Editing Nas (section)

==Artistry==
Nas has been praised for his ability to create a "devastating match between lyrics and production" by journalist [[Peter Shapiro (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|Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop]]'' (2009), writer Adam Bradley states, "Nas 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')."<ref>{{harvnb|Bradley|2009|p=173}}</ref> [[Robert Christgau]] writes that "Nas has been transfiguring <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[gangsta rap]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> since ''Illmatic''".<ref>{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|date=August 2008|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg2008-08.php|title=Consumer Guide|publisher=[[MSN Music]]|access-date=March 3, 2013}}</ref> [[Kool Moe Dee]] notes that Nas has an "off-beat conversational flow" in his book ''[[There's 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".<ref>{{harvnb|Dee|2003|p=248}}</ref>

[[O.C. (rapper)|OC]] of [[D.I.T.C.]] comments in the book ''[[How to Rap]]'': "Nas did the song backwards ['Rewind']... that was a brilliant idea".<ref>{{harvnb|Edwards|2009|p=30}}</ref> Also in ''[[How to Rap]]'', [[2Mex]] of [[The Visionaries]] describes Nas's flow as "effervescent",<ref>{{harvnb|Edwards|2009|p=73}}</ref> [[Rah Digga]] says Nas's lyrics have "intricacy",<ref>{{harvnb|Edwards|2009|p=81}}</ref> [[Bootie Brown]] of [[The Pharcyde]] explains that Nas does not always have to make words rhyme as he is "charismatic",<ref>{{harvnb|Edwards|2009|p=94}}</ref> and Nas is also described as having a "densely packed"<ref>{{harvnb|Edwards|2009|pp=74–75}}</ref> flow, with [[compound rhymes]] that "run over from one beat into the next or even into another bar".<ref>{{harvnb|Edwards|2009|p=108}}</ref>

On March 15, 2012, Nas became the first rapper to have a personal verified account on [[Genius (website)|Genius]], where he explains his own lyrics and occasionally comments on lyrics from other rappers he admires.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nas's profile |url=http://rapgenius.com/Nas |access-date=April 11, 2014 |website=Rapgenius.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=March 15, 2012 |title=Nas Interview: why Nas wants to explain his own lyrics on Rap Genius |url=http://rapgenius.com/posts/Nas-interview-why-nas-wants-to-explain-his-own-lyrics-on-rap-genius |access-date=April 11, 2014 |website=Rapgenius.com}}</ref>

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 (magazine)|The Source]]'' ranked him No. 2 on their list of the ''Top 50 Lyricists of All Time''.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Source's Top 50 Lyricists of All Time **Complete List Inside**|url=http://www.thisis50.com/forum/topics/the-source-s-top-50-lyricists-of-all-time-complete-list-inside|publisher=ThisIs50|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231000719/http://www.thisis50.com/forum/topics/the-source-s-top-50-lyricists-of-all-time-complete-list-inside/|archive-date=December 31, 2013|df=mdy-all}}</ref> In 2013, Nas was ranked fourth on MTV's "Hottest MCs in the Game" list.<ref name="03/12/2013 10:30:00">{{cite web |url=http://mtv.com/news/articles/1703129/hottest-mcs-2013-nas.jhtml |title=Nas Finally Breaks Through To 'Hottest MCs' At No. 4 |publisher=MTV.com |date=March 6, 2013 |access-date=April 4, 2013 |archive-date=March 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331125808/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1703129/hottest-mcs-2013-nas.jhtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> His debut, ''Illmatic'', is widely considered among the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.<ref name="Acclaimed -MTV">{{cite web|title=MTV.com: List – #2 Illmatic |url=http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip_hop_week/2005/greatest_albums_0505/index10.jhtml |publisher=MTV |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111206225228/http://www.mtv.com/bands/h/hip_hop_week/2005/greatest_albums_0505/index10.jhtml |archive-date=December 6, 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time/4 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070106061919/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time/4 |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 6, 2007 |title=Music News: Latest and Breaking Music News |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=April 11, 2014}}</ref> 

In July 2013, [[Harvard University]] established the Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship as part of the Hip-Hop Archives and [[W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute]], to fund scholars and artists who show potential and creativity in the arts in connection to hip-hop.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Coulehan |first=Erin |date=July 16, 2013 |title=Harvard Establishes a Nas Hip-Hop Fellowship &#124; Music News |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/harvard-establishes-a-nas-hip-hop-fellowship-20130716 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=October 19, 2013}}</ref> On November 12, 2019, Nas was honored by ''[[Haute Living]]'', along with [[Watches of Switzerland]] and [[Hennessy]], in a celebratory affair that included a violin rendition of iconic Nas songs performed by [[Edward W. Hardy]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mastrandrea |first1=Paige |date=November 12, 2019 |title=Haute Living's Nas Cover Launch With Watches Of Switzerland |work=Haute Living |url=https://hauteliving.com/2019/11/haute-livings-nas-cover-launch-watches-of-switzerland/675904/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Mastrandrea |first1=Paige |date=January 20, 2020 |title=Q&A With Composer And Musician, Edward W. Hardy |work=Haute Living |url=https://hauteliving.com/2020/01/qa-with-composer-and-musician-edward-w-hardy/680518/ |quote=Another highlight was performing for Nas at his Watches of Switzerland and Haute Living event last year...}}</ref>