Booking Nas

Nas Biography

The American hip-hop artist known as Nas was born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones in 1973 in Brooklyn, New York. That Nas would grow up to become a musician is no surprise, as his father is a well-known jazz and blues musician. While growing up in the Queens area of New York, Nas was influenced not only by his father’s music, but also by the burgeoning hip-hop scene of the area.

After dropping out of school in the late 1980’s, Nas established a friendship with the producer Large Professor, who would grant him studio time to start recording some of his own material. After signing with Columbia Records in 1994, Nas released his solo album, Illmatic, and the work immediately garnered him significant critical acclaim and commercial success. Boasting contributions by not only Large Professor, but also Q-Tip, DJ Premiere, and Pete Rock, Illmatic was praised by publications and stations such as The Source and Shaheem Reid of MTV News, who tapped Illmatic as “the first classic LP” for the year.

Since that time, Nas has released nearly a dozen additional albums, including: the number-one albums It Was Written (1996), I Am… (1999), Hip Hop is Dead (2006), Untitled (2008), and Life is Good (2012.) Notable top ten R&B/hip-hop and rap singles from Nas include: “Halftime,” “If I Ruled the World (Imagine That),” “Sweet Dreams,” “Nas Is Like,” “Hate Me Now,” “Nastradamus,” “Got Ur Self A…,” and “I Can.” Nas also contributed vocals to the number-one hits “Hot Boyz” (with Missy Elliot) and “Thank God I Found You” (with Mariah Carey and Joe.)

For his musical achievements, Nas has been recognized with eleven Grammy Award nominations and many other industry awards. Nas is often listed as among the greatest hip-hop artists of the era; MTV ranks him at number five on their Greatest MCs of All Time.