Conversation so far:
How did Nas begin Nas's career?
As a teenager, Nas enlisted his best friend and upstairs neighbor Willy "Ill Will" Graham as his DJ.
Who else helped?
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In the late-1980s, he met up with the producer Large Professor and went to the studio where Rakim and Kool G Rap were recording their albums.
What was his first album?
In 1994, Nas's debut album, Illmatic, was finally released.
It was awarded best album of 1994 by The Source.

Question: Did he have any performances before then?
Self-contained rewrite: Did Nas have any performances before 1994?