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140-507: Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas , NaS , or NAS may also refer to: Nas Nas signed with Columbia Records in 1992, and released his debut studio album, Illmatic (1994), two years later. An inductee of the Library of Congress 's National Recording Registry , it has been regarded as one of the greatest hip hop albums of all time. His second album, It Was Written (1996), debuted atop

280-564: A Scarface / Casino -esque lifestyle. On the other hand, references to Scarface protagonist Tony Montana notwithstanding, Illmatic was more about his early life growing up in the projects. It Was Written was released in mid-1996. Two singles, " If I Ruled the World (Imagine That) " (featuring Lauryn Hill of The Fugees ) and "Street Dreams" (including a remix with R. Kelly ), were instant hits. These songs were promoted by big-budget music videos directed by Hype Williams , making Nas

420-707: A God on the Mic – he says: "before Nas, every MC focused on rhyming with a cadence that ultimately put the words that rhymed on beat with the snare drum . Nas created a style of rapping that was more conversational than ever before". OC of D.I.T.C. comments in the book How to Rap : "Nas did the song backwards ['Rewind']... that was a brilliant idea". Also in How to Rap , 2Mex of The Visionaries describes Nas's flow as "effervescent", Rah Digga says Nas's lyrics have "intricacy", Bootie Brown of The Pharcyde explains that Nas does not always have to make words rhyme as he

560-446: A Jay-Z effigy took place behind him, Cam'ron was announced as a last minute replacement and headlined the show instead. Nas appeared on Power 105.1 days later and addressed a number of fellow artists, including Nelly , Noreaga and Cam'ron himself. Nas praised Cam'ron as a good lyricist, but branded his album Come Home With Me as "wack". After Cam'ron heard of Nas's words, he appeared on Funkmaster Flex 's Hot 97 and performed

700-544: A common name among mainstream hip-hop . Reviewing It Was Written , Leo Stanley of Allmusic believed the album's rhymes were not as complex as those of Illmatic , but still thought Nas had "deepened his talents, creating a complex series of rhymes that not only flow, but manage to tell coherent stories as well." It Was Written featured the debut of the Firm , a supergroup consisting of Nas, AZ , Foxy Brown , and Cormega . Signed to Dr. Dre 's Aftermath Entertainment label,

840-588: A compilation of previously unreleased or bootlegged songs from 1998 to 2001, was released by Columbia in September 2002. The collection attained respectable sales and received rave reviews from critics. In December 2002, Nas released the God's Son album including its lead single, "Made You Look" which used a pitched down sample of the Incredible Bongo Band 's " Apache ". The album peaked at No. 12 on

980-500: A decline in the quality of his output. From 2001 to 2005, Nas was involved in a highly publicized feud with fellow New York rapper Jay-Z , popularized by the former's diss track " Ether ". The feud, along with Nas's subsequent releases Stillmatic (2001), God's Son (2002), and the double album Street's Disciple (2004) helped him restore his critical standing. Nas then reconciled with Jay-Z prior to signing with his then-spearheaded label, Def Jam Recordings in 2006; he adopted

1120-544: A freestyle diss over the beat to Nas's " Hate Me Now ", making reference to Nas's mother, baby mother and daughter. Nas did not respond directly but appeared on the radio days later, calling Cam'ron a "dummy" for supposedly being used by Hot 97 to generate ratings. Nas eventually responded on his 2002 album God's Son on the song "Zone Out", claiming Cam'ron had HIV . Cam'ron and the rest of The Diplomats , specifically Jim Jones continued to attack Nas throughout 2003, on numerous mixtapes , albums and radio freestyles, however,

1260-520: A more provocative, politicized direction with the albums Hip Hop Is Dead (2006) and his untitled ninth studio album (2008). In 2010, Nas released Distant Relatives , a collaborative album with Damian Marley that donated its royalties to active African charities. His tenth studio album, Life Is Good (2012), was nominated for Best Rap Album at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards . After thirteen nominations, his thirteenth studio album, King's Disease (2020) won his first Grammy for Best Rap Album at

1400-417: A new state constitution in 1890 specifically to "eliminate the nigger from politics", according to the state's Democratic governor, James K. Vardaman . It erected barriers to voter registration and instituted electoral provisions that effectively disenfranchised most black Mississippians and many poor whites. Estimates are that 100,000 black and 50,000 white men were removed from voter registration rolls in

1540-453: A performance of "One Mic", were released on Music from The American Epic Sessions: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack on June 9, 2017. In April 2018, Kanye West announced on Twitter that Nas's twelfth studio album will be released on June 15, also serving as executive producer for the album. The album was announced the day before release, titled Nasir . Following the release of Nasir , Nas confirmed he would return to completing

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1680-434: A poll asking listeners which rapper made the better diss song ; Nas won with 58% while Jay-Z got 42% of the votes. In 2002, in the midst of the dispute between the two New York rappers, Eminem cited both Nas and Jay-Z as being two of the best MCs in the industry, in his song " 'Till I Collapse ". Both the dispute and Stillmatic signaled an artistic comeback for Nas after a string of inconsistent albums. The Lost Tapes ,

1820-570: A population of 591,978 in 2020 . Other major cities include Gulfport , Southaven , Hattiesburg , Biloxi , Olive Branch , Tupelo , Meridian , and Greenville . The state's history traces back to around 9500 BC with the arrival of Paleo-Indians , evolving through periods marked by the development of agricultural societies, rise of the Mound Builders , and flourishing of the Mississippian culture . European exploration began with

1960-405: A previous album, including production from Swizz Beatz and RZA . This project was released as The Lost Tapes 2 on July 19, 2019, which included production from Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Swizz Beatz, The Alchemist, and RZA. This album was a sequel to Nas's 2002 release, The Lost Tapes . In August 2020, Nas announced that he would be releasing his 13th album. On August 13, he revealed

2100-449: A reputation in the 1960s as a reactionary state. After decades of disenfranchisement, African Americans in the state gradually began to exercise their right to vote again for the first time since the 19th century, following the passage of federal civil rights legislation in 1964 and 1965, which ended de jure segregation and enforced constitutional voting rights. Registration of African-American voters increased and black candidates ran in

2240-654: A rich cultural heritage, especially in music, being the birthplace of the blues and contributing significantly to the development of the music of the United States as a whole. The state's name is derived from the Mississippi River , which flows along and defines its western boundary. European-American settlers named it after the Ojibwe word ᒥᓯ-ᓰᐱ misi-ziibi (English: great river ). Near 9500 BC Native Americans or Paleo-Indians arrived in what today

