Talk:Nas

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Contents

[edit] N*gga

I'm pretty sure this isn't the title of his latest album, and if it is, it should go to an album page, not the actual article.

Actually it will be called 'Nigger' and not nigga'

[edit] Removed the "Its obvious Nas is not a Republican"

I removed this mainly because theres no need for it to be there. Also, the link that was provided isn't valid. It doesn't have anything to do with whether he supports Democrats or Republicans. On top of that, its still possible to be a Republican and be unhappy with the President even though hes a Republican as well. There was a Black Republican song and other artists released a Black Democrat song, thats all it should say.

[edit] "Keeping NasDaily.com Link

I think it should stay instead of getting removed constantly. The site covers Nas news and a variety of other info that I'm sure Nas fans will be looking for. Plus it even links back to this page. I see no problem keeping it. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by R-21 (talk • contribs) 01:33, 15 May 2007 (UTC).

[edit] "stunning" visual imagery

Some of the things said in this article are vague (New York based style I get but it needs to be explained) and a bit biased (the 'stunning visual imagery...' quote mentioned). Should be looked over for neutrality.

[edit] Who wrote the Ill Will section??? It's horrible!

1982 – 1988 While many of his friends’ mothers in the Queensbridge Houses were crackheads, Nas’ mother looked after him and his brother Jabari well. Met William "Ill Will" Graham who lived in the apartment above. He introduced Nas to Chinese food by dropping the food down to Nas’ plate held outside the window. Now interested in hip-hop, Nas would go upstairs to Ill Will’s place and listen to music. Ill Will had turntables and a fader and he would play the DJ while Nas first began to rhyme over popular tracks making tapes. He also began to tape off the radio studying the hip-hop records he heard and would wake up his brother Jabari practicing rhymes that he had made up

1992 At a party in Queensbridge, a slightly drunk Ill Will gets into an altercation with a girl he apparently disrespects. She calls up some male friends who arrive on the scene and shoot Ill Will in the back and Nas’ brother Jabari in the leg. . According to Will's brother, Kennedy, "Nas heard the shots and ran downstairs. He was really torn up. We wondered if we were all gonna' die one by one." Remembered Nas, "at that moment I knew either I was going down or music was going to save me."

Nasty Nas sends a ‘rest in peace’ shoutout to Ill Will on "Halftime", the first single he records which is featured on the soundtrack to the film Zebrahead.

[edit] No Sources

This article contains very little sourcing and with some extreme details, citations becoming even more important.--Mastagags 07:04, 15 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Changes

whoever changed the whole article didn't do such a great job, taking out the intro and devoting a huge portion of the article to nas' beefs with various artists. There are also factual mistakes, like saying that nas "forsook" Columbia to sign with Def Jam; Nas signed a unique contract that would release his next few albums under both labels. So if ayone has a copy of the (superior) old version of this article, please paste it back in.

I agree. factual mistakes and errors, informal tone, and little detail on Nas' musical works and instead focusing on his "beefs". This article needs to undergo extensive revision, or reverted back to the superior version (with minor adjustments)--24.63.72.100 01:30, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

I agree. Someone needs to revert back to the older version, but also keep some of the recent changes--chub 02:11, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

Agreed and reverted. And could someone please stop deleting Nas' middle names from the header? --FuriousFreddy 19:29, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

There is no material at all concerning Nas' role in the movie Belly. To my knowledge it was the only movie Nas acted in, but it still deserves to be mentioned.

Ok, where's the proof Nas was born in Long Island City? --Zimbabweed 04:42, 20 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] POV: ‘the single greatest rapper’

69.69.60.125 wrote

It should be noted that within the context of lyrical abilitiy (freestyling, metaphors, lyrical imagery), number of rhymes per syllable, societal impact, and street cred, Nas is the single greatest rapper ever if all 4 factors are given equal proportion in the judgment.

This is POV. I have tried to fix it, but perhaps it still needs removing. What really should be noted is that most rappers mean imagery when they say metaphor. Common points this out on 1-9-9-9, when he raps

I...
Hold the mic like a memory.
Niggas say I'm nice with metaphors, but these are similes.

Tim Ivorson12:52, 14 Nov 2004 (UTC)

lmao@"street cred" having anything to do with rapping ability. There's no "fixing" a statement that biased. Just delete it. And FYI that Common quote has nothing to do with this discussion, or the idea of "imagery." Oh, and FYI2 Nas can't be the "greatest" when someone as laxadasical as Luda eats him alive on every collab they have. Richard Corey 16:54, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

What you think and what I think are irrelevant. If you can't cite a reliable source for those opinions, then they violate WP:NPOV and can't go in the article. This article is still full of unsourced assertions like the one above, which is why I've added the {{verify}} tag to see if we can get some sources. | Klaw ¡digame! 14:12, 1 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Street's Disciple is NOT counted as a Double Album!!!

Street’s Disciple is counted only once, even though it is a double LP. While it has 2 dics, SD is only 88 minutes long which is too short to be considered a double album. In order to have sales doubled, there needs to be more than one disc and the running time is 100 or more minutes. So if you have a single disc over 100 minutes it will only count as 1 because you multiply the sales by the number of discs which in this case is only one. Here are two different billboard sites. At the bottom of each it says this.

[QUOTE]Numeral following Platinum or Diamond symbol indicates album's multi-million level. For boxed sets, and double albums with a running time that exceeds 100 minutes or more, the RIAA multiplies shipments by the number of discs and/or tapes. [/QUOTE]

http://www.billboard.com/bb/charts/indie_albums.jsp

http://www.billboard.com/bb/charts/bb200.jsp?start=51

And in the case of SD it had two discs but because it is only 88 minutes, it cannot, I repeat, CANNOT be multiplied.--chub 01:40, 20 February 2006 (UTC)


The RIAA still considered it a double album and Nas got a platinum plaque for it. Check yourself son.

