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
Podcasts:
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by Nas
Dispear
by: NasAfrican Choir Intro
JR. GONG CHORUS 1
“Lord!
This Spear, huh!
Shaka Zulu, Bobo Shanti, Nyabinghi
Man a Mau Mau Warrior
Despair, eh
Fear and desperation no depression can't tarry ya
This Spear, hey
Ayatollah, Idi Amin, Mennelek,
Man a Masai Warrior
Despair, eh
Fear and desperation no depression can't tarry ya
This Spear
Like BURNING SPEAR
AND SUCH AND SUCH BEFORE ME
Who all fought for the cause and
This Spear, eh
Enforcing all the laws
NAS VERSE 1
The Master of the Masses
One has power
The other one lacks it
Guns are power
Controlled by assets
Owned by financial forecasters
Who are the Masters?
They are the Gangsters
They are the bankers
The ones who tax us
The Masses
They are us
The sheep, the people
Divided in classes
I go off like a Shite bomb
And All ya'll see I'm on my
War paint on my face, shit
My nine mm on my waist, shit
I'm a problem
Shoot up your place shit
Let a few go
Then I get low
Blazing Haze again
The Masters, The Wall Street War Chiefs
The Elitists Groups
The Masses
They pray to Jesus
Saying he will see us through
The Masters are the aristocratic
The Masses
Ask if the Most High
Is On his way here
I'm trying to stay clear
My mind is my modern day Spear
JR. GONG CHORUS 2
I say…
This Spear, huh!
Shaka Zulu, Bobo Shanti, Man a Gideon
Man a Mau Mau Warrior
Despair, eh
Fear and desperation no depression can't tarry ya
This Spear, hey
Through the hands of time and cruel men
It has slew more than a billion
Despair, eh
It keep on suppressing the humble man's opinion
NAS VERSE 2
This lead into Swiss cheese
When the 5th squeeze
Mislead
The media Misleads
Scares you to the point
Where you miss sleep
With that said
This lead with this Ruger
And that shooter
Sub-machine gun
Ratta tat through you
Copper tops, hollow points
Will do ya something bad
Our future
Is Mislead
Three strikes
There's no school
When a teacher strikes
This economy
This monopoly
Get no job
Just own your property
Now it's back to
What comes natural
Must survive any how you have to
Despair, Desperation
But I have no fear
When I hold This Spear
INTERMISSION
JR. GONG BRIDGE
Mek some bwoy know mi nah smile
Cause this spear nah beg friends
Man a run racket
Man a run scheme
Man a run race
Man a run down Benz
Can't trust a she nor we nor eye
Inna contact lense
Man a run from police
And a run down wealth
And dollars and nah mek sense
JR. GONG VERSE 3
Rise up to my defense
Hollow pointed is my preference
Should have been deterred
Don't know what you heard
Get referred
By the wrong reference
When this spear start dispense
It a fly and a tear through fence
Dismember your members
And all of your limbs
Body bust inna nuff segments
Well,
Man a run drugs
Man a run risk
Man all a run out a time and ends
Man a run up and down
And a run fi dem life
And a run down this month rent
Nutin' nah gwan a yard
And food deh a road
Then man hafi go touch pavement
Despair was a tool
That was used to enslave man
And mek manservant
Escape from Despair and Desperation
Becomes more urgent
Mankind needs to cleanse and wash out dem soul
With spiritual detergent
A distant army
A distant relative
Controlling the circumference
And any man move with no permission
They're feeling the circumstance of
JR GONG CHORUS 4
This Spear, hey
Shaka Zulu, Bobo Shanti, Man a, eh
Man a Mau Mau Warrior
Despair, eh!
Fear of your recession and depression can't tarry ya
This Spear, hey
Inner city youth dem rise it up disguised as AK-47
This Spear, eh!
And anytime them clap it up the whole city level
This Spear
Like Burning Spear
And such and such before I
Who all fought for the cause and
This Spear, eh!
They can't ignore me