2380-536: A rumored song "Sinatra in the Sands" featuring Jay-Z , Justin Timberlake , and Timbaland would be featured on the album. On April 16, 2014, on the twentieth anniversary of Illmatic , the documentary Nas: Time Is Illmatic was premiered which recounted circumstances leading up to Nas's debut album. It was reported on September 10, that Nas has finished his last album with Def Jam. On October 30, Nas released

2520-498: A song called "Wrote My Way Out", which appears on The Hamilton Mixtape . On April 12, 2017, Nas released the song Angel Dust as soundtrack for TV series The Getdown . It contains a sample of the Gil Scott-Heron and Brian Jackson song Angel Dust . In June 2017, Nas appeared in the award-winning 2017 documentary The American Epic Sessions directed by Bernard MacMahon , where he recorded live direct-to-disc on

2660-642: A song which might have been the first single on his new album, titled "The Season", produced by J Dilla . Nas has also collaborated with the Australian hip-hop group, Bliss n Eso , in 2014. They released the track "I Am Somebody" in May 2014. Nas was featured on the song "We Are" from Justin Bieber 's fourth studio album, Purpose , released in November 2015. Nas was announced as one of the executive producers of

2800-424: A teenager, Nas enlisted his best friend and upstairs neighbor Willie "Ill Will" Graham as his DJ. Nas initially went by the nickname "Kid Wave" before adopting his more commonly known alias of "Nasty Nas". In 1989, then-16-year-old Nas met up with producer Large Professor and went to the studio where Rakim and Kool G Rap were recording their albums. When they were not in the recording studio, Nas would go into

2940-840: A trading network spanning the continent from the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast. Their large earthworks, which expressed their cosmology of political and religious concepts, still stand throughout the Mississippi and Ohio River valleys. Descendant Native American tribes of the Mississippian culture in the Southeast include the Chickasaw and Choctaw . Other tribes who inhabited the territory of Mississippi (and whose names were honored by colonists in local towns) include

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3080-574: Is "able to evoke the bleak reality of ghetto life without losing hope or forgetting the good times". About.com ranked Illmatic as the greatest hip hop album of all time, and Prefix magazine praised it as "the best hip hop record ever made". In 1995, Nas did guest performances on the albums Doe or Die by AZ , The Infamous by Mobb Deep , Only Built 4 Cuban Linx by Raekwon and 4,5,6 by Kool G Rap . Nas also parted ways with manager MC Serch , enlisted Steve Stoute , and began preparation for his second album, It Was Written . The album

3220-401: Is "charismatic", and Nas is also described as having a "densely packed" flow, with compound rhymes that "run over from one beat into the next or even into another bar". About.com ranked him 1st on their list of the "50 Greatest MCs of All Time" in 2014, and a year later, Nas was featured on the "10 Best Rappers of All Time" list by Billboard. The Source ranked him No. 2 on their list of

3360-422: Is Good would be nominated for Best Rap Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards . In January 2013, Nas announced he had begun working on his twelfth studio album, which would be his final album for Def Jam . The album was supposed to be released during 2015. In October 2013, DJ Premier said that his collaboration album with Nas, would be released following his twelfth studio album. In October 2013, Nas confirmed that

3500-475: Is Yours , with the sample featured heavily in what went on to be Dead Presidents II . The two traded subliminal responses for the next couple of years, until the beef was escalated further in 2001 after Jay-Z publicly addressed Nas at the Summer Jam , performing what would go on to be known as " Takeover ", ending the performance by saying "ask Nas, he don't want it with Hov". After Jay-Z eventually released

3640-637: Is a member of hip hop group Bravehearts . His father adopted the name "Olu Dara" from the Yoruba people . " Nasir " is an Arabic name meaning "helper and protector", while "bin" means "son of" in Arabic. He is a cousin of actors Yara Shahidi and Sayeed Shahidi . As a young child, Nas and his family relocated to the Queensbridge housing project of the Long Island City community area in

3780-610: Is almost entirely within the east Gulf Coastal Plain , and generally consists of lowland plains and low hills. The northwest remainder of the state consists of the Mississippi Delta . Mississippi's highest point is Woodall Mountain at 807 feet (246 m) above sea level adjacent to the Cumberland Plateau ; the lowest is the Gulf of Mexico. Mississippi has a humid subtropical climate classification. Mississippi

3920-442: Is known for its deep religious roots, which play a central role in its residents' lives. The state ranks among the highest of U.S. states in religiosity . Mississippi is also known for being the state with the highest proportion of African-American residents. The state's governance structure is based on the traditional separation of powers, with political trends showing a strong alignment with conservative values. Mississippi boasts

4060-522: Is listed as an executive producer on Stillmatic so she could receive royalty checks from the album. Stillmatic peaked at No. 5 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and featured the singles " Got Ur Self A... " and " One Mic ". In response to "Ether", Jay-Z released the song "Supa Ugly", which Hot 97 radio host Angie Martinez premiered on December 11, 2001. In the song, Jay-Z explicitly boasts about having an affair with Nas's girlfriend, Carmen Bryan. New York City hip-hop radio station Hot 97 issued

4200-600: Is perhaps contemporary rap's greatest innovator in storytelling. His catalog includes songs narrated before birth ('Fetus') and after death ('Amongst Kings'), biographies ('UBR [Unauthorized Biography of Rakim]') and autobiographies ('Doo Rags'), allegorical tales ('Money Is My Bitch') and epistolary ones ('One Love'), he's rapped in the voice of a woman ('Sekou Story') and even of a gun ('I Gave You Power')." Robert Christgau writes that "Nas has been transfiguring [ gangsta rap ] since Illmatic ". Kool Moe Dee notes that Nas has an "off-beat conversational flow" in his book There's

4340-689: Is referred to as the American South . Paleo-Indians in the South were hunter-gatherers who pursued the megafauna that became extinct following the end of the Pleistocene age. In the Mississippi Delta , Native American settlements and agricultural fields were developed on the natural levees, higher ground in the proximity of rivers. The Native Americans developed extensive fields near their permanent villages. Together with other practices, they created some localized deforestation but did not alter

Nas (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue

4480-458: The Billboard 200 and sold over a quarter-million units in its first week; the album, along with its lead single " If I Ruled the World (Imagine That) " (featuring Lauryn Hill ), propelled Nas into mainstream success. Both released in 1999, Nas's third and fourth albums I Am and Nastradamus were criticized as inconsistent and too commercially oriented, with critics and audiences fearing

4620-431: The Billboard 200 charts, selling 355,000 copies—Nas's third number one album, along with It Was Written and I Am... . It also inspired reactions about the state of hip-hop, particularly controversy with Southern hip hop artists who felt the album's title was a criticism aimed at them. Nas's 2004 song, "Thief's Theme", was featured in the 2006 film, The Departed . Nas's former label, Columbia Records , released

