Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, known professionally as Nas, is an American rapper and entrepreneur. Rooted in East Coast hip-hop, he is regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time. The son of jazz musician Olu Dara, Nas began his musical career in 1989 under the moniker "Nasty Nas", and recorded demos under the wing of fellow East Coast rapper Large Professor. Nas made his recording debut on Professor's group, Main Source's 1991 song "Live at the Barbeque".
William Henry Cosby Jr. is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. He performed over a period of decades in film, television, and stand-up comedy, with his longest-running live-action role being that of Cliff Huxtable in the sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992). He also released several stand-up comedy albums and was a popular spokesperson in advertising for decades. Cosby was well known in the United States for his fatherly image and gained a reputation as "America's Dad". Since 2014, dozens of allegations of sexual assault have been made against him.
Stillmatic is the fifth studio album by American rapper Nas, released on December 18, 2001, by Ill Will and Columbia Records. In contrast to his previous work's gangsta rap themes, the album contains socially conscious and philosophical themes similar to that of his 1994 debut Illmatic. Nas' lyrics address topics such as ghetto life, American politics, and his feud with rapper Jay-Z.
Joseph Connor Phillips is an American actor, writer, and conservative Christian commentator. He is best known for his role as Martin Kendall on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show, and as Justus Ward on the soap opera General Hospital.
The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty is an unauthorized biography of the Bush family by the American investigative journalist Kitty Kelley. It was published on September 14, 2004, less than two months before the 2004 US Presidential election. Reviews of the book were mixed, with some of the "accusations," according to The New York Times, "[standing] up better than others."
The Pound Cake speech was given by Bill Cosby on May 17, 2004, during an NAACP Legal Defense Fund awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.
"You Owe Me" is a 1999 single by Nas featuring Ginuwine, from Nas' fourth studio album Nastradamus. The single was produced by Timbaland. "You Owe Me" was a hit on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at number thirteen, and it was also a minor hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at number 59. A music video directed by David Meyers was also released; it had a cameo featuring Destiny's Child & DMX. The song has been referenced by Jay-Z in "Blueprint 2", and also by J. Cole in his track "Let Nas Down".
Illmatic is the debut studio album by the American rapper Nas. It was released on April 19, 1994, by Columbia Records. After signing with the label with the help of MC Serch, Nas recorded the album in 1992 and 1993 at Chung King Studios, D&D Recording, Battery Studios, and Unique Recording Studios in New York City. The album's production was handled by DJ Premier, Large Professor, Pete Rock, Q-Tip, L.E.S., and Nas himself. Styled as a hardcore hip-hop album, Illmatic features multi-syllabic internal rhymes and inner-city narratives based on Nas' experiences growing up in the Queensbridge Houses in Queens, New York.
Camille Olivia Cosby is an American television producer, philanthropist, and the wife of comedian Bill Cosby. The character of Clair Huxtable from The Cosby Show was based on her. Cosby has avoided public life, but has been active in her husband's businesses as a manager, as well as involving herself in academia and writing. In 1990, Cosby earned a master's degree from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, followed by a Doctorate of Education (Ed.D.) in 1992.
The Autobiography of Malcolm X is an autobiography written by American minister Malcolm X, who collaborated with American journalist Alex Haley. It was released posthumously on October 29, 1965, nine months after his assassination. Haley coauthored the autobiography based on a series of in-depth interviews he conducted between 1963 and 1965. The Autobiography is a spiritual conversion narrative that outlines Malcolm X's philosophy of black pride, black nationalism, and pan-Africanism. After the leader was killed, Haley wrote the book's epilogue. He described their collaborative process and the events at the end of Malcolm X's life.
The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery is a historical non-fiction book written by American historian Eric Foner. Published in 2010 by W. W. Norton & Company, the book serves as a biographical portrait of United States President Abraham Lincoln, discussing the evolution of his stance on slavery in the United States over the course of his life. The Fiery Trial, which derives its title from Lincoln's Annual Message to Congress of December 1, 1862, was the 22nd book written by Foner, the DeWitt Clinton Professor of History at Columbia University. It was praised by critics and won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for History, the Bancroft Prize, and the Lincoln Prize.
Herb Boyd is an American journalist, teacher, author, and activist. His articles appear regularly in the New York Amsterdam News. He teaches black studies at the City College of New York and the College of New Rochelle.
Born to Use Mics: Reading Nas'sIllmatic, edited by Michael Eric Dyson and Sohail Daulatzai is a collection of scholarly essays and historical documents presenting Illmatic from an academic perspective. The book features contributions from scholars and intellectuals including Adilifu Nama, Guthrie P. Ramsey Jr., James Peterson, Marc Lamont Hill, Mark Anthony Neal, Imani Perry, Kyra Gaunt, and Eddie S. Glaude. It also includes a preface written by Common. In the introduction, Sohail Daulatzai explains the structure of the book, writing:
...Born to Use Mics encompasses the different styles and forms of hip-hop publishing, from the scholarly to the journalistic, the historical to the first-person account, using freestyles and wild styles to wax philosophic on the meaning of Illmatic. But the final mix you hold is more than the sum of its parts, as we've brought together an eclectic group of writers, scholars, poets, filmmakers, journalists, novelists, musicians, and combinations thereof who have all grown up with hip hop and have been deeply connected to it from jump. In essence, Born to Use Mics is a literary remix, a cipher in book form as all of these contributors offer up unique and fresh perspectives, as they mediate on the significance of Illmatic.
Adam Mansbach is an American author. He has previously been a visiting professor of literature at Rutgers University-Camden, with their New Voices Visiting Writers program (2009–2011).
Imani Perry is an American interdisciplinary scholar of race, law, literature, and African American culture. She is currently the Henry A. Morss, Jr. and Elisabeth W. Morss Professor of Studies of Women, Gender and Sexuality and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University, a Carol K. Pforzheimer Professor at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute, and a columnist for The Atlantic. Perry won the 2022 National Book Award for Nonfiction for South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation. In October 2023, she was named a MacArthur Fellow.
Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America is a 2017 non-fiction book by Michael Eric Dyson.
Kevin Coval is an American poet. Coval is a Chicago-based writer who is known for exploring topics such as race, hip-hop culture, Chicago history, and Jewish-American identity in his work. He is also known for his appearances in four seasons of the Peabody Award-winning television series Def Poetry Jam on HBO.
What Truth Sounds Like: Robert F. Kennedy, James Baldwin, and Our Unfinished Conversation About Race in America is a 2018 non-fiction book by Michael Eric Dyson.
Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise is a 4-hour series that aired on PBS in 2016. The show features interviews and archival footage. Henry Louis Gates Jr. wrote, produced, and narrates the series.
Illmatic, the 1994 debut album by Nas, made a significant impact on the hip hop genre. The album has been credited as one of the pivotal works that returned East Coast hip hop, particularly Queensbridge's hip hop scene, to prominence in a time when public attention was focused on West Coast releases. Nas' lyricism and storytelling on Illmatic has been regarded as setting a new standard for lyrical sophistication in major hip hop releases. The production of Illmatic has also been viewed as influential in cementing the characteristic sound of New York hip hop.