[edit] Why did you take away the lyrics section?

It is important that they know which lyrics set the blaze between Nas and G-Unit. Put them back!

I'm not clear on what lyrics you mean; it doesn't look like any lyrics were deleted in the last half-dozen edits. Can you look at the article's history and tell us when they were deleted? | Klaw ¡digame! 18:44, 2 March 2006 (UTC)
I mean this deleted section:

At a free concert in Central Park, New York, Nas made a statement regarding the quality of 50 Cent's music. "this is the real shit, not that 50 Cent shit!" In response, 50 Cent included a stab at Nas by speaking negatively of his wife Kelis on his single "Piggy Bank," which includes the lyrics "Kelis said her milkshake brought the boys to the yard/Then Nas went and had the bitch tatooed on his arm/Yeah, that way out in Cali, niggaz know these guns/First thing they say about you is you a sucka for love." Nas was quoted as saying that he feels no obligation to retaliate, remarking "[50 has] got a good five to six more albums before I can really respond to him." Nas eventually decided to retaliate, and in July 2005 released "Don't Body Ya Self (MC Burial)", a song which taunts 50 Cent and his G-Unit crew, using lyrics such as "Man that is righteous, faithful, and keeps law/Will surely live to please the sovereign Lord/And you are none of the above/So you a sucka for death if I'm a sucka for love."

OK, I see what you're saying now - just the lyrics were removed. I'm not sure why that would be, but before we put them back in, let's see if the deleting editor explains his actions first. BTW, there's a nice recap of some of the Nas/50 Cent issue here. | Klaw ¡digame! 20:58, 2 March 2006 (UTC)
Quoting lyrics from these two diss records would seem to go beyond the scope of the article. They don't add any neccessary detail, and trhe paragraph looks more professional without them. --FuriousFreddy 22:29, 2 March 2006 (UTC)
I disagree that it goes beyond the scope of the article; using the lyrics (without the bold formatting, please) gives the reader a better feel for the nature of the dispute. In addition, "trhe [sic] paragraph looks more professional without them" is definitely not a reason to delete another user's valid content. If those are the only reasons they were removed, they should go back in, but in italics, rather than in bold. | Klaw ¡digame! 22:36, 2 March 2006 (UTC)
Don't poke fun of my typos; I had to rush that reply out. Professionalism is indeed a valid reson to remove the lyrics; they add no educational value to the page, and only result in increasing coverage of a relatively miniscule part of the subject's career. A person reading this article doesn't need lyrics printed to describe "a better feel for the nature of the dispute." This:
At a free concert in Central Park, New York, Nas made a statement regarding the quality of 50 Cent's music. "this is the real shit, not that 50 Cent shit!" In response, 50 Cent included demaning comments about Nas and his wife Kelis in the lyrics for his hit sinlge "Piggy Bank," implying that Kelis was promiscuous and calling Nas a "sucker for love". Nas was quoted as saying that he feels no obligation to retaliate, remarking "[50 has] got a good five to six more albums before I can really respond to him." Nas eventually decided to retaliate, and in July 2005 released "Don't Body Ya Self (MC Burial)", a song which taunt 50 Cent and his G-Unit crew, stating that 50 was "a sucka for death if I'm a sucka for love."'
...is a far more valid and concise paragraph for inclusion in what is supposed to be a professional-quality encyclopedia article. Notice how it paraphrases the required info so that the flow of the prose is properly maintained. Also, just because another user added content doesn't mean we are required to keep it. This is not a fansite for rap battles; if you notice, we don't even quote lines from the Nas/Jay-Z & Roc-a-fella fued unless absolutely neccessary. The key words here are summarization and professionalism, two things that a lot of Wikipedia articles are seriously lacking as of present, and two things this article should retain. --FuriousFreddy 01:15, 3 March 2006 (UTC)
Where is the Wikipedia policy/guideline on professionalism? Because as I see it, Wikipedia is not paper, and if we can add more verifiable details to an article, we should. There is no good reason why we shouldn't include the lyrics, because more detail is better when it's verifiable and NPOV. The fact that you don't view it as "professional" is not a sufficient reason to delete another user's edits. | Klaw ¡digame! 02:20, 3 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] INTRO

I'd originally had the intro saying a "decidedly personal" aesthetic, but someone changed it to "progressive" with a link to alternative rap. I'd just point out that musically, a substantial majority of alternative rap can't be reasonably termed as progressive, because it often looks to old-school and native-tongues style rap of the 80s and early 90s for inspiration. Politically and lyrically, progressive might be the right word, but only a tiny minority of Nas' post-Stillmatic music can be termed political.

[edit] Where is info on his private life?

Marriage to Kelis? Children? 216.141.226.190 17:48, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Nas' religon

Someone keeps adding him to the "5 Percenters" category. I'd like to know if there is any evidence that he is a 5 percenter. Because there is overwelming evidence (tatoos, lyrics, necklaces) to say the he is a Christian. --Ted87 20:18, 8 June 2006 (UTC)


His mother was a Muslim, and his father is a Christian. As for himself, he has said he respects both. But he is not a "5 Percenter".

I think his father is a Muslim-American as well, but he probably didn't chose to follow up to a certain religion. - Omernos 03:00, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

His father is Muslim, his mother was Christian

he raps about either one. he mostly says to believe in yourself adn it really does not matter about the religious beliefs, does it.

