Nas

 Nas was the name Nas, byname Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, also called Nasty Nas, (born September 14, 1973, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.), American artist and rapper who was a prominent voice in 1990s East Coast hip-hop. Nas was a well-known writer and chronicler of the inner city streets. He is the son of a jazz musician . He grew up in Queens, New York. In eighth grade, he dropped out of school and began searching for a way to express himself. He ultimately settled on hip-hop. In 1992, his track "Half Time" that was credited to Nasty Nas, became his first major hit. Columbia Records soon signed him to a contract. He was shortly signed to a contract with Columbia Records. While he retained his appeal to the masses with I Am... (1999) but Nas was also involved in a tense battle with Jay-Z about his status as the most influential East Coast rapper. The schism inspired Stillmatic (2001) and was widely viewed by fans as an opportunity to return to form and was referred to on God's Son, a more personal album (2002) that was also a reaction to the loss of Nas's mother. The two rappers publicly resolved their differences in the year 2005, and shortly afterward, Nas joined Def Jam, of which Jay-Z was the president in the time.