4760-592: The Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Top R&;B/Hip-Hop Albums charts despite widespread Internet bootlegging. Time Magazine named his album best hip-hop album of the year. Vibe gave it four stars and The Source gave it four mics. The second single, " I Can ", which reworked elements from Beethoven 's " Für Elise ", became Nas's biggest hit to date in 2003, garnering substantial radio airplay on urban, rhythmic , and top 40 radio stations, as well as on

4900-457: The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards . His five subsequent albums— King's Disease II , Magic (2021), King's Disease III (2022), Magic 2 , and Magic 3 (2023)—were each produced entirely by Hit-Boy and met with critical praise. Nas has been second ranked by The Source on their "Top 50 Lyricists of All Time" list in 2012, fourth on MTV's Annual Hottest MCs in the Game list in 2013, and

5040-771: The African Methodist Episcopal Church (established in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the early 19th century) and the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church (established in New York City), sent missionaries to the South in the postwar years. They quickly attracted hundreds of thousands of converts and founded new churches across the South. Southern congregations brought their own influences to those denominations as well. During Reconstruction ,

5180-515: The Bravehearts , Tragedy Khadafi , Millennium Thug and Cormega , who had briefly reconciled with Nas. The album also featured guest appearances from Queensbridge hip-hop legends Roxanne Shanté , MC Shan , and Marley Marl . Shan and Marley Marl both appeared on the lead single "Da Bridge 2001", which was based on Shan & Marl's 1986 recording "The Bridge". After trading veiled criticisms on various songs, freestyles and mixtape appearances,

5320-654: The Confederate Army . Around 17,000 black and 545 white Mississippians would serve in the Union Army . Pockets of Unionism in Mississippi were in places such as the northeastern corner of the state and Jones County , where Newton Knight formed a revolt with Unionist leanings, known as the "Free State of Jones". Union General Ulysses S. Grant 's long siege of Vicksburg finally gained the Union control of

5460-567: The Confederate battle flag . Mississippi became the last state to remove the Confederate battle flag as an official state symbol on June 30, 2020, when Governor Tate Reeves signed a law officially retiring the second state flag . The current flag, The "New Magnolia" flag, was selected via referendum as part of the general election on November 3, 2020. It officially became the state flag on January 11, 2021, after being signed into law by

5600-743: The French and Indian War ( Seven Years' War ), the French surrendered the Mississippi area to them under the terms of the Treaty of Paris (1763) . They also ceded their areas to the north that were east of the Mississippi River, including the Illinois Country and Quebec. After the Peace of Paris (1783) , the lower third of Mississippi came under Spanish rule as part of West Florida . In 1819

5740-586: The Mississippi Delta . Many musicians carried their music north to Chicago, where they made it the heart of that city's jazz and blues. So many African Americans left in the Great Migration that after the 1930s, they became a minority in Mississippi. In 1960 they made up 42% of the state's population. The whites maintained their discriminatory voter registration processes established in 1890, preventing most blacks from voting, even if they were well educated. Court challenges were not successful until later in

Nas (disambiguation) - Misplaced Pages Continue

5880-686: The Natchez , the Yazoo , and the Biloxi . The first major European expedition into the territory that became Mississippi was that of the Spanish explorer, Hernando de Soto , who passed through the northeast part of the state in 1540, in his second expedition to the New World. In April 1699, French colonists established the first European settlement at Fort Maurepas (also known as Old Biloxi), built in

6020-564: The Top 50 Lyricists of All Time . In 2013, Nas was ranked fourth on MTV's "Hottest MCs in the Game" list. His debut, Illmatic , is widely considered among the greatest hip hop albums of all time. After 2Pac interpreted lines directed to the Notorious B.I.G. on Nas's 1996 album It Was Written to be aimed towards him, he attacked Nas on the track "Against All Odds" from The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory . Nas himself later admitted he

6160-409: The infringed material from I Am... under the title Nastradamus during the later half of 1999, but, at the last minute, Nas decided to record an entire new album for the 1999 release of Nastradamus . Nastradamus was therefore rushed to meet a November release date. Though critical reviews were unfavorable, it did result in a minor hit, " You Owe Me ". Fans and critics feared that Nas's career

6300-466: The 1967 elections for state and local offices. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party fielded some candidates. Teacher Robert G. Clark of Holmes County was the first African American to be elected to the State House since Reconstruction. He continued as the only African American in the state legislature until 1976 and was repeatedly elected into the 21st century, including three terms as Speaker of

6440-441: The 2024 concept album by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis , Warriors . Nas has been praised for his ability to create a "devastating match between lyrics and production" by journalist Peter Shapiro , as well as creating a "potent evocation of life on the street", and he has even been compared to Rakim for his lyrical technique. In his book Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop (2009), writer Adam Bradley states, "Nas

6580-668: The 20th century and is a Federally recognized tribe. Many slaveholders brought enslaved African Americans with them or purchased them through the domestic slave trade, especially in New Orleans . Through the trade, an estimated nearly one million slaves were forcibly transported to the Deep South , including Mississippi, in an internal migration that broke up many slave families of the Upper South, where planters were selling excess slaves. The Southerners imposed slave laws in

6720-461: The CD, combined with the fact that it was delivered into the crucible of the boiling East-West conflict, quickly solidified [his] reputation as the premier writer of his time. Illmatic was awarded best album of 1994 by The Source . Steve Huey of AllMusic described Nas's lyrics on Illmatic as "highly literate" and his raps "superbly fluid regardless of the size of his vocabulary", adding that Nas

6860-790: The Choctaw, together with other southeastern tribes removed as a result of the Act, became known as the Trail of Tears . When cotton was king during the 1850s, Mississippi plantation owners—especially those of the Delta and Black Belt central regions—became wealthy due to the high fertility of the soil, the high price of cotton on the international market, and free labor gained through their holding enslaved African Americans. They used some of their profits to buy more cotton land and more slaves. The planters' dependence on hundreds of thousands of slaves for labor and

7000-502: The Deep South and restricted the rights of free blacks. Beginning in 1822, slaves in Mississippi were protected by law from cruel and unusual punishment by their owners. The Southern slave codes made the willful killing of a slave illegal in most cases. For example, the 1860 Mississippi case of Oliver v. State charged the defendant with murdering his own slave. Mississippi became the 20th state on December 10, 1817. David Holmes

7140-415: The Firm began working on their debut album. Halfway through the production of the album, Cormega was fired from the group by Steve Stoute , who had unsuccessfully attempted to force Cormega to sign a deal with his management company. Cormega subsequently became one of Nas's most vocal opponents and released a number of underground hip hop singles dissing Nas, Stoute, and Nature , who replaced Cormega as

