Nas

Nas is one of the most influential American hip-hop artists, leaving an impact on the hip-hop industry in the 1990s and the 2000s. 

The artist has created many hits, such as “If I Ruled the World”, “Replace Me”, “Hate Me Now”, “The World Is Yours”, “One Mic” etc. He does not have a single failed album, not a single album that is not worthy of attention, although reviews of his work have often received quite controversial reviews from the music critics.  

He made his first official appearance on the band's Main Source track “Live at the Barbeque” in 1991, immediately distinguishing himself from his colleague's thanks to the tough and soul-touching lyrics. 

After that, thanks to the help of MC Serch, he got a contract with the Columbia Records label, where he began to prepare his debut studio work. In 1992, his single "Halftime" was featured as the soundtrack of the film "Zebrahead", giving the young performer even more popularity. In 1994, Nazir's first studio album called “Illmatic”, was released. The release instantly became a cult, all music publications awarded it the highest rating. The album sold 500,000 copies, which was a good result for the debut. "Illmatic" is considered to be Nas’s debut tape. The classics are something immutable, independent of fashion and timeless. Many people only dream of recording a record with such a status. Nas managed to do it. The respected and renowned producers such as Large Professor, Pete Rock, DJ Premier and Q-Tip have done a great job. They knew their business, Nas also did not blunder, as a result - not a single passing topic. Only 10 tracks, but a diamond, the legendary album of the 90s, whose place in the treasury of hip-hop is beyond doubt. 

In 1996, his second album under the title “It Was Written” saw the world, selling over 4 million copies in the US. The release remains one of Nas's main albums to this day and contains several key tracks in his career. During the recording of the third album "I Am ...", a significant part of the material was stolen and leaked to the public, and as a result, Nas recorded additional material in a short time, distributing it between "I Am ..." and "Nastradamus", which was released in that same year. The latter showed not bad results in sales, but it happened more by inertia. He never climbed above 7th place in the chart. And this was not Nas's first ever misfortune. The ambitious project “The Firm”, in which AZ, Foxy Brown, Trackmasters and Dr. Dre were involved in addition to Nas, did not win any prizes and awards. The release in 2000 of a vague compilation "QB Finest" only made everything worse. 

In 2001, Nas regained its lost reputation with the release of “Stillmatic”. It is not in vain that the title traces the parallels with the debut album: people persistently wanted another “Illmatic”, and Nas's ability to give it to them raised serious doubts. People tend to change over the years, and artists - even more. In the introduction to the tape, Nas did the "I" by saying he was not trying to repeat or rewrite “Illmatic”. He just recorded a significant album, which he needed so much after the failure with "Nastradamus".The best and most popular tracks include "Got Ur Self A ...", ''Ether” and ''One Mic", the video for which was nominated in the category of Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards.  

Four years later, in 2002 Nas consolidated its success with the album “God’s Son”. The release was well received by both fans and critics. There are a lot of hits - such as "Get Down", which starts the album, and the main single "Made You Look", and "Thugz Mansion", an acoustic version of a track with 2Pac. Good thing "I Can" with a children's choir. Nas tried to teach children how important it is not to be afraid to follow their dreams and wishes. Amazing track "Warrior Song" with a fast beat, romantic bass theme and damn sweet vocals by Alicia Keys was also included. Nas's father contributed to "Mastermind" and "Made You Look", while the final tracks "Dance" and "Heaven" are dedicated to Ann Jones, Nas's mother, who died just before the album's release. 

In 2004, Nazir released a double album “Street's Disciple”, which also received a platinum certification. Following this release, Nas signed to Def Jam recording label, releasing the highly social album "Hip-Hop Is Dead" in 2006. 

His ninth studio album, which Nas planned to release in 2008, became the most controversial release in his music career. Initially, the release was to be called "Nigger", but under pressure from the label and the public, Nas decided to make it "Untitled". After that, the rapper took a long hiatus, trying to devote all his free time to family issues. As a result, Nas's tenth studio album entitled “Life Is Good” was released in 2012 to the happiness of fans.