Nas
In the late 1990s, Nas began feuding with rapper Jay-Z. In 2001, Jay-Z wrote a song called "Takeover" that insulted Nas. Nas replied by writing a song called "Ether" that insulted Jay-Z in return. "Ether" appeared on Nas' fifth album, Stillmatic, which he released in 2001. Stillmatic was mostly well liked. Its good reception helped to boost Nas' career after his last two albums had received bad reviews. Nas' next album was The Lost Tapes, an album made of songs he had written earlier but never published. The Lost Tapes got good reviews. Some critics said it was his best album since Illmatic.