-101 wrote:
There's one life, one love, so there can only be one King
-
Stigmates wrote:
Yes.
-
betoonking wrote:
no.
-
fivetrife wrote:
mos def and talib kweli have made more boring and unlistenable albums than the entire city of atlanta
-
betoonking wrote:
nas is awesome. he's kinda like jadakiss though. can't really pull it together for a great album.
-
Aardvarked wrote:
"Another legend at the head of the pack of a dying genre. All these noobs need to take a less from Nas, KRS, Talib, Mos Def and the Tribe." Noobs? Never discuss hip-hop again, seriously. Yet another nerd who's picked up on certain golden age artists thanks to google & last.fm and now thinks he's in a position to talk authoritatively on the genre. If you had any knowledge of it whatsoever you wouldn't waste time making such inane and boring comments. I like the way you said hip-hop is dying yet it's bigger now than it ever has been, stop taking Nas' album titles to be gospel and apply some logic.
-
thority wrote:
it's nothing personal, it just seems every message board/shoutbox i enter is filled with boom bappers whining and complaining. its very annoying
-
roadkillfacepnt wrote:
Thank you for turning this into an interesting discussion full of potential.
-
AduNeButt wrote:
nasir jones, best hip hop artist of all time... sources: see Illmatic
-
thority wrote:
then turn the radio off and stop your boring ass complaining
-
DannyCoolX wrote:
He fell off.
-
Re-cros wrote:
stop change Nas portrait.This picture shit.Return previous picture.
Videos
See more
News
Venting - Young Warriors Stay Strong!
5 Oct 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/nas
To anyone who takes the time out to read this. I'm just venting. I Thank You a million times for even giving this a glance. This isn't about my music or any music. …
-
3 Oct 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/nas -
7 May 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/nas -
17 Apr 2009 | from blog.myspace.com/nas
Listeners
-
miedpe
Listening now
to Nas Is Like -
jelstro
Listening now
to Not Going Back Feat.… -
halfstreet
Listening now
to No Idea's Original -
Maskot
Top Listener
-
shaibata
Top Listener
-
VanMor777
Top Listener
Recent Activity
-
deuxamours, pedonester, ozziekun and 7 other people added Nas to their libraries. 23 minutes ago
-
isak0 wrote about Nas in top20. yesterday evening
-
isak0 wrote about Nas – God's Son in top20. yesterday evening
-
Theglasscasket, michael_fischer, MarcinoC and 5 other people added Nas to their libraries. yesterday evening
-
RedSteel92 tagged Nas with ‘hip-hop’. yesterday evening
-
realaq7, Ziptii, sire161 and 3 other people added Nas to their libraries. yesterday evening
-
music-freak89 tagged Nas with ‘nas’. yesterday afternoon
-
kabuno, helerio, yurlik91 and 18 other people added Nas to their libraries. yesterday afternoon
-
zippelzap tagged Nas with east coast rap and hip-hop. yesterday morning
-
zippelzap, zaharovski, winduptoy101 and 47 other people added Nas to their libraries. yesterday morning
Related Journals
-
top20
by isak0 |
8 Nov 2009 | Add comment
-
2009? Almost feels like 1994.
by danthake |
4 Nov 2009 | Add comment
-
Eld-z's top albums (6 months)
by Eld-z |
2 Nov 2009 | Add comment
Groups (443)
-
Mixmakers.net (M2)
27 members
-
REAL HIP HOP FOREVER!
36 members
-
Nasir Jones
93 members
-
Rakim Allah
52 members
-
UnrealVision
31 members
More Information
- Links
- Labels
Email Newsletter
Get exclusive tour, release & promotion updates on Nas from Universal Music.