I don't usually discuss hip-hop artists on Wikipedia, but as a Nas fan, I am sickened at the fact that someone keeps adding him to without any real concrete evidence. I'm suprised this is still discussed. I agree that Nas was heavily influenced by the Islam religion, and even recieved lessons about the Five Percent Nation. But some of his albums have titles influenced by the Bible e.g. "It Was Written" and "God's Son". Then there's the video to "Hate Me Now" which depicts Nas carrying the cross with a crown of thorns on his head, and then been crucified. As I recall, the Qu'ran doesn't have anything on Jesus' crucifixion. And even that probably doesn't fit in Five Percenter teachings. Again on "Just A Moment" He raps about people converting to the Christian and Islamic faith from the virtually hopelessness situation in the ghetto. This could be a reference to the fact his father was a Muslim and his mother was a Christian, giving him an internal conflict between the religion, but he was heavily influenced by the Islamic faith as well, and he describes having a Malcolm X poster on his wall as a child. My knowledge about Nas says he studied the Bible, the Qu'ran and the teachings of the Five Percent Nation. So that's three points of argument there. Nas being a Five Percenter does actually sound fitting (His mother was Christian, His father is a Muslim and Nas studied all three) but still there's not enough evidence to say he adheres to the philosophy of the Nation of Gods and Earths. Or at least still does. As far as my knowledge about him is, doesn't subscribe to any religion, so that would make him an agnostic (not a gnostic) at least as he is very spiritual. If he is a Five Percenter, supply recent and definitive evidence that he is.Uglyguy2006 18:16, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

You have to realise it's not that simple. Being that this is a Christian society, Christian language is used by people of all faiths to some extent. Furthermore, 5%ers use "God" to mean the Black Man. Muslim can mean many things to many people. I agree Nas is almost definitely not a 5%er, and as you can see below, according to him, he's not particularly any one thing. So, no, he's not a five percenter, but don't use that as proof of his membership to the NOI, Sunni Islam, or Christianity.

Nas said himself that he believes in both Islam and Christian teachings. His dad was a Muslim and his mom was a Christian

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Dsmccohen (talk • contribs) 12:04, 8 October 2007 (UTC)


NAS SAID NEVER NEVER THAT HE READ THE QURAN BUT HE SAID THAT HE READ BIBLE. IN NOT ONE QULL SAID HE THAT HE READ THE QURAN. THIS INFORMATION IS FALSE. AND IN MANY VIDEOS GOT HE A CROSS WITH JESUS —Preceding unsigned comment added by 194.103.203.173 (talk) 10:09, 13 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Not a Five-Percenter

First of all, that research paper that is cited is, itself, original research. The author, some grad student at Arkansas, just lumped Nas in with other artists who have similar imagery with vague mentions of and connections to the Nation of Gods and Earths. There is no concrete evidence of Nasir Jones explicitly stating that he is even a Muslim, let alone a Nation of Islam member LET ALONE a member of the Five Percenters (which is the same thing as the NoGaE). Even if Nas had said he was he was, that was in 1997 - obviously one is allowed to change. If you have listened to any of Nas's lyrics over the past several years (even the ones before 1997) it is evident that he is overwhelmingly Christian. JesseRafe 02:43, 10 June 2006 (UTC)

I was about to address that "source", but JesseRafe pretty much nailed it. Anyone can write that such and such is of whatever religoius denomination and post it on the internet. We need some sort of reilable source to disprove the evidence that he is a Christian. --Ted87 01:51, 13 June 2006 (UTC)
    • Nas is in no way a Christian, a simple listening of his lyrics and understanding of them (from Illmatic to Streets Disciple) has Five Percent terminology and origins writtin all over them. Whether or not he is actively a "GOD" is another question. Even is Nas is all of a sudden "Christian" (which would be a total 180 degree turn from the black nationalist ideology of the 5%), I don't think he and Kurt Franklin will be doing collaborations in the near (or far) future, however he has done dozens of collaborations with Five Percent believers (Rakim, Wu Tang members, AZ, Lake, DJ Premier, etc) . Just looking at the album GOD SON (which would be blaphemous in Christian teachings as their is only one son of god), the only sect of religious people that refer to themselves as GOD(s) are 5%'ers. Wearing a cross doesn't make you a Christian the same way wearing a cowboy hat doesn't make you a cowboy. Perhaps he holds his personal symbolism in the christian cross aside from its mainstream usage. 5%'ers also acknowledge Jesus as a prophet just as muslims do. Until he publically states it I would put my rent check that he'll be seen on Malcolm X Blvd before appearing with TD Jakes.---Gorgeousp 16:25, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
Interesting point, except for the fact that Nas's tattoo of "God's Son" and the album of the same name were both inspired by the same thing: his mother and her passing. His mother would be an "Earth" not a "God" and the album does not make as much clear reference to his father, but it is evidently a tribute to his mother. Since this is not part of Christian doctrine (nor is a direct blasphemy) nor Five-Percenter doctrine, I think we can this as further evidence that Nas might just be gnostic in general, or perhaps a pantheist as he sees God in various forms and functions. JesseRafe 01:41, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Nas religion according to Nas

In an interview with the AP Nas states he was a Five Percenter previously[1]

  • AP: What was your main religious influence, your denomination growing up?
  • Nas: I was surrounded by Christians ... my grandmothers, all my family was from the South, Baptist. As I got older I got into the 5 Percent Nation, and then that pushed me toward Islam. But (I'm not any) religion.
  • AP: Would you consider yourself agnostic?
  • Nas: I consider myself (pauses) I know there's a higher power.