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7280-692: The House. In 1966, the state was the last to repeal officially statewide prohibition of alcohol . Before that, Mississippi had taxed the illegal alcohol brought in by bootleggers . Governor Paul Johnson urged repeal and the sheriff "raided the annual Junior League Mardi Gras ball at the Jackson Country Club, breaking open the liquor cabinet and carting off the Champagne before a startled crowd of nobility and high-ranking state officials". The end of legal segregation and Jim Crow led to

7420-463: The Internet, and Nas and Stoute quickly recorded enough substitute material to constitute a single-disc release. The second single on I Am... was " Hate Me Now ", featuring Sean "Puffy" Combs , which was used as an example by Nas's critics accusing him of moving towards more commercial themes. The video featured Nas and Combs being crucified in a manner similar to Jesus Christ; after the video

7560-734: The MTV and VH1 music video networks. God's Son also includes several songs dedicated to Nas's mother, who died of cancer in April 2002, including "Dance". In 2003, Nas was featured on the Korn song "Play Me", from Korn's Take a Look in the Mirror LP. Also in 2003, a live performance in New York City, featuring Ludacris , Jadakiss , and Darryl McDaniels (of Run-D.M.C. fame), was released on DVD as Made You Look: God's Son Live . God's Son

7700-611: The Mississippi coast, killing 248 people and causing US$ 1.5 billion in damage (1969 dollars). Mississippi ratified the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution , in March 1984, which had already entered into force by August 1920; granting women the right to vote. In 1987, 20 years after the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in 1967's Loving v. Virginia that a similar Virginian law

7840-684: The Netflix original series, The Get Down , prior to its release in August 2016. He narrated the series and rapped as adult Ezekiel of 1996. On October 16, 2016, he received the Jimmy Iovine Icon Award at 2016 REVOLT Music Conference for having a lasting impact and unique influence on music, numerous years in the rap business, his partnership with Hennessy, and Mass Appeal imprint by Puff Daddy . In November 2016, Nas collaborated with Lin-Manuel Miranda , Dave East and Aloe Blacc on

7980-453: The North. The convention adopted universal suffrage; did away with property qualifications for suffrage or for office, a change that also benefited both blacks and poor whites; provided for the state's first public school system; forbade race distinctions in the possession and inheritance of property; and prohibited limiting civil rights in travel. Under the terms of Reconstruction, Mississippi

8120-566: The Pacific Ocean. The Mississippi Territory was later twice expanded to include disputed territory claimed by both the United States and Spain. From 1800 to about 1830, the United States purchased some lands ( Treaty of Doak's Stand ) from Native American tribes for new settlements of European Americans. The latter were mostly migrants from other Southern states, particularly Virginia and North Carolina, where soils were exhausted. New settlers kept encroaching on Choctaw land, and they pressed

8260-427: The Spanish in the 16th century, followed by French colonization in the 17th century. Mississippi's strategic location along the Mississippi River made it a site of significant economic and strategic importance, especially during the era of cotton plantation agriculture, which led to its wealth pre-Civil War, but entrenched slavery and racial segregation. On December 10, 1817, Mississippi became the 20th state admitted to

8400-536: The U.S. Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones was born in the Brooklyn borough of New York City on September 14, 1973, to African American parents. His father, Olu Dara (born Charles Jones III), is a jazz and blues musician from Mississippi . His mother, Fannie Ann (née Little; 1941–2002) was a U.S. Postal Service worker from North Carolina . He has a brother, Jabari Fret, who raps under the name Jungle and

8540-509: The Union. By 1860, Mississippi was the nation's top cotton -producing state and slaves accounted for 55% of the state population. Mississippi declared its secession from the Union on January 9, 1861, and was one of the seven original Confederate States , which constituted the largest slaveholding states in the nation. Following the Civil War , it was restored to the Union on February 23, 1870. Mississippi's political and social landscape

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8680-674: The United States completed the purchase of West Florida and all of East Florida in the Adams–Onís Treaty , and in 1822 both were merged into the Florida Territory . After the American Revolution (1775–83), Britain ceded this area to the new United States of America. The Mississippi Territory was organized on April 7, 1798, from territory ceded by Georgia and South Carolina to the United States. Their original colonial charters theoretically extended west to

8820-410: The album could be made. Initially friends, Nas and Jay-Z had met a number of times in the 1990s with no animosity between the two. Jay-Z requested that Nas appear on his 1996 album Reasonable Doubt on the track "Bring it On"; however, Nas never showed up to the studio and was not included on the album. In response to this, Jay-Z asked producer Ski Beatz to sample a line from Nas's song The World

8960-433: The album a "magic moment" in his rap career. In 2011, Nas announced that he would release collaboration albums with Mobb Deep , Common , and a third with DJ Premier . Common said of the project in a 2011 interview, "At some point, we will do that. We'd talked about it and we had a good idea to call it Nas.Com . That was actually going to be a mixtape at one point. But we decided that we should make it an album." Life

9100-448: The album's impending release date drew nearer, going as far as to spark rumors that Def Jam was planning to drop Nas unless he changed the title. Additionally, then- Fort Greene, Brooklyn assemblyman (later United States Representative) Hakeem Jeffries requested that New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli withdraw $ 84,000,000 from the state pension fund that had been invested into Universal and its parent company, Vivendi , if

9240-598: The album's lead single released on June 23, 2008, reached No. 97 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 87 on the Hot R&;B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. In July, Nas attained a shoe deal with Fila . In an interview with MTV News in July, Nas speculated that he might release two albums: one produced by DJ Premier and another by Dr. Dre —simultaneously the same day. Nas worked on Dr. Dre's studio album Detox . Nas

9380-563: The album's release, he began helping the Bravehearts , an act including his younger brother Jungle and friend Wiz (Wizard), put together their debut album, Bravehearted . The album featured guest appearances from Nas, Nashawn (Millennium Thug), Lil Jon , and Jully Black . Nas released his seventh album Street's Disciple , a sprawling double album, on November 30, 2004. It addressed subject matter both political and personal, including his impending marriage to recording artist Kelis . The double-sided single " Thief's Theme "/"You Know My Style"

9520-444: The album's title was not changed. On the opposite side of the spectrum, many of the most famous names in the entertainment industry supported Nas for using the racial epithet as the title of his full-length LP. Nas's management worried the album would not be sold by chain stores such as Wal-Mart , thus limiting its distribution. On May 19, 2008, Nas decided to forgo an album title. Responding to Jesse Jackson 's remarks and use of

