- Born
- Birth nameNasir bin Olu Dara Jones
- Nicknames
- Nasty Nas
- Nas Escobar
- Nastradamus
- Height5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
- Nas, born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones on September 14, 1973, is the son of Olu Dara, an unconventional jazz musician. At age nine he was a member of the Devastatin' Seven in the mid-1980s, the fruits of which can be heard on his 1994 debut, "Illmatic," which was released on Columbia/SME later that year. It attracted attention for its depiction of ghetto life and Nas' refusal to include the misogyny and violence evident in some hip-hop. Nas's first appearance on record was on Main Source's classic "Live at the Barbecue." However, his big break came when former 3rd Bass member 'MC Serch' included his verse in "Halftime" on the soundtrack of Zebrahead (1992), which led to a management deal with Serch's management company, Serchlight Productions. Nas's follow-up albums are "It Was Written," "I Am...," "Nastradamus," "Stillmatic," "From Illmatic to Stillmatic," "The Lost Tapes Vol. 1," and "God's Son."- IMDb mini biography by: Rod Reece
- SpouseKelis(January 8, 2005 - May 29, 2010) (divorced, 1 child)
- ChildrenDestinyKnight Jones
- ParentsFannie Ann Jones
- RelativesJabari Fret(Sibling)Charles Jones II(Grandparent)Ella Mae(Grandparent)Yara Shahidi(Cousin)Sayeed Shahidi(Cousin)
- Gritty voice
- Vivid and descriptive lyrics
- His mom died of breast cancer. At the hospital, he held her in his arms until she passed on.
- Good friends with Raekwon of Wutang. Nas was the first rapper outside of the wu camp to be featured on a wu album, 'Only Built for Cuban Linx', with Raekwon and Ghostface Killah.
- Recorded a hip-hop-blues collaboration with his father called "Bridging the Gap" on album "Street's Disciple".
- Proposed to Kelis in her mom's house on Christmas Eve, 2002.
- Has been described as the Rakim of his generation. In fact, the two have even collaborated, and hold a mutual respect for one another, as mentor and disciple.
- [on why he holds a dove in each hand on the back cover of his 2002 album "God's Son"] We deal with money, cars, smog, pollution, and drugs. But being in the sky, they can fly and look at the world without dealing with our bullshit. Matter of fact, they shit on us. I really admire them.
- I want to have fun. It's a beautiful life. You learn, you win, you lose, but you get up.
- The flaws, the mistakes I make - that's the real me.
- Once you make it to your point of making it, you'll appreciate the struggle.
- Working with great people makes you great; you learn a lot and it also gives you the experience and confidence to move on with your own career.
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