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Nas

Nas grew up in the Queensbridge Houses in Queens, New York, and made one of the great debuts in hip-hop while still in his teens. Illmatic arrived in 1994, when he was 20, and its dense, detailed verses about Queensbridge life set a new bar for what a rap record could do. Three decades on he's still at it, with a late-career run alongside producer Hit-Boy that has been among the strongest of his life.

Start here

Illmatic (1994). His debut, and still the record most people reach for first. "N.Y. State of Mind," "The World Is Yours," "One Love," and "Halftime" are all on it, which tells you plenty.

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Biography

Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones ( nah-SEER; born September 14, 1973), known mononymously as Nas ( NAHZ), is an American rapper, entrepreneur, and record producer. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas began his musical career in 1989 under the moniker "Nasty Nas", and recorded demos under the wing of fellow East Coast rapper Large Professor. Nas made his recording debut on Professor's group, Main Source's 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque".

Nas signed with Columbia Records in 1992, and released his debut studio album, Illmatic on April 19, 1994. An inductee of the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry, it has been regarded as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. His second album, It Was Written (1996), debuted atop the Billboard 200 and sold over a quarter-million units in its first week; the album, along with its lead single "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" (featuring Lauryn Hill), propelled Nas into mainstream success.

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