(Born Sept. 14, 1973) An American rapper, Nas' debut album, "Illmatic", went platinum in 1994, marking the arrival of what would be one of hip-hop's distinctive voices. His other successful albums include "It Was Written", "Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album", "I Am", "Nastradamus", "Nas and Ill Will Records Present: QB's Finest", "Stillmatic", "The Lost Tapes", "God's Son", "Street's Disciple" and "Nasir bin Olu Dara".