9660-399: The album's title, King's Disease . The album, executive-produced by Hit-Boy , was preceded by the lead single, " Ultra Black ", a song detailing perseverance and pride "despite the system". The album won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards , becoming Nas' first Grammy. The sequel album, King's Disease II , was released on August 6, 2021, and included

9800-479: The ballot box and more access to credit, white planters bought out such farmers, expanding their ownership of Delta bottomlands. They also took advantage of new railroads sponsored by the state. Blacks also faced violence in the form of lynching, shooting, and the burning of churches. In 1923, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People stated "the Negro feels that life is not safe in Mississippi and his life may be taken with impunity at any time upon

9940-400: The booth and record his own material. However, none of it was ever released. In 1991, Nas performed on Main Source 's " Live at the Barbeque ", also produced by Large Professor. In mid-1992, Nas was approached by MC Serch of 3rd Bass , who became his manager and secured Nas a record deal with Columbia Records during the same year. Nas made his solo debut under the name of "Nasty Nas" on

10080-630: The borough of Queens . His neighbor, Willie "Ill Will" Graham, influenced his interest in hip hop by playing him records. His parents divorced in 1985, and he dropped out of school after the eighth grade. He educated himself about African culture through the Five-Percent Nation (a splinter group of the Nation of Islam ) and the Nuwaubian Nation . In his early years, he played the trumpet and began writing his own rhymes. As

10220-511: The bottom line." He also said of the album's title: "It's important to me that this album gets to the fans. It's been a long time coming. I want my fans to know that creatively and lyrically, they can expect the same content and the same messages. The people will always know what the real title of this album is and what to call it." The album was ultimately released on July 15, 2008, untitled. It featured production from Polow da Don , stic.man of Dead Prez , Sons of Light and J. Myers, " Hero ",

10360-518: The century. After World War II, African-American veterans returned with renewed commitment to be treated as full citizens of the United States and increasingly organized to gain enforcement of their constitutional rights. The Civil Rights movement had many roots in religion, and the strong community of churches helped supply volunteers and moral purpose for their activism. Mississippi was a center of activity, based in black churches, to educate and register black voters, and to work for integration. In 1954

10500-402: The cohesion of Hit-Boy's production with Nas's storytelling and lyricism. Praising King's Disease III, British music publication NME stated that Nas, "three decades in, [is] still a force to be reckoned with", while Marcus Shorter of Consequence would write that the album was Nas's and Hit-Boy's "most focused and confident collaboration" and that Nas was "at peace with his legacy, life, and

10640-437: The collaboration in an interview "I was a big fan of his father and of course all the children, all the offspring, and Damian, I kind of looked at Damian as a rap guy. His stuff is not really singing, or if he does, it comes off more hard, like on some street shit. I always liked how reggae and hip-hop have always been intertwined and always kind of pushed each other, I always liked the connection. I'd worked with people before from

10780-421: The compilation Greatest Hits in November. On October 12, 2007, Nas announced that his next album would be called Nigger . Both progressive commentators, such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton , and the conservative-aligned news channel Fox News were outraged; Jackson called on entertainers to stop using the epithet after comedian Michael Richards used it onstage in late 2006. Controversy escalated as

10920-499: The early days the French and Spanish colonists were chiefly men. Even as more European women joined the settlements, the men had interracial unions among women of African descent (and increasingly, multiracial descent), both before and after marriages to European women. Often the European men would help their multiracial children get educated or gain apprenticeships for trades, and sometimes they settled property on them; they often freed

11060-487: The ecology of the Mississippi Delta as a whole. After thousands of years, succeeding cultures of the Woodland and Mississippian culture eras developed rich and complex agricultural societies, in which surplus supported the development of specialized trades. Both were mound builder cultures. Those of the Mississippian culture were the largest and most complex, constructed beginning about 950 AD. The peoples had

11200-497: The entire area of present-day Florida . The British assumed control of the French territory after the French and Indian War . During the colonial era , European (chiefly French and Spanish) settlers imported enslaved Africans to work on cash crop plantations . Under French and Spanish rule, there developed a class of free people of color ( gens de couleur libres ), mostly multiracial descendants of European men and enslaved or free black women, and their mixed-race children. In

11340-539: The fact that old age is inevitable". On September 12, 2023, Nas announced the 3rd installment to the Magic album series, Magic 3 , which would be released two days later, on his fiftieth birthday. The album would be the sixth and final collaboration between Nas and Hit-Boy on an album. On April 19, 2024, it was announced for the 30th anniversary of Illmatic, that Nas and DJ Premier would be releasing their collaboration album in late 2024. Nas executive produced

11480-462: The falling cotton prices of the difficult years of the late 19th century. Cotton prices fell throughout the decades following the Civil War. As another agricultural depression lowered cotton prices into the 1890s, numerous African-American farmers finally had to sell their land to pay off debts, thus losing the land which they had developed by hard, personal labor. Democrats had regained control of

11620-614: The federal government to expel the Native Americans. On September 27, 1830, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek was signed between the U.S. Government and the Choctaw . The Choctaw agreed to sell their traditional homelands in Mississippi and Alabama, for compensation and removal to reservations in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma). This opened up land for sale to European-American migrant settlement. Article 14 in

11760-592: The feud between the two slowly died down and they eventually reconciled in 2014. Mississippi This is an accepted version of this page Mississippi ( / ˌ m ɪ s ə ˈ s ɪ p i / MISS -ə- SIP -ee ) is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States . It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to

11900-461: The first Mississippi constitutional convention in 1868, with delegates both black and white, framed a constitution whose major elements would be maintained for 22 years. The convention was the first political organization in the state to include African-American representatives, 17 among the 100 members (32 counties had black majorities at the time). Some among the black delegates were freedmen , but others were educated free blacks who had migrated from

12040-653: The first half of the 20th century, African Americans became rapidly urbanized and many worked in industrial jobs. The Second Great Migration included destinations in the West , especially California , where the buildup of the defense industry offered higher-paying jobs to both African Americans and whites. Blacks and whites in Mississippi generated rich, quintessentially American music traditions: gospel music , country music , jazz , blues and rock and roll . All were invented, promulgated or heavily developed by Mississippi musicians, many of them African American, and most came from

12180-451: The fourth member of the Firm. Nas, Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature Present The Firm: The Album was finally released in 1997 to mixed reviews. The album failed to live up to its expected sales despite being certified platinum, and the members of the group disbanded to go their separate ways. During this period, Nas was one of four rappers (the others being B-Real , KRS-One and RBX ) in the hip-hop supergroup Group Therapy , who appeared on

