1991's "Live At The BBQ" by Main Source introduced the Hip-Hop world to a young Queensbridge MC who called himself Nasty Nas. The first MC on the revered posse cut, Nas created an instant fanbase with lines like "Stampede the stage I leave the microphone split/play Mr. Tuffy while I'm on some Pretty Tone shit/ verbal assassin my architect pleases /when I was twelve I went to hell for snuffin Jesus/Nasty Nas is a rebel to America/police murderer I'm causin' hysteria."

It would be less than a year before we heard Nasty Nas again, but this time as a solo artist signed to Columbia records with production by Main Source frontman The Large Professor.

"Half Time," from the soundtrack to the motion picture ZebraHead, was a musical gumbo of boom-bap drums and samples by The Average White Band, The Cast of Hair and Gary Byrd all cooked to perfection by The Large Pro. Lyrically, Nas dropped a staggering display of punchlines and clever wordplay.

He spit: "I used to hustle, now all I do is relax and strive/when I was young, I was a fan of the Jackson 5/ I drop jewels, wear jewels to never run it/with more kicks than a baby in a mother's stomach."

The song was just enough to feed the hungry lovers of lyrics who had been waiting to be served again after "...BBQ."

"Half Time" served as a bridge between Nas' Main Source orchestrated debut and his next single, the Large Professor produced "It Ain't Hard To Tell" from 1994 which saw Nas drop Nasty from his moniker. Many fans thought that "It Ain't Hard To Tell" was his debut, highlighting the fact that "Half Time" was a sleeper underground banger upon its release. Illmatic, which is widely regarded as Nas' best album came later in 1994 (with "Half Time" included), and Nas was dubbed the second coming of Rakim shortly after. "Half Time" was an important stepping stone in the journey to Nas' greatness.