NAS Birth name Nasir Bin Olu Dara Jones Also known as Nasty Nas Born September 14, 1973 (1973-09-14) (age 38) Crown Heights, Brooklyn, New York Origin Queensbridge, Queens, New York Genres Hip hop Occupations MC Instruments Sampler, keyboard Years active 1991 -- present Labels Columbia, Def Jam, Ill Will, The Jones Experience Associated acts Olu Dara, The Firm, AZ, Bravehearts, Kelis, Mobb Deep, Damian Marley, Wu-Tang Clan, DJ Premier, Common Website www.islanddefjam.com/artist/home.aspx?artistID=7312 Career beginnings (1989--1992) As a teenager, Nas enlisted his best friend and upstairs neighbor Willy "Ill Will" Graham as his DJ. Nas first went by the nickname Kid Wave before adopting his more commonly known alias of Nasty Nas. In the late 1980s, he met up with the producer "Large Professor" and went to the studio where Rakim and Kool G Rap were recording their albums. When they were not in the studio, Nas would go into the booth and record his own material. However, none o! f it was released. In 1991, Nas performed on Main Source's "Live at the Barbeque". In mid-1992, Nas was approached by MC Serch of 3rd Bass, who became his manager and secured Nas a record deal with Columbia Records the same year. Nas made his solo debut under the name of "Nasty Nas" on the single "Halftime" from Serch's soundtrack for the film Zebrahead. Called the new Rakim, his rhyming skills attracted a significant amount of attention within the hip-hop community. Illmatic (1993--1994) In 1994
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