Hip Hop legend Nas was one of the featured guests this week on the PBS show Finding Your Roots. The Illmatic album creator connected with Harvard University’s Henry Louis Gates, Jr. to take a look back through Nas’ lineage.
Famed actress Angela Bassett and Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama Valerie Jarrett were also part of the episode. One of the most poignant moments of the program came when Nas was shown an $830 slave sale receipt for his great great great-grandmother.
“First I was enraged when I looked at the bill of sale,” said Nas at a panel discussion in July. “I was like, that guy that owned property owes me some cash. My people made him really wealthy, so maybe I should find his family and talk.”