In an another interview Nas specifically states he does not subscribe to any religion but draws knowledge from many [2] RP: Do you subscribe to any religion? NaS: Nah. It’s good to do research and study what the ancient Muslims or the ancient Christians were about and how the religion came about. Even if you’re not a Five Percenter, it’s good to look at the lessons and see how they tried to educate each other. I studied lessons. I have knowledge of self. I don’t have no religion, but I studied my Black African History. I read up on Asian and Oriental spiritual rituals. They all similar. Right here in America, it’s all about living and doing the right thing. Do the right thing, and that’s righteous right there.

--JackOfBlades 16:56, 8 August 2006 (UTC)

That was an interview taken in 1993. That was over 13 years ago. He has changed a lot on his beilefs since then. For example, on the music video version of Just a Moment in 2004 he says:

"Ballantine Ale in brown bags
Brothers like to brag 'bout their cousins
That's locked in the system
We all fall victim, we all call Christian
Or Islamic faith to restore all our faith"

which shows that he is of one or the other religons. Given that he has a tattoo of a cross on his left arm and he is seen wearing crosses (including on the cover of Stillmatic, which came out in late 2001), and the Last Supper-esque cover of Street's Disciple I think it is safe to say that he is Christian. --Ted87 20:24, 6 September 2006 (UTC)


Consider there are a lot of similarities between the two religions, it can get confusing when classifying Nas


Firdaus800:

I write this in response to the user who alleges that Nas is Christian. With respect, that analysis is erroneous. The said user reaches his purported conclusion by addressing the 1993 interview and going on to speculate with regard to words and events which took place until the release of "Street's Disciple". However, the said user ignored the AP interview (cited above, but, for convenience, see http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6786474/) which was published after the completion of the said album. As such, the said user has not only ignored the most recent evidence available to him but he has also ignored Nas' own words, which must be taken to be conclusive. In the AP interview, Nas clearly states that he does not subscribe to any religion. This places the issue beyond any doubt.

Still, I'll deal with the said user's point that the Last Supper imagery on the cover of the "Street's Disciple" album allegedly means he is Christian. In the AP interview, Nas states the real reasons why such imagery was employed. It was merely for a storytelling purpose:-


  • "I'm a storyteller and the Bible is a bunch of stories about life and things that took place here on planet earth. It's a great example to use and a great reason to be happy about being a storyteller because the lessons of the land are always in stories. I didn't want to bore people so a lot of the records I party to are more slammin', more knockin'. This album is not an album that knocks, it's really a storytelling knock from beginning to end. Disc one which is one story and the second disc completes the story both imaginative and personal."


This should nail the issue shut.

However, one other issue arises: given that Nas does not actually subscribe to any religion as such, which then is the religion that has inspired or influenced Nas the most? Although it appears that he has been influenced by more than one religion, Islam has clearly had the most influence on him. This is obvious from the AP interview. Placing the issue beyond doubt are the following statements in his interview with Michelle Muhammad which was published after the release of "Stillmatic" (http://www.finalcall.com/perspectives/queen_scene/nas03-20-2002.htm):-


  • "Islam happens to be the only religion that caters to the Black man respectfully, seriously. It’s the only religion that made sense for Black people to me. I’m not sure of the earliest time but there was always a picture of Malcolm X in my household since I was a baby. I just thought he looked like an angry man. I didn’t know who he was, I was a small child. I remember learning about the 5 Percent Nation in my projects (Queensbridge). Older guys were putting me on to it and giving me lessons on the 5 Percent Nation. As I grew, I began to learn more about Clarence 13X and Minister Farrakhan. I also learned about it through rap music such as Chuck D. (Public Enemy). It was always around. You just have to notice it at some point."


There are several more examples in his lyrics and certain statements. However, from the foregoing, it is clear that Islam has had the greatest influence on Nas.

Separately, for those who might be unaware, the name "Nasir" is an Islamic name.

Firdaus800 14:51, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

Again, I'm arguing to why it is Nas is still added to. What strong (and recent) evidence is actually there? What? The fact those same Five Percenter teachings are in his songs? That only shows that he has an undertanding of the teachings. In fact, Nas studied the Bible and the Qu'ran as well as the Five Percent Nation. It doesn't prove anything. It's also interesting that his music videos and his album covers don't really reflect the teachings of Five Percenters, unlike Rakim (see the video to "Move the Crowd"). I'm just curious. If Nas was a Five Percenter, when was it that he became one, and is he still a member of the Nation of Gods and Earths? I plead for evidence.Uglyguy2006 18:34, 29 August 2007 (UTC)

Yes, UglyGuy2006, as you can see in the section above this, I argued fairly well over a year ago, that there is no definitive proof that he is a Five Percenter. I am not saying 100% that he is NOT a Five Percenter because it's not anyone's position to assume another's faith, I am just saying that I am 100% sure that it's not 100% obvious that he is - i.e. a clear declaration. In fact, there is PLENTY of obvious evidence that he is not a member of the Nation of Gods and Earths, the most apparent of which is that he refers to his mother as a "God". I have removed the Category, and I will be watching this page again. JesseRafe 03:00, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

