Biography for
Nas More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

14 September 1973, Queens, New York, USA

Birth Name

Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones

Nickname

Nasty Nas
Nas Escobar
Nastradamus

Height

5' 8" (1.73 m)

Mini Biography

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

Spouse

Kelis

(8 January 2005 - present) (filed for divorce)

Trade Mark

Gritty voice

Trivia

Daughter named Destiny. Her mother is Carmen.

Son of jazz musician Olu Dara and the late Fannie Ann Jones.

His mom died of breast cancer. At the hospital, he held her in his arms until she passed on.

Has a song dedicated to his mother titled "Dance," which can be heard on his album "God's Son.".

Met his wife, Kelis, for the first time during an after-party at Sean Combs's bacchanal at the luxurious Cipriani restaurant.

Proposed to Kelis in her mom's house on Christmas Eve, 2002.

Recorded a hip-hop-blues collaboration with his father called "Bridging the Gap" on album "Street's Disciple".

Grew up with MCs such as Cormega, Nature, (with whom he briefly formed the group "The Firm") The Notorious B.I.G., and Jay-Z. Furthermore, he has a younger brother named Jungle with whom he formed another group called "Bravehearts".

Sampled Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" in his hit song "It Ain't Hard to Tell".

Solo albums include "Illmatic," "It Was Written," "I Am...," "Nastradamus," "Stillmatic," "God's Son," "Street's Disciple," "Hip-Hop is Dead" and "N.". Group albums include work with "The Firm", "Bravehearts", and the compilation album "QB's Finest".

He and Kelis are expecting their first child [January 14, 2009].

Son, Knight Jones, was born July 22, 2009. He weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz.

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.

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.

Appears on the cover of the Kool G. Rap album "4,5,6" as the two collaborated early on.

Personal Quotes

Every generation witnesses atrocities. People in power try to fulfill prophecy.

[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.

Where Are They Now

(December 2002) New album God's Son is released.

(January 2006) Nas' former adversary Jay-Z signed him to Def Jam Records.