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Nas
The death of Notorious B.I.G. in 1997 paved the way for a generation-defining
race between Jay-Z and Nas to be crowned the king of New York rap, with each
artist pushing the other to some of hip hop's most seminal landmarks. The son of
jazz musician Olu Dara, Nasir Jones (born September 14, 1973) rose from the
Queens, New York housing projects to sign with Columbia Records and release the
classic debut Illmatic in 1994. More thoughtful and socially aware than most of
his brash, posturing contemporaries, Nas crossed over into the mainstream with
the hits “Street Dreams” and “If I ...