Christians: Stop trying to claim him as Christian. If use of a cross or Christian imagery made you a Christian, then Marilyn Manson would be a Christian. Food for thought. Those symbols have a lot of meaning for people growing up in America, regardless of faith, and his use of them doesn't imply Christianity so much as it implies a lack of non-Christianity. He keeps saying he doesn't subscribe to any one philosophy or religion because he DOESN'T SUBSCRIBE TO ANY ONE PHILOSOPHY OR RELIGION Sunnis, NOI members, and 5 Percenters: If he were one of you he'd probably say it loud and proud, wouldn't he? Or at least not have the crosses. Just as the cross doesn't prove he's Christian, I'd say it makes him a pretty shitty Muslim. 5 Percenter would still be a possibility with the cross, but he says he believes in a higher power. The only thing I could see classifying him as is a Rasta. I'm not saying he IS a Rasta, I even doubt it. My point is just, stop trying to throw your favourite rapper into your religious category without evidence. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dsmccohen (talk • contribs) 12:09, 8 October 2007 (UTC)


you people seem to have trouble recognizing 5% terminologies. his music is flooded with it. the fact that he studied both the qur'an and the bible also warrents that he's a 5%er because they're encouraged to study all holy books keep the best part and common truths for themselves. the last bars in the song "Let's Go Esco" should shut you all up. "ALL True and Living God, we was here first//Parisian linen garbs and cashmere shirts"

He's a God from the 5% nation........get over it (overzealous christians, muslims) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.125.78.12 (talk) 23:37, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Wars with Biggie

Does anyone have any info on this, according to the song "Last Real Ni66a alive," NaS says he was at war with Big, and that "Kick in the Door" was directed at him.

It's possible that part of the song was aimed at Nas, though most people close to Big say it was directed at Jeru the Damaja and fail to mention if it was a Nas diss or not. PCP MC 04:01, 28 June 2006 (UTC)

It's alleged that the lyrics "It's ill when emcees used to be on cruddy shit/ took home "Ready to Die," listened, studied shit/ Now they on the money shit, successful out the blue/ they lightweight" were a shot at Nas and his departure of style from the gritty "Illmatic" to the more polished "It Was Written."

[edit] Top Twenty singles

why only top 20? ..whats wrong with stuff that didn't hit top 20, like Flyest Angels?

I agree. All singles should be put on here. If no one has a reasonable reason why they aren't I am going to change it. --Ted87 05:18, 6 July 2006 (UTC)

I Vote for All his singles to be put there including Bridging the Gap and Just A Moment, Cant forget Thief's Theme since it was an official release with a Video and his newest street release "where ya'll al"... --Samil20 14:10, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] NaS Battles Page

Shouldn't there be an article or section about NaS' various beefs with Jay-Z, Cormega, Mobb Deep, The Notorious B.I.G., 50 Cent, etc.


I agree.......obviously a brief overview of the beef with jay,mobb and cormega and 50. I wouldn't call the notorious one a beef..............more of a subliminal.

[edit] NAS stands for...

Re-added what NAS stands for. It's from his song, the Cross in album God's Son. Message me next time before removing. Thanks. --Dooly00000 20:12, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

I don't doubt that Nas has stated that. However is that really necessary in the first paragraph of an article -- where only the most important information should be stated? --Zimbabweed 22:46, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

Hip hop rivalries#Nas vs. Jay-Z, Hip hop rivalries#Other known rivalries (not necessarily chronological order) 24.164.43.140 19:20, 13 July 2006 (UTC)

Nas is short for Nasir, he just uses Niggaz against society for the song, some clever word play. His name was never meant to mean niggaz against society. --Samil20 14:11, 21 July 2006 (UTC)

.. see backronym :P, as WP likes to state almost as much as portmanteau

NAS DOES NOT STAND FOR NIGGAZ AGAINST SOCIETY, ITS SHORT FOR NASIR...JUST BECAUSE NAS USES IT AS A BACKRONYM IN ONE, I REPEAT, ONLY ONE SONG, DOESNT MEAN HIS NAME STANDS FOR THAT. WHEN HAS HE EVER USED THAT BACRONYM BESIDES "THE CROSS"?????

Exactly, however, there's no need for caps to convey your message. 67.71.69.61 13:30, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New Pic

The main pic is old, let's see about getting a more updated pic for the article --Samil20 15:58, 19 July 2006 (UTC)

I agree, it definitely needs to be changed. --Josh1billion 02:09, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Nas' Album Covers

There should be an article on the imagery of Nas' covers and the metaphor he is using for his career as Jesus and hip hop. Al I know is that the "Stillmatic" cover has storms coming and Nas in flashy clothes, but on each hand he holds four fingers up. On his right hand, the pinky has a diamond representing "Illmatic," his crown jewel. On his left hand he also has four fingers up and the second one (representing "The Lost Tapes") is scrunched up showing that it isn't that significant.

On "The Lost Tapes", their is a passport and a microphone showing that Nas is going to depart from his original sound or label I think.

On "God's Son", the storm has passed on Nas conceals his necklace under his arm and his solitary like Jesus.

On "Street's Disciples" full extended cover only found inside the CD booklet and on one of Nas' websites, The Last Supper picture is recreated. On that cover, their are 12 disciples who are all played by Nas (although some speculate that the guy talking to the "Jesus Nas" is Dj Premier or Jay-z representing Judas). They all show Nas in different parts of his career including one in an army fatigue who represents the Nas on the song "Hate Me Now".

Nas' next album will be called "Hip Hop Is Dead...The N" and will probably show Nas being crucified.

http://escobartheory.blogspot.com/2006/07/deep-covers.html

That website tells it all and I forgot about how there is a dove on "Stillmatic"'s cover with the storm and on the "God's Son" promo pictures their are two doves representing the story of Noah in the Torah. Apparently, suring "Stillmatic" Nas was materialistic and then much happened to him and a storm washed away all material.

[edit] "Musical style and technique" section

...is horribly steeped in original research and biased language. It would be a lot better to reference interviews, magazine articles, album reviews, and other such sources instead of this approach. --FuriousFreddy 05:26, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Nas' birthday is 9/1

Not 9/14.

