Rapper Nas talks about fatherhood means to him.

“It teaches you who you are. They say you don’t know yourself until you’ve been in a fight, but really, you don’t know yourself until you become a father. It’s everything.”

On Preparing For Fatherhood


“You’re never ready. You can never say, “I am ready,” you know what I mean? Some people can, but for the most part, you’re never ready. If you’ve never had a kid before, you have no way of knowing what you’re in for. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Fatherly Advice (from his dad)


“My dad told me ‘Dogs get mad. Man gets a little angry. It means don’t throw your life away over nothing. Have self control.'”


On Finding A Good Place


“It came to the point when I realized that there was dead weight. We make illusions for ourselves. That’s another thing my father taught me. Don’t be attached to illusions. Sometimes you might be attached a person, or you might think you’re attached to a situation, a place or a person, but you just created it in your head. You have nothing to do with these things. You’re supposed to have moved on. So I’m in a great place because of that.”

Read more about what fatherhood means to Nas at BlackDoctor.Org.

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(Photo: Molly Riley/Getty Images)