Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones (/nɑːˈsɪər/; born September 14, 1973), better known as Nas /ˈnɑːz/, is an American rapper, songwriter, entrepreneur, record producer and actor. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas has released eight consecutive platinum and multi-platinum albums and sold over 25 million records worldwide since 1994. He is also an entrepreneur through his own record label; he serves as associate publisher of Mass Appeal magazine and is the owner of a Fila sneaker store. He is currently signed to Mass Appeal Records.
His musical career began in 1991 when he was featured on Main Source's track "Live at the Barbeque". His debut album Illmatic, released in 1994, received universal acclaim from both critics and the hip hop community; it is frequently ranked as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time.
Nas' follow-up album, It Was Written, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, stayed on top for four consecutive weeks, went Platinum twice in only two months, and made Nas internationally known. From 2001 to 2005, Nas was involved in a highly publicized feud with rapper Jay Z. In 2006, Nas signed to Def Jam. In 2010, he released a collaboration album with reggae artist Damian Marley, donating all royalties to charities active in Africa. His eleventh studio album, Life Is Good, was released in 2012, and was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.
Untitled Nas album
The untitled ninth studio album by American rapper Nas was released by Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records on July 15, 2008 in the United States, with earlier dates in some other countries. Its original title—Nigger—was changed due to controversy surrounding the racial epithet. The album is distinguished for its political content, diverse sources of production and provocative subject matter.
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, Nas' fifth to do so. It was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of 500,000 copies in the United States. Upon its release, the album received generally positive reviews from music critics; it holds an aggregate score of 71/100 from Metacritic.
Background
Title controversy
The original title of the album—Nigger—was mentioned by Nas several times, as well as on an October 12, 2007, performance at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City where he announced the title and release date.Def Jam made no comment on the title. This was similar to attempts to name his 2006 album—eventually titled Hip Hop Is Dead—both Nigga and Hip Hop Is Dead... The N. On May 19, 2008, it was confirmed that Nas changed the name of the album to an untitled one (although on iTunes, the album is self-titled), stating that "the people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it." The cover of the album shows the back of a shirtless Nas with flagellation scars forming the shape of the letter N, a reference to the racial slur and how slaves were tortured. Fort Greene, Brooklyn assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries requested New York's Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to withdraw $84 million from the state pension fund that has been invested into Universal and its parent company, Vivendi, if the album's title was not changed.
Nas (Ikaria)
Nas is a small village on the Greek island of Icaria. It is famous for the beach which is located near the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis.
Coordinates: 37°37′19″N 26°03′36″E / 37.62194°N 26.06000°E / 37.62194; 26.06000
Podcasts:
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by Nas
Ghetto Prisoners
by: NasUhh.. regulate nigga
Bravehearts nigga
Live for this
Some of y'all don't live at all
Get yours nigga
Get yours baby
Uhh, yo.. yo..
As the night close down on the Earth like gray dark rings
Light of cities in the nights, destination for Kings
with big dreams, like Castro, overthrew Bautista
from Cuba, and pointed nukes toward the U.S.
About to shoot us for revolution; that's how you gotta move
A lot of rules, some locked in solitude
Curse the day of they birth confused, who's to be praised?
The mighty dollar -- or almighty Allah
I'm like the farmer, plantin words, people are seeds
My truth is the soil; help you grow like trees
May the children come in all colors, change like leaves
but hold before you, one of those, prophetic MC's
with blunted flows, seven hundred souls in me
Each channelin, from past to present times, heaven shines
light on those, innocent to how the world grows
Some men become murderers, and some girls become hoes
And you accounted for, everything that you heard
Do not speak to fools; they scorn the wisdom of your words
My heart is wise, bloodshot eyes, the saga never dies
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners..
Yo we gotta be God's children, habitats in tall buildings
Rats crawl in filthy hallways, incinerators
Sinners who faithless, still there's hope, pray it's answered
Dreams turned real - what's a wicked nation?
One with blind men - not takin charge of the situation
Empty arguments and real conversations needed
The world'll need it, to hear it
Evil tries to weaken my spirit - it's chronic herb
This hurt come from the honest word
I now try hardest to serve my maker, what I learned
find it's way on the paper, so I could dictate it
Articulate it, luckily - I was put on one of the ships that made it
through strong currents and winds that left the others stranded
to sink in the Atlantic
Satan jigs the planet, not to get too religious, but
who decides when and if your life is finished?
If Christ is in this, for the sake of your name, oh Lord
may we break away from the chains abroad
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners.. get up, wake up, rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners..
You wanna buy time? I'm the seller of minutes
I give you every second low-priced, if I so lies; the truth is
Time waits for none of you, in fact
he can't wait for the date to snatch the ground right from under you
Small visions of better life if cheddar was right
lurk in the mind, of young ones ahead of they time
Trapped in the slums, beggin for nuttin but takin
Headed for nuttin but the state pen, where they cousins be waitin
Judges is not relatin to pleas, guns bustin where the kids play
Richochet off lamp poles and leave damp holes
in bystanders, get cancelled, D.O.A.
Around the way where we from
Hope the future reduce the rate of those buried young
Life is every man's kingdom, a dyin man's past
and a newborn's, first time to be here at last
And shouldn't have to grow up fast, and suffer our pain
Hustlin harder than the generations here before he came
Goin through the same bullshit as our fathers
Readin history, but who's the authors?
For some the game is easy, for most of us the game is much harder
But never lose faith; through the years just get smarter
Ghetto prisoners.. ghetto prisoners..
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners.. get up, wake up, rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise
Ghetto prisoners rise rise rise