Hip Hop Celebrates: Nas

”Before a blunt I take out my fronts then I start to front. Matter fact I be on a manhunt.

You couldn’t catch me in the streets without a ton of reefer, that’s like Malcolm X catchin the jungle fever.

King poetic too much flavor I’m major. Atlanta ain’t braver I pull a number like a pager.”

Those are the lyrics of Nasir Jones commonly known as Nas from his song titled “Halftime” off his debut album “Illmatic”. Since 1994 all the way to the present Nas has been one of the greatest and most powerful voices in Hip Hop and music.

Nas was born Nasir Bin Olu Dara Jones on September 14th 1973 in Brooklyn New York and was raised in Queens, New York. He was born to Fannie Ann who was a postal worker from North Carolina and Olu Dara Jones who was a Jazz and Blues musician from Mississippi. Nas has a brother named Jabari Fret who is also a rapper that goes by the name Jungle. When Nas’ parents split up when he was in the 8th grade he dropped out of school and began educated himself on Black culture and history.

Growing up in Queens, Nas was drug dealer who ran with a crew of drug dealers, which included one of his best friends named Willy “Ill Will” Graham. In their time growing up together Ill Will inspired Nas’ interest in Hip Hop. Nas then began writing his own raps. By the time Nas was 16 years old he decided that ge was going to pursue a career as a rapper and sought out Ill Will to be his DJ. Nas garnered a lot of attention due to his effortless lyricism and flow and would eventually catch the notice of East Coast Hip Hop producer Large Professor who allowed him to record in the same studio among the likes of Hip Hop legends including Rakim and Kool G Rap.

Nas would suffer a terrible loss when his best friend and DJ Ill Will was killed in a shooting. It was after this loss that Nas was fully committed to building an established career as a Hip Hop artist. Nas stayed close with Large Professor and after securing a record deal at Columbia Records thanks to his new manager, MC Serch of the Hip Hop group 3rd Base, Nas began working on his debut Album Illmatic in 1992.

“It ain’t hard to tell. I excel then prevail the mic is contact that I attract clientele.

My mic check is life or death, breathin' a sniper's breath

I exhale the yellow smoke of buddha through righteous steps

Deep like The Shining, sparkle like a diamond

Sneak a Uzi on the island in my army jacket linin'

… Hit the Earth like a comet-, invasion!

Nas is like the Afrocentric Asian, half-man, half-amazin.” - Nas (It Ain’t Hard to Tell)

Released in 1994 Illmatic was a highly ambitious project that combined Nas’ unique lyricism with the likes of some of Hip Hop’s biggest producers including: Large Professor, Q-Tip, DJ Premiere, LES and Pete Rock. The quality of the album recieved an extremely positive reception due to Nas’ incredible lyricism and mature sense of subject matter mixed with the album’s top notch production. The entire Hip Hop community of artist was loving Nas. Unfortunately at the time the album did not fare as well commercially at the time due to the Hip Hop landscape being dominated by West Coast Hip Hop artist like Dr. Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg. Nevertheless Nas still became a sensation and everyone in the world of Hip Hop Had taken notice.

Though Illmatic was not an immediate commercial success Nas had become one of Hip Hop’s biggest names and in 1996 the talent and star power behind his name would lead to the formation and success of his second album It Was Written.

“Fake thug, no love, you get the slugs. C-B-4 Gusto ya luck low, didn’t know til I was drunk tho

You freak n****s played out, get f****k and ate out. Prostitute turned b***h, I got the gauge out. 96 ways I made out.

Montana way the good F-E-L-L-A, verbal AK spray. Tip that tatch it. Jump out the range empty out the ashtray. A glass of Zé makin mad Cassius Clay.” -Nas (The Message).

On his sophomore album Nas levels up even more on his lyricism, touching base on even more issues within the inner city and even evolving into mafioso-rap with songs like “Black Girl Lost”, “If I Ruled The World” and “Affirmative Action”. He has guest features from superstars like Lauryn Hill and his then newly formed supergroup known as The Firm. It Was Written also featured a guest collaboration with West Coast Pioneer producer Dr. Dre. The album was a smash hit going triple platinum in sales and becoming mainstream popular with fans. The album also led to another collaboration between Dr. Dre and the ensemble known as The Firm for their self-titled 1997 album.

Following the deaths of Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G., both of which whom Nas had a connection to, Nas released his third studio album I Am in 1998.

The album featured a number of guest appearances from artist like Scarface, Sean “Diddy” Combs, Aaliyah, and a new superstar by the name of DMX. The song titled “We Will Survive” off the album is a tribute to both The Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur. Like his sophomore album the album was once again a double platinum success, but fans and music critics both expressed underwhelm towards Nas in light of his third album’s sound believing that Nas was losing his Street edge that made him so appealing and that he had gone too glossy and commercial in quality of sound.

The criticism only grew louder when in 1999 his fourth album Nastradamus underperformed critically and commercially, only going platinum and receiving mixed reviews from fans and critics alike. Many felt that the album was even more commercially watered down in sound than his previous effort. The conclusion that many in the Hip Hop community had come to was that Nas was done for and fellow New York heavyweight Jay-Z used this as an advantage to attack Nas’ character with the largely popular diss track titled “The Takeover”. Nevertheless Nas was not done and responded with the vicious counter attack of a diss record titled “Ether”, which many would regard as one of the toughest if not THE toughest diss record in Hip Hop history. Follow the positive acclaim of “Ether” Nas crafted his fifth album titled Stillmatic which served as a direct sequel to his first album.

Stillmatic serves as a return to form for Nas that reflects his earliest days in his rise to prominence. Recorded in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the album touched base on the climate that had been created by world’s current issues including such with songs like “Got Ya Self a Gun” and “Rule”. Nas also touches base on the state of current and previous relationships with old friends and foes on the album with songs like “Destroy & Rebuild”. Stillmatic was a mega hit going double platinum and receiving largely positive reviews from critics alike. The success of the album created a whole new wave of energy for Nas that he continued to create great quality music with in the form of the albums God’s Son, Street’s Disciple and Hip Hop is Dead, which featured former foe turned friend Jay-Z as a collaborator. All of these albums were critical and commercial hits that further solidified the greatness of Nas.

Fast forward to the present and Nas is not only one of the greatest rappers of all time, but still one of present-day Hip Hop’s biggest superstars. In just the past three years Nas has released five hit albums that have all been critical and commercial hits with fans and critics alike and have won Grammy Awards. Hip Hop owes a big thank you to Nas for all that he has contributed. He is definitely one of my top five biggest heroes of Hip Hop who has inspired me as a lyricist as well as countless others. Always and forever will Hip Hop celebrates: Nas.

“Heaven and Hell rap legend presence is felt and of course N-A-S are the letters that spell” - Nas (Nas Is Like).