Nas Reveals Why He Almost Dropped The Mic, "I Thought, 'I'm Gonna Quit This Rap Sh*t...'"

Rap veteran Nas opens up about his past plan to hang up the microphone for good in light of having a daughter in the new issue of XXL Magazine.

Within his cover feature, Nas tells Odd Future's Tyler, the Creator how his 17-year-old daughter was the initial reason he contemplated quitting rap.

"It's crazy, because when she was young, she was a baby, I thought, Aw, man, I'm gonna quit this rap sh*t before she becomes old enough to even know what I'm doing, what I did for a living. I never thought that I'd be still doing it while she's a teen, growing up. And I'm still in the game. It kind of f*cks me up," Nas explained. "It's weird as f*ck sometimes. But then, other times, it's, like, perfect. It's, like, I'm glad it worked out this way. 'Cause then I would have to be telling her, "No, I really was a somebody in rap. Like, you got to believe me!" (XXL Magazine)

Nas also opened about feeling lonely and focusing on his family in the feature.

"Are you, like--this question might catch you off guard, but I ask myself this--like, when you wake up, like, are you happy," Tyler asked. "Like, are you satisfied how everything turned out?" "Dawg, I was naming my album Life Is Good because of how happy I am about how happy things have turned out," Nas answered. "Sometimes I may wake up and wish my kids were living with me. That's the only thing, you know what I mean? Our loved ones that are not around no more, like my mom. That's the only thing. But other than that, everything is great, even when I'm alone. Even when there's no one around." (XXL Magazine)

Last year, Nas opened up about his son, birthed from his marriage to singer Kelis.

"He's like nine months. He's crawling, pulling himself to stand up," Nas said in a May 2010 interview. "He said the word 'stick' about a month ago. He's been talking for about two months, saying little words here and there...He was picking up on things very young, like two to three months, if not sooner. It just throws you that we're born knowing what's up...My son was born with ice grills, so when his mom feels in the mood she sends pictures. If not, its h*ll. It's h*ll trying to figure that out, trying to get him--I'll just leave it at that. It's h*ll. A man shouldn't go through that sh*t, but it's another story I'ma tell at a different time. Overall he's super good, and when I do get him there's nothing better in the whole world. When I get both my kids together its beautiful." (VIBE)

In summer 2010, the rap veteran broke his silence on separating from the R&B singer.

"Nope, nope, nope," Nas told Tim Westwood when asked if he wanted to comment on his personal life. "I never, you know, I never was that kind of dude, you know what I mean? It took me by surprise that today's game, though, no matter who you are, you can wind up out there. Your business be out there. That's just the way it is. I don't know what to do about that. You can't control it, it is what it is. I wish everybody the best, I wish the best for everybody. I ain't tripping, life is life. I love life. You live and learn. You just keep growing. Yeah. It's tough bruh, but yo, I dive in. I goes in. I still think marriage is a beautiful thing, it's a beautiful thing, you just gotta be strong to weather the ups and downs. I think it's a good thing to marry -- I had great hopes. I thought we were going to go through it big, but two people are not, we gotta become one mind in a way. Two people think about life different, they see things different and then you just grow in different directions but I had a great time. Shout-out to my son Knight, he'll be one tomorrow." ("Tim Westwood TV")