12320-529: The highly publicised dispute between Nas and Jay-Z became widely known to the public in 2001. Jay-Z, in his song " Takeover ", criticised Nas by calling him "fake" and his career "lame". Nas responded with " Ether ", in which he compared Jay-Z to such characters as J.J. Evans from the sitcom Good Times and cigarette company mascot Joe Camel . The song was included on Nas's fifth studio album, Stillmatic , released in December 2001. His daughter, Destiny,

12460-599: The integration of some churches, but most today remain divided along racial and cultural lines, having developed different traditions. After the Civil War, most African Americans left white churches to establish their own independent congregations, particularly Baptist churches, establishing state associations and a national association by the end of the 20th century. They wanted to express their own traditions of worship and practice. In more diverse communities, such as Hattiesburg , some churches have multiracial congregations. On August 17, 1969, Category 5 Hurricane Camille hit

12600-477: The land and selling timber, and eventually advance to ownership. The new farmers included many freedmen, who by the late 19th century achieved unusually high rates of land ownership in the Mississippi bottomlands. In the 1870s and 1880s, many black farmers succeeded in gaining land ownership. Around the start of the 20th century, two-thirds of the Mississippi farmers who owned land in the Delta were African American . But many had become overextended with debt during

12740-506: The lowest in the United States in national metrics for wealth, health care quality, and educational attainment. Economically, it relies on agriculture , manufacturing, and an increasing focus on tourism, highlighted by its casinos and historical sites. Mississippi produces more than half of the country's farm-raised catfish , and is a top producer of sweet potatoes , cotton and pulpwood . Others include advanced manufacturing, utilities , transportation , and health services . Mississippi

12880-489: The mothers and their children if enslaved, as part of contracts of plaçage . With this social capital , the free people of color became artisans, and sometimes educated merchants and property owners, forming a third class between the Europeans and most enslaved Africans in the French and Spanish settlements, although not so large a free community as in the city of New Orleans , Louisiana. After Great Britain's victory in

13020-467: The number of members as their white Baptist counterparts. The African-American call for social equality resonated throughout the Great Depression in the 1930s and World War II in the 1940s. The Second Great Migration from the South started in the 1940s, lasting until 1970. Almost half a million people left Mississippi in the second migration, three-quarters of them black. Nationwide during

13160-469: The reggae world but when I worked with Damian, the whole workout was perfect". A portion of the profit was planned to go towards building a school in Africa. He went on to say that it was "too early to tell the title or anything like that". The Los Angeles Times reported that the album would be titled Distant Relatives . Nas also revealed that he would begin working on his tenth studio album following

13300-571: The release of Distant Relatives . During late 2009, Nas used his live band Mulatto with music director Dustin Moore for concerts in Europe and Australia. After announcing a possible release in 2010, a follow-up compilation to The Lost Tapes (2002) was delayed indefinitely due to issues between him and Def Jam. His eleventh studio album, Life Is Good (2012) was produced primarily by Salaam Remi and No I.D, and released on July 13, 2012. Nas called

13440-661: The restored first electrical sound recording system from the 1920s. He performed "On the Road Again", a 1928 song by the Memphis Jug Band , which The Hollywood Reporter describing his performance as "fantastic" and the Financial Times praising his "superb cover of the Memphis Jug Band's "On the Road Again", exposing the hip-hop blueprint within the 1928 stomper." "On the Road Again", and

13580-459: The right to vote, relative freedom from discrimination, and better living. In the migration of 1910–1940, they left a society that had been steadily closing off opportunity. Most migrants from Mississippi took trains directly north to Chicago and often settled near former neighbors. Cotton crops failed due to boll weevil infestation and successive severe flooding in 1912 and 1913, creating crisis conditions for many African Americans. With control of

13720-619: The river in 1863. In the postwar period, freedmen withdrew from white-run churches to set up independent congregations. The majority of blacks left the Southern Baptist Convention , sharply reducing its membership. They created independent black Baptist congregations. By 1895 they had established numerous black Baptist state associations and the National Baptist Convention of black churches. In addition, independent black denominations, such as

13860-536: The same year as the federal Civil Rights Act , but ruled unconstitutional in 1967 by federal courts. Republican Governor Haley Barbour signed the bill into law. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina , though a Category 3 storm upon final landfall, caused even greater destruction across the entire 90 miles (145 km) of the Mississippi Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Alabama. The previous flag of Mississippi , used until June 30, 2020, featured

14000-520: The second state to declare its secession from the Union , and it was one of the founding members of the Confederate States . The first six states to secede were those with the highest number of slaves. During the war, Union and Confederate forces struggled for dominance on the Mississippi River, critical to supply routes and commerce. More than 80,000 Mississippians fought in the Civil War for

14140-489: The severe wealth imbalances among whites, played strong roles both in state politics and in planters' support for secession . Mississippi was a slave society, with the economy dependent on slavery. The state was thinly settled, with population concentrated in the riverfront areas and towns. By 1860, the enslaved African-American population numbered 436,631 or 55% of the state's total of 791,305 persons. Fewer than 1000 were free people of color . The relatively low population of

14280-417: The show, Jay-Z announced to the crowd, "It's bigger than 'I Declare War'. Let's go, Esco!" and Nas then joined him onstage, and the two performed Jay-Z's " Dead Presidents " (1996) together, a song that featured a prominent sample of Nas's 1994 track, " The World Is Yours " (1994). The reconciliation between Nas and Jay-Z created the opportunity for Nas to sign a deal with Def Jam Recordings , of which Jay-Z

14420-640: The single " Halftime " from MC Serch's soundtrack for the film Zebrahead . Called the new Rakim , his rhyming skills attracted a significant amount of attention within the hip hop community. In 1994, Nas's debut album, Illmatic , was released. It featured production from Large Professor , Pete Rock , Q-Tip , LES and DJ Premier , as well as guest appearances from Nas's friend AZ and his father Olu Dara. The album spawned several singles, including "The World Is Yours", "It Ain't Hard to Tell", and "One Love". Shaheem Reid of MTV News called Illmatic "the first classic LP " of 1994. In 1994, Nas also recorded

14560-504: The slightest pretext or provocation by a white man". In the early 20th century, some industries were established in Mississippi, but jobs were generally restricted to whites, including child workers. The lack of jobs also drove some southern whites north to cities such as Chicago and Detroit, seeking employment, where they also competed with European immigrants. The state depended on agriculture, but mechanization put many farm laborers out of work. By 1900, many white ministers, especially in

14700-530: The song " East Coast/West Coast Killas " from Dr. Dre Presents the Aftermath . In late 1998, Nas began working on a double album, to be entitled I Am... The Autobiography ; he intended it as the middle ground between Illmatic and It Was Written , with each track detailing a part of his life. In 1998, Nas co-wrote and starred in Hype Williams 's feature film Belly . I Am... The Autobiography

