22 Quotes & Sayings By Nas

Nasir Jones was born in the Queensbridge housing projects in New York. At the age of 3 his father died, which sent Nas into a deep depression. He went through a period of drug abuse and was expelled from high school at 15. He later dropped out of college and was homeless for two years Read more

By the age of 19 he was signed to Columbia Records, thanks to his cousin Q-Tip. He released his first album Illmatic in 1994, which became an instant classic. After that, he started getting into trouble with the law for reckless driving and assault in 1996, leading to the cancellation of his album It Was Written.

To make matters worse, Nas was also in debt in 1998 after paying the producers on It Was Written not to release it until he paid off their debt (he ended up using most of the money for his debt). To make matters worse again, The Lost Tapes came out in 2000 and received lukewarm reviews from critics and fans alike. Nas lost his label Columbia Records after being sued by them over unpaid royalties for Illmatic.

In 2001 he filed a lawsuit against Jay-Z and Damon Dash for $20 million over unpaid royalties from Illmatic, but lost the case. In 2002 he released God's Son a critically-panned hip-hop album that still managed to sell a respectable 250,000 copies despite being released on Def Jam Recordings that is owned by EMI Music Publishing Group. In 2003 he started working with producer Lenny Santiago on a new album called Street's Disciple, which never saw the light of day due to Santiago's conviction for drug trafficking.

In December 2005 Nas signed a deal with Def Jam Recordings' new parent company Universal Records and began recording new material at a studio in California while still performing live on stage at public appearances. The first song from this upcoming album was leaked onto the internet in 2006. That same year Nas bought a home in a gated community called Paradise Park in Beverly Hills, which raised some eyebrows among locals because it is located right next to an elementary school on Beverly Glen Boulevard that has been known as "Nas' neighborhood" due to him owning several homes around it (one of them is featured on MTV Cribs).

In 2007 Nas announced that he would be retiring from music after releasing his next album Untitled LP - Part 1: DiCapio Part 2: Farenheit 9/11 - Part 2: Heroin - Part 3: Terrence Malick . He also released

1
I wish the music business was a much easier thing, but you know what? Nothing easy is worth anything. So it is what it is. There comes a time when things can work out and everybody can be happy. And that's what it's all about in the end - everybody being happy and working it out. Nas
2
Man, me and Biggie were the biggest artists in New York. When he passed, I was so messed up. My attitude was messed up about him dying. There was an East-West thing back then, and I was in war mode. Nas
3
When you're a teenager, you want to meet a lot of girls - you want to get the most girls. You don't know anything about respect; you don't know anything about being faithful and loyal to your girlfriend. Nas
4
I definitely have plans to do more collaboration albums in the future. I'm a big fan of Common. I'm a big fan of Scarface; I'm a big fan of so many people, from Jeezy to... well, there are a lot of people's music that I respect. I don't know who I will collaborate with, but there's a great chance of something happening. Nas
5
The things that I have said when I was young and curious about whatever the subject matter was, I respect those - those are growing pains. Even if you make mistakes, I go back to those things, my not-so-great moments because those are my truest moments; those are my human moments. I'm not even mad at the things I said that were a little dicey. Nas
6
There was a side of me that knew I was gonna change the game, but I didn't know how many people would respect it. Nas
7
I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still blessed with the opportunity to make music and pass out a message like, 'Life is good, ' to the world. Nas
8
Hip-hop is the streets. Hip-hop is a couple of elements that it comes from back in the days... that feel of music with urgency that speaks to you. It speaks to your livelihood and it's not compromised. It's blunt. It's raw, straight off the street - from the beat to the voice to the words. Nas
9
With age comes common sense and wisdom. Nas
10
I just enjoy life now. I just enjoy every morning I get to wake up. Nas
11
I think if I heard someone else talking about their life, describing all the problems I've had, they'd look like they were through. Done. But there's something about me - I'm smiling. Those things are really not bad enough to put me in a slump. I'm smiling with the opportunity to wake up every morning. Nas
12
You can't please everybody. You'd be crazy if you're trying to. So take some time out to do some things for yourself. Nas
13
I don't want any title. I just say what I say, and hopefully somebody gets it, man. I'm not perfect, and I'm just here and trying to make a dollar, and being real at the same time, you know? Nas
14
When you have a daughter, you want to protect her from the things that I've seen out there, you know, the things that's out there that ain't good for her. It's a crazy world we live in. Nas
15
I think the fact that I made enough noise in the world that I might be remembered is an amazing achievement. You can't ask for more than that. Nas
16
Every generation witnesses atrocities. People in power try to fulfill prophecy. Nas
17
Working with great people makes you great you learn a lot and it also gives you the experience and confidence to move on with your own career. Nas
18
I don't get jealousy, I don't get how people hate each other - I never did. Nas
19
I think hip-hop could help rebuild America, once hip-hoppers own hip-hop... We are our own politicians, our own government, we have something to say. We're warriors. Soldiers. Nas
20
Anybody I'm dating, I don't want them to talk about my music. I don't talk about my music to them. Nas
21
I want to have fun. It's a beautiful life. You learn, you win, you lose, but you get up. Nas