Nas

 Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones (/na:'sI@r/; born September 14th, 1973), better known by his stage name Nas (/na:z/) is an American rapper. He is a part of East Coast hip hop, Nas is considered to be one of the most influential rappers ever. Jones is the son of the jazz musician Olu dara, started his music career in 1989 when he opted to take on the moniker "Nasty Nas" to record demos for Large Professor. Then, he appeared on the Main Source 1991 single "Live at the Barbeque". Nas's debut album, Illmatic (1994), received universal acclaim upon the album's release. It is believed to be among the most iconic hip hop albums of all time. in 2021, the album was included in the Library of Congress's National Recording Registry. [6] His second album It Was Written (1996) debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 and charted for four weeks straight; the album, along with the single "If I Ruled the World (Imagine That)" (featuring Lauryn Hill), catapulted Nas into the world of international success. Seven of his 1999 albums I Am (and Nastradamus) were both criticized for being too commercially focused and inconsistent. Fans and critics feared the album's output would decrease in terms of quality.