N.A.S.A. is an American
hip hop music group that formed in
Los Angeles, California. Consisting of
Sam Spiegel and
Zé Gonzales. N.A.S.A. stands for North America/South America and its members have collaborated with dozens of other artists from both the East and West Coasts of the
U.S. and abroad. The group has been inactive since 2020, following the release of "The Spirit of Apollo (10th Anniversary Special Edition).
Early history
Sam and Zé met at a friend's studio in April 2003 and began making music together shortly after that.
Initially, the two began producing music together purely for fun, using samples of rare Brazilian records from the 1960s and 1970s (discovered through a shared love of "crate digging") but this quickly developed into recording music seriously with several of their favorite musicians.
Sam and Zé wanted their new project to bring people from vastly different backgrounds together through a shared inspiration and love of music. Thus N.A.S.A. was born and they have since collaborated with artists as disparate as
Ol' Dirty Bastard,
Karen O,
Fatlip,
George Clinton,
Chali 2na
Charles Stewart (born June 26, 1971), better known as Chali 2na, is an American painter and rapper, associated with the groups Jurassic 5 and Ozomatli. He is known for his bass-baritone and quick delivery rapping style.
Personal life
Early lif ...
,
Tom Waits,
Kool Keith,
Kanye West,
David Byrne
David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...
,
Childish Gambino
Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American entertainer, writer, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glove ...
,
Lizzo, and
DMX
Earl Simmons (December 18, 1970 – April 9, 2021), known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' in 1998, to both critical acclaim ...
.
Discography
Albums
*2009: "
The Spirit of Apollo"
*2010: "The Big Bang" (An album of remixes of The Spirit of Apollo)
Singles
*2009: "Gifted (feat.
Kanye West,
Santigold and
Lykke Li)"
*2009: "Money (feat.
Chuck D
Carlton Douglas Ridenhour (born August 1, 1960), known professionally as Chuck D, is an American rapper, best known as the leader and frontman of the hip hop group Public Enemy, which he co-founded in 1985 with Flavor Flav. Chuck D helped creat ...
,
Z-Trip,
David Byrne
David Byrne (; born 14 May 1952) is a Scottish-American singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, writer, music theorist, visual artist and filmmaker. He was a founding member and the principal songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of ...
, Ras Congo and
Seu Jorge)"
*2009: "Whachadoin? (feat.
M.I.A.,
Spank Rock,
Santigold &
Nick Zinner
Nicholas Joseph Zinner (born December 8, 1974) is an American guitarist for the New York rock band Yeah Yeah Yeahs and a record producer. Zinner is an accomplished photographer.
Musical career
Before forming the Yeah Yeahs Yeahs with Karen O and ...
)"
*2010: "Chase The Devil"
*2012: "Samo © (feat.
Kool Kojak and
Fab Five Freddy)"
*2012: "Overdrive (feat. Maximum Hedrum)"
*2013: "Hide (feat. Aynzil Jones)"
*2013: "Hide (feat. Aynzil Jones) (Tropkillaz Remix)"
*2013: "Hide (feat. Aynzil Jones and
Childish Gambino
Donald McKinley Glover Jr. (; born September 25, 1983), also known by his stage name Childish Gambino (), is an American entertainer, writer, director, and producer. After working in Derrick Comedy while studying at New York University, Glove ...
) (Tropkillaz Remix)"
*2013: "Hide (feat. Aynzil Jones) (
A Skillz
A.Skillz (born Adam Mills) is an English electronic musician.
He has worked across the UK at FabricLive, Spectrum, Chew The Fat, Supercharged, The Boutique and Sugarbeat as well as gigs around the world at major events, festivals and music indus ...
Remix)"
*2014: "I Shot the Sheriff (feat.
Karen O)"
*2014: "I Shot the Sheriff (feat.
Karen O) (Tropkillaz Remix)"
*2015: "Hands Up, Don't Shoot! (feat.
Sean Paul
Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists.
Paul's singles "Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...
and
Lizzo)"
*2015: "Iko (feat.
Lizzo)"
*2015: "Iko (feat.
Lizzo) (Tropkillaz Remix)"
*2015: "Jihad Love Squad (feat.
KRS-One
Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...
)"
*2015: "Meltdown (feat.
DMX
Earl Simmons (December 18, 1970 – April 9, 2021), known professionally as DMX, was an American rapper and actor. He began rapping in the early 1990s and released his debut album ''It's Dark and Hell Is Hot'' in 1998, to both critical acclaim ...
and
Priyanka Chopra)"
*2015: "Wake The Fuck Up (feat.
Fatlip and Maximum Hedrum)"
*2015: "R.I.P. That Beat (feat. Cory Enemy and
Fatlip)"
*2015: "Hey Hey Hey (feat.
Spoek Mathambo
Nthato Mokgata (born 14 May 1985), known by his stage name Spoek Mathambo, is a South African artist, producer, singer-songwriter and rapper. Mathambo rose to fame in the late 2000s with his fusion of a wide array of musical influences. He is kno ...
and
Donnis
Ladonnis Decurtis Crump (born June 2, 1984), better known by the stage name Donnis, is an American rapper based in Atlanta, Georgia. He released his debut mixtape, ''Diary of an ATL Brave'', in 2009, and signed to Atlantic Records in 2010.
E ...
)"
*2016: "We Takin' Over (feat.
Fatlip and
Kate Boy
Kate Boy are a Swedish synthpop duo from Stockholm. The group was founded by Kate Akhurst, from Australia, and Markus Dextegen, from Sweden, together with former swedish members Hampus Nordgren Hemlin and Oskar Sikow. All members have participate ...
)"
*2016: "Jihad Love Squad (feat.
KRS-One
Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...
) (Tropkillaz Remix)"
*2016: "Jihad Love Squad (feat.
KRS-One
Lawrence "Kris" Parker (born August 20, 1965), better known by his stage names KRS-One (; an abbreviation of "Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everyone") and Teacha, is an American rapper from New York City. He rose to prominence as part of ...
) (
Wuki Remix)"
Remixes
*2009:
Yeah Yeah Yeahs -
Zero (N.A.S.A. Bloody Lobo)
*2013:
Yeah Yeah Yeahs -
Mosquito (N.A.S.A. Sucks Theramin Remix)
*2014:
Stan Getz
Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...
-
The Girl From Ipanema (N.A.S.A. Remix)
*2015:
Missy Elliott
Melissa Arnette Elliott (born July 1, 1971), better known as Missy Elliott or Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliot, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. She embarked on her music career with R&B girl group Sista in the earl ...
-
Get Ur Freak On
"Get Ur Freak On" is a song by American rapper Missy Elliott. It was written and produced by Elliott and Timbaland for her third studio album '' Miss E... So Addictive'' (2001). Based on heavy bhangra elements, a popular music and dance form f ...
(N.A.S.A. Bootleg Remix)
Mixtapes
*2020: Space Debris
References
External links
Pitchfork Review of N.A.S.A.
American hip hop groups
Musical groups established in 2004
Anti- (record label) artists
{{US-hiphop-band-stub