"i've got this, locked since, 9/1 I am the truest, name a rapper that I ain't influenced"

He's talking about 1991, the year. --Zimbabweed 02:14, 28 August 2006 (UTC)


You're an idiot. his birthday is 9/14 as stated in his song on Fetus and his official bio. 91 is the year he made his first appearance in the rap game..--Samil20 17:11, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

LMAO, what a dumb ass.--Tainted Drifter 19:46, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] References

Can we make this article have the small and organized references like the Illmatic or The Game (rapper) article.

[edit] Birthplace

Nas was born in Long Island City, which is a section of Queens, not Long Island, which is a suburban county.--Tainted Drifter 19:48, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

You have confirmation of this? The only sourced material I've seen has listed his place of birth as Long Island, New York, (as ambiguous as that is) being raised in Brooklyn, and moving to Queensbridge when he was six or seven. --Zimbabweed 19:54, 25 September 2006 (UTC)

OKAY LISTEN^^^. Queens IS ON Long Island. Long Island IS NOT a suburban county. It's an island made up of four counties. Suffolk, Nassau, Queens, and Brooklyn. Brooklyn and Queens are also 2 of 5 bouroughs of NYC. I know this because I live on Long Island. Get your geography straight.Nickshoes 02:21, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Says so on IMDB. Plus, it makes more sense that he was born there since it's in Queens. Some moron just must have got confused and listed it as "Long Island" instead of "Long Island City"...--Tainted Drifter 20:49, 27 September 2006 (UTC)

So are we supposed to speculate about the veracity of sources and suspect they are incorrect because they fail to show a popular consensus, and the mere coincidence of the place names Long Island and Long Island City are enough to refute other cited sources? --Zimbabweed 23:23, 27 September 2006 (UTC)


I really don't know. To me it just makes more sense that it's there. It could be very easy for someone to mistake those two places since the similar names, and they could have just put it as "Long Island", since it's more well known. Either of us could be right, or shit, maybe we're both wrong.--Tainted Drifter 04:50, 29 September 2006 (UTC)


Hmm, Brooklyn, eh? Any citations?--Tainted Drifter 07:32, 9 October 2006 (UTC)

OKAY LISTEN^^^. Queens IS ON Long Island. Long Island IS NOT a suburban county. It's an island made up of four counties. Suffolk, Nassau, Queens, and Brooklyn. Brooklyn and Queens are also 2 of 5 bouroughs of NYC. Long Island City is an area in Queens. I know this because I live on Long Island. Get your geography straight because you guys are arguing the same points because LI City is in Queens and Queens is in Long Island.Nickshoes 02:25, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Who made it Brooklyn? Certainly he was raised in Crown Heights, but no sources say he was born there. The little that do give a birth place give it as "Long Island, New York," which is highly ambiguous. --Zimbabweed 10:22, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Elmer Navoa

"This year he also met a man named Elmer Navoa who inspired him." I looked up Elmer Navoa and there is nobody named that anywhere on Google except on this site and another reference site that copied their information from this one. I've removed it, unless someone can come up with a veritable source.


On iTunes, if you put a CD onto your library, the artist information will spell Nas "NaS" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.8.86.57 (talk) 05:45, 12 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] NaS sillyness

Can we establish that the "S" in Nas is not capitalized? First off, NaS would be a violation of WP's style guide on trademarks. Secondly, even Nas' own press materials do not spell Nas with a capital S...you're more likely to see it as "Nas" or "NAS". As for why the logo is the way it is, it's an aesthetic decision of the designer, and represents only that. hateless 01:27, 3 November 2006 (UTC)


Well since NaSir himself wears a diamond encrusted chain that has 'NaS' on it......i would assume that he doesn't mind using it.

It Accually goes like that even on Illmatics cover so dats mad head son  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.86.162.154 (talk) 00:19, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Quality Standards Lacking

Why is 50s diss track mentioned in the opening paragraph? What does that have to with his career? 50 has been going at everyone lately with the hopes he can maintain some type of credibility. "Perhaps Nas lacks the talent to respond?" Wikipedia is not a blog with opinions, it is an encyclopedia, the previous statement contains no knowledge. How can that even be said after he dropped "Ether," a classic diss track against Jay-Z?

Lessening the author's credibility is the final sentence,

"Nevertheless, many expect his new album Hip is Dead will be off high quality, but will sell very copies and be a huge failure."

The album is called "Hip-Hop is Dead." The speculation is an insult. Can we please restructure the whole second half of this paragraph, so that it is grammatically correct, historically, accurate and most importantly, objective?

BarneySkipflower 11:54, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Discography section

It appears there is a difference of opinions on how much information should be listed in the discography section of this article. If you look on other well-maintained articles such as The Rolling Stones, Madonna (entertainer), Nirvana (band), and Eminem you will see that there is a limited discography, if any, listed on the band's article with more details on the band's discography article. This not also keeps the article from becoming too large, but also significantly cuts down on edit wars regarding RIAA status that articles regarding sales figures regularly go through. Maybe I'm wrong or maybe this needs to be put to a vote to see what a consensus thinks to make a change. I'd like to hear what others think on this. --Zimbabweed 03:26, 21 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree, a limited discography here, and more info on its own page is definitely preferable. JesseRafe 15:38, 2 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Sneakers

I noticed there was no section on the sneaker deal. I am providing sources in case anyone wants to write something on it.

Nas Footwear: Disciple Footwear Collection

[edit] "Considered by many to be one of the greatest rappers of all time". Isn't that a bit weaselly?

