Nas

Best known for the songs "If I Ruled the World" and "Hate Me Now," rapper Nas is many things: Jay Z''s frenemy, Kelis's former husband, and Mary J. Blige's former paramour.

The son of jazz trumpeter Olu Dari, Nasir Jones grew up in Crown Heights and the Queensbridge projects, dropping out of high school to dabble in drugs and petty theft. Thanks to his clever musical style, though, he soon began making a name for himself on the East Coast rap scene, earning a single on MC Serch's soundtrack for the 1992 film Zebrahead. He landed a record contract with Columbia the same year and released his debut album, Illmatic, in 1994. The record has since become a hip-hop classic, with noted rap authorities Time and The New York Times both praising Nas's honest portrayal of gritty urban life. Although at one time he was praised as a hip-hop icon, Nas had a rough time recapturing the spark of Illmatic, he finally found his groove again with 2001's Stillmatic, which hip-hop 'zine The Source gave a coveted 5-microphone review. Additionally, Nas has released a few albums as part of the supergroup The Firm with Foxy Brown, AZ, and Nature.

Linked to Mary J. Blige in the late '90s, Nas got together with hip-hop singer Kelis in 2002 at P. Diddy's after-party for the MTV Video Music Awards. Just four years later, though, Kelis filed for divorce. Together they have one son, Knight. Nas also has a daughter, Destiny, with hip-hop groupie Carmen Bryan, who wrote a 2006 tell-all book about shagging not only Nas, but also Jay-Z and Allen Iverson. Nas was also close with the late great Amy Winehouse.

Nas and Jay-Z have had one of hip-hop's most legendary feuds. They traded barbs in their lyrics for years, with Nas claiming Jay-Z was gay and Jay-Z accusing Nas of a "one hot album every ten year average." The feud got extra heated when Jay-Z had a fling with Nas's baby momma Carmen Bryan-and then rapped about it in graphic detail on his song "Supa Ugly." [Image via Getty]