Ten years after "Illmatic" established him as one of New York's premier wordsmiths (his only rival now being Jay-Z), Nasir Jones, aka Nas, seems to have outgrown the cliched personas of Nasty Nas, Nas ...

There are few rappers who undeniably deserve a place in the hip-hop pantheon. Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, Eminem, Jay-Z, and, of course, Nas are among the undisputed greats who have the skills and ...

Most hip-hop heroes develop a focused iconography -- think of Run-DMC's hats and leather, Chuck D's skeptical glare, Biggie Smalls's plus-size suits, Tupac's tattoos, Jay-Z's conspicuous consumption ...