Musician Spotlight: Nas

Born in September 1973, Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones is a famous American rapper who goes by the name Nas. Nas is also a songwriter and successful entrepreneur. He has been in the music industry since 1991, where he has been able to attract a considerable lot of loyal fans.

He is happily married to a beautiful wife, Kelis, and they have two children together. In 1994, Nas released his first debut album Illmatic which contributed to his fame. This debut got ranked as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all times.

Throughout his music career, he has collaborated with other famous artists. He had an eternal dispute with famous artist Jay-Z for the longest time. However, they were able to settle the feud, and at some point, he joined a label led by Jay-Z.

Music Genre

Nas has been consistent with only one music genre, which is Hip hop.

Here is a video of him performing his hit “New York State of Mind” live:

Major Accomplishments

Like any other famous artist, Nas has also had his share of wins and nominations in the past years. From 1997-2013, he has been nominated multiple times in the Grammy Awards. He was nominated for various awards such as Best Rap Solo Performance for the work “if I ruled the world”, Best Rap Album for “I am”, Best Music Video for “One Mic”.

He also got a nomination for Best rap performance for a duo, for the work “The Essence” with AZ and “Better than I’ve ever been” with Kanye West & KRS-One. There are other Grammy Nominations that he has continued to receive, and we hope that he will be lucky enough to take home an award.

Fortunately, he has two wins from the BET Hip hop Awards. In 2006, he won the I Am Hip hop icon award, and in 2021, he won the Impact Award for “daughters”. He also had another win in 2011, Outstanding sports documentary for the work “Survival 1”. Between 1999 and 2005, he received a couple of nominations from MTV video music awards.

Music Instruments and Sounds

Hip hop production uses necessary music instruments such as microphones, samplers, synthesizers, drum machines and DAWs. Learn more about him and his music on his official website.