The first sentence in the section concerning Nas' critical acclaim states that he is "considered by many to be one of the greatest rappers of all time."

Can anyone suggest a better wording for this, to give it a more neutral feel?

Borskyviolin 23:25, 13 April 2007 (UTC)


Agreed...........lyrically he is the greatest of all time,we need to mention his social-political views that are embedded in his songs.

[edit] Nas vs 2pac

Was Nas beefing with 2pac? I heard that they made peace before 2pac died.

Please sign your post before submitting. And while 2Pac did fought with Nas, due to 'Pac constantly claiming Nas "a biter", Nas never wrote back. Beef pretty much died when 2Pac and Biggie died in middle of the 90s. K^ 19:51, 20 April 2007 (UTC)

Wrong, Pac thought Nas took a subliminal swipe at him in the song 'the message' on It Was Written with the line "Fake thug, no love, you get the slug CB4 gusto" Nas responded in a freestyle "black pirellies rolling over this makaveli..." They met at central park after the MTV music awards in 1996, The Outlawz make reference to this and so does Nas. --198.110.72.130 15:55, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Clean-up, etc.

A lot of work needs doing; aside from copy-editing, making headers encyclopædic in style, etc., the language is often PoV, and in particular uses weasel words. --Mel Etitis (Talk) 14:15, 11 May 2007 (UTC)


i don't think it's weasel words to say that many people believe nas is one of the greatest. that's an important point.

[edit] Album covers...

Does anyone agree that we should have the info's and album covers in this section too, even though it's already on the discography page. But i would go for a nicer look than how big the page should be. I think we should remove the silly information in this section that may look false or have got too much information. Like anything about Nas vs. Jay-Z that is posted here should be merged with the Nas vs. Jay-Z section. So it would look smaller. BUT someone added once some info in the form of [quote][/quote] which made the page look 100 m long and i removed it. It went out of the page so it looked very awful. But let the info's be added about his albums. Football 7 16:53, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Better Info

i changed some things check it out. give feedback look at it now

u forgettin something onda hip hop is dead discography it still says gold but on the article it says it has sold 1,003,000 which means it shud say platinum but it still says gold its said gold for a while now juss wantin dat to change iit thnks 1

actually those are world wide sales...Nas is still at 743,000 nationally.--Sosa 20:56, 23 October 2007 (UTC)


I dont like the fact that somebody changed my information because their selfish and think they know everthing on Nas, his career, bio, and beefs. The information such as the beef with Jay-Z is not very accurate on why Nas didnt do the songs or why the beef occured or on why Jay-Z became jealous of Nas due to their albums coming out about a month apart and nas acheiving 2x platinum status while Jay-Z didnt even go gold in the same year.You didnt even mention about Jay-z wanting Nas to do the Hook for Dead Presidents.What about the reason of Nas not doing the songs.It was because he felt that Jay-Z was biting his freind and fellow rapper Raekwon's style of rap, flow ,and type of lyricism due to Jay-z's changing of all three from 1995 to 1996.Or about Jay-Z feeling disrespected of nas not doing the songs he requested of him and because he didnt even give him reasoning on that perdicament and jay-Z shouting him out on tracks off his first LP.And like I said this all caused hostility between them over the years even if the beef never blew up into what it did until 2001.What about my info telling that his brother Jabari a.k.a Jungle was one half of the queensbridge rap group Bravehearts.To whom this may concern you hardly even spoke on Nas' life when growing up.You skip from lifetime to lifetime not mentioning vital information on his upbringing.just that his father left and his mom had to raise their kids her self to when he was 13 then you skipped until he was about 18 when he started recording with MC Search and working on illmatic.That's many years of missing vital information not inputed within the bio section of the article.every thing I put was vital information to Nas' article.You didn't want the aricle to improve.You just wanted to leave a void which it did and does.Thanks a lot.why dont you "improve" more articles and leave this one alone. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Meccareal (talk • contribs)

[edit] Most famouus for Illmatic?

"Nas is best known for his 1994 debut album Illmatic". Is this true? I'd agree that, no doubt, Illmatic is his best work, but is he most famous for it? It Was Written was Nas' most succesful album sales-wise and he's had lots of mainstream success since Illmatic. Thesean43 19:54, 30 June 2007 (UTC)


he is most famous for it,check numerous articles,illmatic is viewed in many cases as one of the greatest hip hop albums ever released.Ask hip hop fans what they think about when you say Nas,the majority will say Illmatic.

Illmatic was just a huge step for him, it was a classic, not a huge success in the mainstream because it took 10 years to go platinum, even though it was critically acclaimed. That is definately not what Nas is most famous for, thats just one thing he is famous for. --198.110.74.147 19:29, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

Illmatic, I think, is safe to say that it his most critically-acclaimed album, but to say it is the album he is best known for can be disputed. Older people may know him most from his first album, yet younger people may know him as the emcee who was in the beef with Jay. Some others may see Nas as the guy who proclaimed "Hip Hop Is Dead". While most true hip-hop heads may think he's best known for Illmatic, people who listen to hip hop occasionally nowadays and follow pop culture may know him as the rapper who proclaimed Hip Hop Is Dead. MichaelHavas 17:47, 10 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Cleaned Up

I cleaned up apart of the things that aren't needed to be added. such as how much nas sold in his Nas vs Jay-Z section, since it has nothing to do with the main thing! Football97 20:12, 7 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Vandalism

I removed the many ewokmyweewok's at the bottom of the page.

