Nas

The death of Notorious B.I.G. in 1997 paved the way for a generation-defining scrap between Jay-Z and Nas to be crowned the king of New York rap, each pushing the other to some of hip-hop's most seminal landmarks. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas rose from the Queens, New York housing projects to sign with Columbia Records and release the classic debut Illmatic (1994). More thoughtful and socially aware than most of his brash, posturing contemporaries, Nas crossed over into the mainstream with the hits Street Dreams and If I Ruled The World (Imagine That) and topped the US album charts with Foxy Brown and AZ as part of the supergroup The Firm. Through a career which has notched up the US Number 1 albums It Was Written (1996), I Am... (1999), Hip Hop Is Dead (2006) and Untitled (2009), Nas has matured into a worldly voice, touching on race, religion, politics and his African heritage. Nas was married to R&B star Kelis for three years until they divorced in 2009.