14840-473: The song " Nobody " featuring Lauryn Hill . King's Disease II debuted at number-three on the U.S. Billboard 200 , becoming Nas's highest-charting album since 2012. On December 24, Nas released the album Magic . It is his third album executive produced by Hit-Boy, and includes guest appearances from ASAP Rocky and DJ Premier . Nas's third installment in the King's Disease series, King's Disease III ,

14980-658: The song "One on One" for the soundtrack to the film Street Fighter . In his book To the Break of Dawn: A Freestyle on the Hip Hop Aesthetic , William Jelani Cobb writes of Nas's impact at the time: Nas, the poetic sage of the Queensbridge projects, was hailed as the second coming of Rakim —as if the first had reached his expiration date. [...] Nas never became 'the next Rakim,' nor did he really have to. Illmatic stood on its own terms. The sublime lyricism of

15120-401: The song on his 2001 album The Blueprint , Nas responded with the song " Ether ", from his album Stillmatic , with both fans and critics saying that the song had effectively saved Nas's career and marked his return to prominence, and almost unanimously agreeing Nas had won their feud. Jay-Z responded with a freestyle over the instrumental to Nas's " Got Ur Self a Gun ", known as "Supa Ugly". In

15260-440: The song, Jay-Z makes reference to Nas's girlfriend and daughter, going into graphic detail about having an affair with his girlfriend. Jay-Z's mother was personally disgusted by the song, and demanded he apologise to Nas and his family, which he did in December 2001 on Hot 97 . "Supa Ugly" marked the last direct diss song between Jay-Z and Nas, however, the two continued to trade subliminals on their subsequent releases. The feud

15400-410: The southwest, and Arkansas to the northwest. Mississippi's western boundary is largely defined by the Mississippi River , or its historical course. Mississippi is the 32nd largest by area and 35th-most populous of the 50 U.S. states and has the lowest per-capita income. Jackson is both the state's capital and largest city. Greater Jackson is the state's most populous metropolitan area , with

15540-529: The state before the American Civil War reflected the fact that land and villages were developed only along the riverfronts, which formed the main transportation corridors. Ninety percent of the Delta bottomlands were still frontier and undeveloped. The state needed many more settlers for development. The land further away from the rivers was cleared by freedmen and white migrants during Reconstruction and later. On January 9, 1861, Mississippi became

15680-674: The state had created the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission , a tax-supported agency, chaired by the Governor, that claimed to work for the state's image but effectively spied on activists and passed information to the local White Citizens' Councils to suppress black activism. White Citizens Councils had been formed in many cities and towns to resist integration of schools following the unanimous 1954 United States Supreme Court ruling ( Brown v. Board of Education ) that segregation of public schools

15820-595: The state legislature in 1875, after a year of expanded violence against blacks and intimidation of whites in what was called the "white line" campaign, based on asserting white supremacy . Democratic whites were well armed and formed paramilitary organizations such as the Red Shirts to suppress black voting. From 1874 to the elections of 1875, they pressured whites to join the Democrats, and conducted violence against blacks in at least 15 known "riots" in cities around

15960-426: The state over the next few years. The loss of political influence contributed to the difficulties of African Americans in their attempts to obtain extended credit in the late 19th century. Together with imposition of Jim Crow and racial segregation laws, whites increased violence against blacks, with lynchings occurring through the period of the 1890s and extending to 1930. In 1900, blacks made up more than half of

16100-565: The state to intimidate blacks. They killed a total of 150 blacks, although other estimates place the death toll at twice as many. A total of three white Republicans and five white Democrats were reported killed. In rural areas, deaths of blacks could be covered up. Riots (better described as massacres of blacks) took place in Vicksburg, Clinton, Macon, and in their counties, as well-armed whites broke up black meetings and lynched known black leaders, destroying local political organizations. Seeing

16240-644: The state's population. By 1910, a majority of black farmers in the Delta had lost their land and became sharecroppers . By 1920, the third generation after freedom, most African Americans in Mississippi were landless laborers again facing poverty. Starting about 1913, tens of thousands of black Americans left Mississippi for the North in the Great Migration to industrial cities such as St. Louis , Chicago , Detroit , Cleveland , Philadelphia and New York . They sought jobs, better education for their children,

16380-418: The success of this deliberate " Mississippi Plan ", South Carolina and other states followed it and also achieved white Democratic dominance. In 1877 by a national compromise, the last of federal troops were withdrawn from the region. Even in this environment, black Mississippians continued to be elected to local office. However, black residents were deprived of all political power after white legislators passed

16520-521: The towns, subscribed to the Social Gospel movement, which attempted to apply Christian ethics to social and economic needs of the day. Many strongly supported Prohibition , believing it would help alleviate and prevent many sins. Mississippi became a dry state in 1908 by an act of the state legislature . It remained dry until the legislature passed a local option bill in 1966. African-American Baptist churches grew to include more than twice

16660-661: The treaty allowed those Choctaw who chose to remain in the states to become U.S. citizens, as they were considered to be giving up their tribal membership. They were the second major Native American ethnic group to do so (some Cherokee were the first, who chose to stay in North Carolina and other areas during rather than join the removal). Today their descendants include approximately 9,500 persons identifying as Choctaw, who live in Neshoba, Newton, Leake, and Jones counties. The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians reorganized in

16800-445: The vicinity of present-day Ocean Springs on the Gulf Coast. It was settled by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville . In 1716, the French founded Natchez on the Mississippi River (as Fort Rosalie ); it became the dominant town and trading post of the area. The French called the greater territory " New France "; the Spanish continued to claim part of the Gulf coast area (east of Mobile Bay ) of present-day southern Alabama , in addition to

16940-419: The word "nigger", Nas called him "the biggest player hater", stating "His time is up. All you old niggas' time is up. We heard your voice, we saw your marching, we heard your sermons. We don't want to hear that shit no more. It's a new day. It's a new voice. I'm here now. We don't need Jesse; I'm here. I got this. We the voice now. It's no more Jesse. Sorry. Goodbye. You ain't helping nobody in the 'hood and that's

17080-530: Was also awarded 'Emcee of the Year' in the HipHopDX 2008 Awards for his latest solo effort, the quality of his appearances on other albums and was described as having "become an artist who thrives off of reinvention and going against the system." At the 2009 Grammy Awards , Nas confirmed he was collaborating on an album with reggae singer Damian Marley which was expected to be released in late 2009. Nas said of