--Memphis10 15:30, 24 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Somebody needs to fix this

There's a sentence under the Nas vs. Jay-Z rivalry that doesn't make sense and is a run-on. It is "This wasn't the first time Jay-Z alluded to his relationship with Nas' baby mother the song "Is That Your Chick" the lost verses addition was said to be all about Jay-Z, Carmen and Nas." I tried to edit it and fix it, but it wouldn't let me because the article is semi-locked, which doesn't make sense because when I clicked on the lock icon, it said that semi-locked only means that anonymous users and users who registered less than 5 days ago can't edit the article. Anyway, my suggestion would be to change it to "This wasn't the first time Jay-Z alluded to his relationship with Nas' baby mother. The lost verses addition of the song "Is That Your Chick" was said to be all about Jay-Z, Carmen and Nas." Hippie Metalhead 11:57, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Not encyclopaedic style

Does anyone else think "decided to diss Nas since G-Unit had beef with Nas." is poor style for an encyclopedia? I understand the terminology but it looks out of place here. Jwigton 23:42, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Appearances

Someone want to make an appearance section like how it is on most of the Wu's pages? You know with all the guest spots he's been on.

No, that shouldn't be on this page...it's way too long, besides it doesn't help the article.--Moderator 13:01, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] New Album 4th Quarter

[3] / [4] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.37.107.138 (talk) 02:18, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

Yeh that's added now. --West Coast Ryda and Talk to Me 13:54, 18 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Nas and Slick Rick

No real mention of Slick Rick and Nas collaborations? They compliment each other and shine together on the mic. Whats the relation between the two?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Anthonyg77 (talk • contribs) 22:10, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Dead presidents

The reason the beef with nas and jay-z stared is beacuse he never showed up to do the hook for the song not can i live besides i aint never heard this inormation before until this article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.80.247.195 (talk) 20:42, 4 October 2007 (UTC)


lol........you got it twisted......it started a long time before that......and culminated when bleek made subliminals at nas.......nas responded..........then jay entered the beef.

[edit] Nigga?

Great.

It's gonna be a great trip to the record store when Nas' ninth album "Nigga" comes out. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.63.172.90 (talk) 00:00, 15 October 2007 (UTC)


I cosign that^^^^ --68.161.134.90 (talk) 01:36, 31 January 2008 (UTC)Hypnotiq Truth

[edit] Discography section

The preview in this section is only for studio albums. Is there any reason The Lost Tapes keeps being added? It's a compilation and not a main studio album. Spellcast 08:10, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

It should be added only because it was an important and significant release.--Sosa 16:59, 18 October 2007 (UTC)It's a Discography section...doesnt say only studio album discography section.--Sosa 16:59, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

But that's the way it looks in most of the discography and i can show you a place where it says that preview should be only for studio albums. But i have to find it first. West Coast Ryda 19:15, 18 October 2007 (UTC)

I don't think it's consistent to just put one compilation album and not the rest. It seems a bit bias to favour putting in The Lost Tapes and not the rest. Spellcast 08:38, 20 October 2007 (UTC)

Then let's keep this section and the discography page for released studio albums only...--Sosa 16:50, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

Where to link the future releases in that case? They only belong to the label and artist's pages. Don't u think? West Coast - Ryda 19:59, 21 October 2007 (UTC)

It should be lined in the part of the article that talks about future album not in the discography section because it is not released....--Sosa 00:51, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

If his studio album Nigger (album) is allowed its own article, surely it's allowed in the preview? Spellcast 03:50, 22 October 2007 (UTC)
Yeh most definatly. West Coast - Ryda 19:55, 22 October 2007 (UTC)

No because the discography is not a preview...it is to show official released material therefore putting "Nigger" violates the definition of Discography...--Sosa 20:57, 23 October 2007 (UTC)

Wikipedia doesn't only allow released material. Doesn't it seem inconsistent to be allowed a future album article yet not allow it in the discography? Spellcast 23:36, 23 October 2007 (UTC)
Of course not...look up the definition for discography..."nigger" cannot be considered part of a discography without having been released, right now its tentative....i suggest putting it in a different sectioned titled "future release(s)...--Sosa 02:27, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
A discography is simply a collection of recordings. It doesn't exclude unreleased material. Take a look at a featured list like Gwen Stefani discography. It includes upcoming singles that haven't been released yet. Just because Nigger hasn't been released yet, it doesn't mean it's not a studio album. Spellcast 02:36, 24 October 2007

signed Young Swagga too ILL WILL RECORDS (UTC)

It's not a studio album...atleast not yet....it should be seperated from the actual preview of his discography into the section of future releases. It cant be placed in the same category of collection of recordings without having any recordings released.--Sosa 02:52, 24 October 2007 (UTC)
I don't see why this is such a big deal. It doesn't matter if Nigger was released yesterday, today, or tomorrow, it's still a studio album. Nas said it himself. It's not like anyone is going to be deeply misled when they see it in the preview. The only reason it should be removed is if the album was deleted. Spellcast 07:40, 25 October 2007 (UTC)


[edit] Not related Info?

Okay, what does Nas's track "War Is Necessary" being on GTA IV have to do with his current 2008 project "Ni99er." There is no source that the track was leaked from the project so it is being removed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.96.86.112 (talk) 04:36, 12 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Nas New Album

As heard as a report on BET's 106 & Park nas's new album was going to be called N.I.G.G.E.R. but later change it because record stores around the country saying that they wouldn't sell the album in their stores, So Nas later changed the album be self-Titled Nas. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.144.33.13 (talk) 04:08, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Black President

The track "Black President" is not coming out on Nas's 9th album, it's a track on a mixtape with him and DJ Green Lantern. Can someone confirm and remove this info. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.66.165.3 (talk) 21:25, 9 June 2008 (UTC)