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Free Nas backgrounds
- b. Nasir Jones, 14 September 1973,
Long Island, New York, USA. From the tough Queensbridge
housing projects which brought the world Marley Marl,
MC Shan and Intelligent Hoodlum, Nas made
his name as a highly skilled rapper with the double whammy of
1994's
Illmatic and 1996's
It Was Written, albums whose
music was crafted with a degree of subtlety and forethought
often absent from the genre. Jones was heavily influenced by
his jazz-playing father, and started rapping at the age of
nine, graduating to a crew entitled the Devastatin' Seven in
the mid-80s. He met Main Source producer Large Professor in
1989, in the course of recording his first demo tape. The
producer introduced him to the crew, leading to his debut on
Main Source's 1991 collection Breaking Atoms, guesting
on the cut "Live At The Barbeque", where he was part of a
skilled chorus line, alongside Large Professor and Akinyele. |
