Nas has worked in his life.
Nasir Bin Olu Dara Jones ( [ nɑːˈsɪər ] born September 14 , 1973 ) , better known by his stage name Nas [ ˈnɑːz ] , is an American rapper , record producer , actor , and entrepreneur . The son of jazz musician Olu Dara , Nas has released eight consecutive platinum and multi-platinum albums and has sold over 25,000,000 records worldwide . His musical career began in 1991 , as a featured artist on Main Source 's `` Live at the Barbeque '' . In 2010 , he released Distant Relatives , a collaboration album with reggae musician Damian Marley , donating all royalties to charities active in Africa .