Nas Invests in Mass Appeal and Becomes Associate Publisher

Nas was the first artist to appear on Mass Appeal in 2002. 11 years later, Nas is an owner of the magazine.

During an interview with Forbes, the Queens rapper revealed he invested a “six-figure” sum in Mass Appeal, which recently lifted its five-year hiatus from print with Earl Sweatshirt and Blake Anderson on their latest issue.

Nas will serve as an Associate Publisher for the magazine. It was originally founded in 1996 as a graffiti magazine, and has encompassed everything from print, web, video and more.

When asked about his Mass Appeal deal, he will be joining White Owl Capital Partners. They are a young investment firm with interests in tech, media and energy in countries such as U.S. and Europe.

Below, you can hear Nas’ thoughts on his latest business venture.

On why he chose Mass Appeal:

“Mass Appeal has a legacy and respect. It already has a foundation … I just feel like I can add on because I can lend my kind of cultural expertise and my professional acumen, and develop the business. I knew that this was down the road. I didn’t care to interrupt me being a creative musical artist … I said I’ll be more of a businessman down the road. I’m down the road now.”

[via Forbes]