Nas is the mononym of Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones. He was born on September 14, 1973 in Queensbridge, New York. He is the son of jazz musician Olu Dara and postal worker Fannie Ann Jones. In 1994, Nas released his debut album Illmatic through Columbia Records. Upon its release the album debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number 12, while selling 59,000 copies in its first week of release. In spite of initial low sales, Illmatic received positive reviews from several music critics and publications. As the album’s reputation grew, copies continued to sell, and on January 17, 1996, the album was certified gold in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and in 2001, the album was certified platinum. Nas’ sophomore album was entitled "It Was Written" and was released in 1996. It’s Nas’ best selling album and nn September 9, 1996, the album was certified multi-platinum. Since then he has released seven albums. He has also acted in several movies such as 1998’s Belly and 2001’s Ticker. He has also worked on several collaboration albums such as From Illmatic to Stillmatic: The Remixes, The Lost Tapes and Greatest Hits.
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