Tariq Amar Devega (born July 26, 1990), better known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

ASAP Nast (stylized as A$AP Nast), is an American rapper, songwriter and model from

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harle ...

. Nast is best known as a member of the hip hop collective

A$AP Mob ASAP Mob (stylized as A$AP Mob, ASAP being an acronym for "Always Strive And Prosper") is an American hip hop collective formed in 2006 in Harlem, New York City, that consists of rappers (most of whom carry the "ASAP" moniker), record producers, ...

. As part of A$AP Mob, they released their first project as a group, a mixtape titled '' Lord$ Never Worry'' in 2012. His breakout song, " Trillmatic" featuring

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close a ...

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of ...

was released on December 4, 2013.

Early life and education

ASAP Nast was raised in West Harlem,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

on 116th and Morningside Avenue, and frequently spent time with his cousin

ASAP Rocky Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper, music producer and record executive. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a membe ...

when they were children. When Rocky moved to

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

as a teen, the two lost contact, but were reunited by ASAP Bari, one of

ASAP Mob ASAP Mob (stylized as A$AP Mob, ASAP being an acronym for "Always Strive And Prosper") is an American hip hop collective formed in 2006 in Harlem, New York City, that consists of rappers (most of whom carry the "ASAP" moniker), record producers, ...

's founding members. Nast went to Martin Luther King, Jr. High School in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the List of co ...

but dropped out before graduating to pursue a career in music. After dropping out of high school, he worked at the

sneaker Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used fo ...

store Atmos.

Musical career

2007–12: Career beginnings with ASAP Mob

ASAP Nast was one of the first members to join the hip hop collective

, that was formed by ASAP Yams, ASAP Bari and ASAP Illz in Harlem during 2007. He was originally known by the name New York Nast, however he adjusted his stage name to include the ASAP prefix, as all the other Mob members have; aside from Dash. Nast made his official debut on ASAP Rocky's early song "Uptown" and then he appeared on two '' Live.Love.ASAP'' songs, "Purple Swag: Chapter 2" and "Trilla". On August 27, 2012, ASAP Mob released their debut project, a mixtape titled ''

Lords Never Worry ''Lords Never Worry'' (stylized as ''Lord$ Never Worry'') is the debut mixtape by hip hop collective ASAP Mob. It was released as a free music download, digital download on August 28, 2012, by ASAP Worldwide, Polo Grounds Music, and RCA Records. Th ...

'', as a free download. Nast appeared on four of the mixtape's tracks, including the standout "Black Mane". Following the mixtape's release, Nast toured with the rest of ASAP Mob. Throughout that tour they performed 48 shows in 61 days, the majority of which were sold out.

2013–14: ''L.O.R.D.''

Singer

Tinashe Tinashe Jorgensen Kachingwe ( ; born February 6, 1993), known mononymously as Tinashe, is an American singer, dancer, and actress. Born in Lexington, Kentucky, Tinashe moved to Pasadena as a child to pursue a career in entertainment. Her notab ...

released the remix to her song "Who Am I Working For?" on April 16, 2013, featuring Nast. In July 2013,

ASAP Ferg Darold Durard Brown Ferguson Jr. (born October 20, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Ferg (stylized as A$AP Ferg), is an American rapper from New York City's Harlem neighborhood. Aside from his solo career, he is a member of the hip hop collec ...

announced that ASAP Mob would release their debut album after the release of his solo debut album ''

Trap Lord ''Trap Lord'' is the debut studio album by American rapper ASAP Ferg. The album was released on August 20, 2013, by ASAP Worldwide, Polo Grounds Music, and RCA Records. The album features guest appearances from ASAP Rocky, Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, Fr ...

''. During October 2013, ASAP Nast along with ASAP Rocky, Ferg, Twelvy and Ant, participated in the ASAP Mob's cypher during the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards. On December 3, 2013, it was announced that the album would be released on March 4, 2014. The following day, the album's first single, " Trillmatic" by ASAP Nast, was released along with an accompanying music video. The single, produced by ASAP Ty Beats, features a verse from American rapper and New York City-native,

. It had previously been previewed at the end of the music video for ASAP Ant's song "The Way It Go". The single was met with generally positive reviews from

music critic ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of mu ...

s. The album was then changed to be titled '' L.O.R.D.''. It has been predicted that ''L.O.R.D.'' could've resulted in Nast being the next breakout member of the group. Originally, he was being considered for the 2014 '' XXL'' freshman class, but was not added. ''L.O.R.D.'' was expected for a 2014 release, however, ASAP Mob leader, the late ASAP Yams announced on his

Tumblr Tumblr (stylized as tumblr; pronounced "tumbler") is an American microblogging and social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and currently owned by Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a ...

account that the album was officially scrapped.

Musical style

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' said that ASAP Nast's style is deeply rooted in 1990's

East Coast hip hop East Coast hip hop is a regional subgenre of hip hop music that originated in New York City during the 1970s. Hip hop is recognized to have originated and evolved first in the Bronx, New York City. In contrast to other styles, East Coast hip ...

, omitting the

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

and

southern hip hop Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Atlanta, New Orleans, Houston, Memp ...

influence that some other ASAP Mob members have. ''

Vibe ''Vibe'' is an American music and entertainment magazine founded by producers David Salzman and Quincy Jones. The publication predominantly features R&B and hip hop music artists, actors and other entertainers. After shutting down production ...

'' called him a brash, rapid-fire rhymer. He has been credited as able to "adapt his flow to match beats of all styles and eras." His verses are usually boastful and full of multi-syllable rhyme schemes.

Other Ventures

Collaborations

Various brands such as Converse and

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

have acknowledged his influence and thus granted him the opportunity to design sneakers that merge heritage with his street-style sensibilities. The rapper has released a number of collaborative pairs with Converse as they played with silhouettes from One Stars and Chuck 70s to the Jack Purcell Mid. In Spring of 2021, ASAP Nast formed a relationship with Reebok as they dropped a new Classic Leather Legacy colorway followed by a Zig Kinetica II Edge.

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Guest appearances

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nast, ASAP African-American male rappers Living people Rappers from Manhattan People from Harlem 1990 births East Coast hip hop musicians ASAP Mob members 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians