Hailing from New York’s Queensbridge Houses, Nas is widely regarded as one of the greatest MCs of all time. At just 17 years old, God’s Son set the streets ablaze with his verse on Main Source’s 1991 track “Live at the Barbeque” before elevating the standard for rap albums (and lyricism as a whole) with his 1994 debut Illmatic. Nas’ pen game remained potent during his highly-publicized beef with JAY-Z in the early ‘00s when he unleashed the devastating diss track “Ether.” Despite once declaring Hip Hop as dead, Nas has cemented his legacy with over 10 albums and two collaborative projects, including 2020’s King’s Disease, which earned him his first Grammy Award.
PROPS
Illmatic is one of the most acclaimed Hip Hop albums of all time
Sold over 25 million albums worldwide
7x platinum/multi-platinum albums
17x Billboard Hot 100 hits
1x Grammy Award (Best Rap Album 2020 — King’s Disease)
Received the Jimmy Iovine Icon Award at the 2016 REVOLT Music Conference
Formed the supergroup The Firm with Foxy Brown, AZ and Nature
Co-wrote and starred in the 1998 film Belly
Founded Mass Appeal Records in 2014 + signed Run The Jewels, Dave East and Black Milk
Executive produced the Netflix series ??The Get Down
Invested in successful tech start-ups including Dropbox and Lyft
Opened a sneaker store in Las Vegas called 12AM:RUN
No. As of 2021, Nas’ net worth is a reported $70 million. The only rappers to reach billionaire status are Kanye West ($1.8 billion) and JAY-Z ($1.4 billion).
Yes. Nas and Nicki Minaj dated for less than a year in 2017. According to TMZ, the couple broke up after struggling with living in different cities. Rumors of their romance began in 2012 when Nas played Nicki’s love interest in her “Right By My Side” video.
Nas released the diss song “Ether” in response to JAY-Z’s “Takeover,” in which he took shots at Nas and Mobb Deep’s Prodigy. "I was told a long time ago, ghosts and spirits don't like the fumes from ether," Nas explained. "I just wanted to affect him with my weapon and get to his soul.”
No. Despite being close friends and occasional collaborators, Nas and Amy Winehouse never confirmed a romantic relationship. Nas was married to R&B singer Kelis between 2005 and 2010.
In 2014, Everton’s official Twitter account posted a picture of Nas posing with an Everton shirt. However, it’s unclear if he actually supports the English Premier League team.
