nas escobar

Posted on 11.8.2004

NAS
Real Name: Nasir Jones
Born: Sept 14th 1973
Hometown: Long Island, NY

NAS Biography:

Born Nasir Bin Olu Dara Jones on September 14, 1973, son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas dropped out of school in the eighth grade, trading classrooms for the streets of the rough Queensbridge projects, long fabled as the former stomping ground of Marley Marl and his Juice Crew as immortalized in "The Bridge." Watching Godzilla movies and reading Iron Man comic books did nothing but spur his imagination as his father often brought him to the studio or on tour. During this time, Nasir was listening to his father’s Curtis Mayfield records and being introduced to hip-hop by the Allie brothers in his project building.

Nas Escobar had plans of becoming a producer/DJ, but unfortunately, he was too poor to afford turntables and a beat machine, so Nas escobar did the next best thing: pick up a pencil to write his first rap. Through a chance encounter, Nas hooked up with and rapped for an impressed Large Professor. His advanced flow and unheard-of-rhyme-schemes compelled LP to give this young QB native a chance.

Nas did not disappoint as he exploded onto the rap scene in 1991 on Main Source’s "Live At The BBQ" posse cut. Threatening to "kidnap the President’s wife without a plan," Nas escobar let the hip-hop world know that he "went to hell for snuffing Jesus." Afterwards, after blessing the Zebrahead soundtrack with "Halftime," Nas met MC Serch through Large Professor and was given the opportunity to work on a "Live At The BBQ" sequel, "Back To The Grill Again." Although his verse was short, Nas escobar shined the most brightly alongside veterans such as Chubb Rock and managed to keep his name alive in the industry. Finally, MC Serch brought Nas to Faith Newman, Director of A&R at Columbia Records, and broke a deal for Nasty Nas.

April 19, 1994 was a landmark in hip-hop history as Nas’ debut album was released. The magical combination of producers like DJ Premier, Large Professor, Pete Rock, L.E.S, and Q-Tip combined with the effortless heartfelt poetics of Nasty Nas to create “Illmatic”, which received an unexpected, yet well-deserved 5 mics from the then-credible rap Bible, "The Source."

From appearing on the Street Fighter soundtrack to rapping with Kool G Rap, Nas escobar spent the remainder of 1994 and all of 1995 confirming the high expectations that had been thrust upon him with the release of Illmatic. One notable achievement was his prolific verse on "Verbal Intercourse" on Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Linx album.

Apparently possessed, Nas received a Source Quotable as he had the distinction of being the only non-Wu-member to be allowed on a Wu album (until Ras Kass appeared on Bobby Digital) when the Clan was undeniably the greatest group at the time and were strictly keeping guest appearances inside the fam. Listed as Nas Escobar, he attacked the prison system and dropped urban philosophy. Regardless, his biggest and proudest accomplishment in life came after in the birth of his only daughter Destiny Jones with his girlfriend Carmen. Perhaps these two extra mouths to feed initiated his decision to approach the next album with a more accessible direction.

With anticipation building and patience wearing thin, the release of It Was Written on July 02, 1996, was heavily scrutinized by the discerning public. Under new management, Nas fell victim to the sophomore jinx-not because the quality of the tracks were less than his debut, but because of various circumstances. His second album, “It Was Written”, further explored many of the themes touched on in his debut, such as black-on-black crime, inner city violence, racial prejudice, urban politics and social pressures. Released on July 02, 1996, “It Was Written” was heavily scrutinized by the discerning public. Another beef that stemmed from “It Was Written” was between Nas and his boy Cormega (he had even shouted him out on Illmatic’s "One Love").

Nas’ plan was to create a supergroup called The Firm, which consisted of himself, Foxy Brown, Cormega, and AZ with Dr. Dre & The Trackmasters on production. They had made their official debut on "Affirmative Action," dropped a few mixtape freestyles, and collaborated for the occasional b-sides. At this time Nas’ manager wanted Cormega to sign an exclusive deal with Trackmasters, but when Cormega refused, he was replaced by unknown newcomer Nature. The show must go on, however, and on October 21, 1997, The Firm The Album was released. Mixed feelings arrived as the Dr. Dre banger "Phone Tap" appeared with the shiny "Firm Biz" and it seemed that Nas escobar was definitely not the second coming of Rakim.

It was 1998 and Nas escobar had been limiting himself to guest-appearances and after a three-year hiatus, he release “I Am . . . The Autobiography”, a double-disc LP for 1999. The timing was wrong, however, as bootlegging had began to get rampant on the internet and the streets. Thus, Nas was forced to return to the studio and record new tracks. The world thereafter became hungry when "Nas Is Like" was released on vinyl- DJ Premier and Nas together again-and heads expected much more than Nas escobar would be capable of providing. April 06, 1999, came and the public was disappointed by an above-average (but not on Nas’ standards) release that was full of potential, but failed.

“Nastradamus”, his fourth studio album, was released on November 23, 1999 and proved to be his worst album ever. Just when hope had faltered and the once messiah-regarded lyricist was cast aside as just another MC, Nas appeared on CNN’s "B EZ" with the same hunger he had on "Live At The BBQ." What followed was outstanding guest-appearance after guest-appearance for the next few months and the QB Finest project, which reunited Cormega and Nas on Da Bridge 2001.

NAS Discography:

Nas - Illmatic (1994)
Nas - It Was Written (1996)
The Firm - Firm Biz (1997)
Nas - I Am (Apr. ’99)
Nas - Nastradamus (Nov. ’99)
QB Finest (2000)
Nas - Stillmatic (2001)
Nas - From Illmatic to Stillmatic - The Remixes (July 2002)
Nas - The Lost Tapes (Sept. 2002)
Nas - God’s Son (Dec. 2002)
Illmatic: 10th Anniversary Platinum Edition (2004)
Nas - Street’s Disciple (2005)
Nas - Hip Hop is dead (2006)