Olu Dara

Olu Dara is an American cornetist, guitarist, and singer born in 1941 in Natchez, Mississippi, whose career spans avant-garde jazz, blues, and African-American folk traditions. He moved to New York City in the 1960s after serving as a musician in the U.S. Navy and became a prominent figure in the city's loft jazz scene, collaborating with artists such as David Murray, Henry Threadgill, and Cassandra Wilson. He released his first album under his own name, In the World: From Natchez to New York, on Atlantic Records in 1998. He is also the father of rapper Nas, with whom he has collaborated on several recordings including the landmark album Illmatic.