17220-547: Was brought to tears when he heard the diss because he idolized 2Pac. The two later met in Central Park before the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards and ended their feud, with 2Pac promising to remove any disses aimed at Nas from the official album release; however, 2Pac was shot four times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas , Nevada , three days later on September 7, dying of his wounds on September 13, before any edits to

17360-463: Was chiefly produced by Tone and Poke of the Trackmasters , as Nas consciously worked towards a crossover-oriented sound. Columbia Records had begun to pressure Nas to work towards more commercial topics, such as that of The Notorious B.I.G. and had become successful by releasing street singles that still retained radio-friendly appeal. The album also expanded on Nas's Escobar persona, who lived

17500-477: Was completed in early 1999, and a music video was shot for its lead single, " Nas Is Like ". It was produced by DJ Premier and contained vocal samples from " It Ain't Hard to Tell ". Music critic M.F. DiBella noticed that Nas also covered "politics, the state of hip-hop, Y2K , race , and religion with his own unique perspective" in the album besides autobiographical lyrics. Much of the LP was leaked into MP3 format onto

17640-474: Was completed, Combs requested his crucifixion scene be edited out of the video. However, the unedited copy of the "Hate Me Now" video made its way to MTV. Within minutes of the broadcast, Combs and his bodyguards allegedly made their way into Steve Stoute 's office and assaulted him, at one point apparently hitting Stoute over the head with a champagne bottle. Stoute pressed charges, but he and Combs settled out-of-court that June. Columbia had scheduled to release

17780-477: Was critical in the power struggle between Nas and Jay-Z in the hip-hop industry at the time. In an article at the time, Joseph Jones of PopMatters stated, "Whether you like it or not, "Ether" did this. With God's Son , Nas has the opportunity to cement his status as the King of NY, at least for another 3-4-year term, or he could prove that he is not the savior that hip-hop fans should be pinning their hopes on." After

17920-457: Was declining, artistically and commercially, as both I Am... and Nastradamus were criticized as inconsistent and overtly-commercialized. In 2000, Nas & Ill Will Records Presents QB's Finest , which is popularly known as simply QB's Finest , was released on Nas's Ill Will Records . QB's Finest is a compilation album that featured Nas and a number of other rappers from Queensbridge projects, including Mobb Deep , Nature , Capone ,

18060-490: Was dramatically shaped by the Civil War, Reconstruction era , and civil rights movement , with the state playing a pivotal role in the struggle for civil rights. From the end of the Civil War to the 1960s, Mississippi was dominated by socially conservative and segregationist Southern Democrats dedicated to upholding white supremacy . Despite progress, Mississippi continues to grapple with challenges related to health, education, and economic development, often ranking among

18200-688: Was established to challenge the all-white Democratic Party of the Solid South . Most white politicians resisted such changes. Chapters of the Ku Klux Klan and its sympathizers used violence against activists, most notably the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in 1964 during the Freedom Summer campaign. This was a catalyst for Congressional passage the following year of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 . Mississippi earned

18340-603: Was named the "Greatest MC of All Time" by About.com in 2014. The following year, Nas was featured on the "10 Best Rappers of All Time" list by Billboard . Outside of recording, he serves as associate publisher of Mass Appeal magazine, and co-founded its spin-off division Mass Appeal Records , a record label that has signed artists including Dave East , N.O.R.E. , Run the Jewels , and Swizz Beatz , among others. Nas has released seventeen studio albums since 1994, ten of which are certified gold , platinum or multi-platinum in

18480-412: Was officially brought to an end in 2005, when Jay-Z and Nas performed on stage together in a surprise concert also featuring P. Diddy , Kanye West and Beanie Sigel . The following year, Nas signed with Def Jam Recordings , of which Jay-Z then served as president. After Nas was removed from the 2002 Summer Jam lineup due to allegedly planning to perform the song Ether while a mock lynching of

18620-495: Was president at the time. Jay-Z signed Nas on January 23, 2006; the signing included an agreement that Nas was to be paid about $ 3,000,000, including a recording budget, for each of his first two albums with Def Jam. Tentatively called Hip Hop Is Dead...The N , Hip Hop Is Dead was a commentary on the state of hip-hop and featured "Black Republican", a hyped collaboration with Jay-Z. The album debuted on Def Jam and Nas new imprint at that label, The Jones Experience, at No. 1 on

18760-542: Was released months before the album's release, followed by the single " Bridging the Gap " upon the album's release. Although Street's Disciple went platinum , it served as a drop-off from Nas's previous commercial successes. In 2005, New York-based rapper 50 Cent dissed Nas on his song " Piggy Bank ", which brought his reputation into question in hip-hop circles. In October, Nas made a surprise appearance at Jay-Z's "I Declare War" concert, where they reconciled their beef. At

18900-438: Was released the following year. Like its two predecessors, King's Disease III was mainly produced by Hit-Boy; however, it was notably Nas's first studio album to forgo any guest appearances from outside artists. Upon release, King's Disease III would become one of the most critically acclaimed albums of Nas's career, becoming his highest-scoring new studio album on review aggregator Metacritic and receiving critical praise for

19040-559: Was restored to the Union on February 23, 1870. Because the Mississippi Delta contained so much fertile bottomland that had not been developed before the American Civil War, 90 percent of the land was still frontier. After the Civil War, tens of thousands of migrants were attracted to the area by higher wages offered by planters trying to develop land. In addition, black and white workers could earn money by clearing

19180-480: Was sold through treaties until 1826, when the Choctaws and Chickasaws refused to sell more land. The combination of the Mississippi state legislature's abolition of Choctaw Tribal Government in 1829, President Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal Act and the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek of 1830, the Choctaw were effectively forced to sell their land and were transported to Oklahoma Territory. The forced migration of

19320-506: Was the first governor. The state was still occupied as ancestral land by several Native American tribes, including Choctaw, Natchez, Houma, Creek, and Chickasaw. Plantations were developed primarily along the major rivers, where the waterfront provided access to the major transportation routes. This is also where early towns developed, linked by the steamboats that carried commercial products and crops to markets. The remainder of Native American ancestral land remained largely undeveloped but

19460-499: Was unconstitutional, Mississippi repealed its ban on interracial marriage (also known as miscegenation ), which had been enacted in 1890. It also repealed the segregationist -era poll tax in 1989. In 1995, the state symbolically ratified the Thirteenth Amendment , which had abolished slavery in 1865. In 2009, the legislature passed a bill to repeal other discriminatory civil rights laws, which had been enacted in 1964,

19600-428: Was unconstitutional. They used intimidation and economic blackmail against activists and suspected activists, including teachers and other professionals. Techniques included loss of jobs and eviction from rental housing. In the summer of 1964 students and community organizers from across the country came to help register black voters in Mississippi and establish Freedom Schools . The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party

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