Current label: Def Jam

Age: 40

Last album: Life is Good (2012)

Recent label drama: Nas releases open letter blasting Def Jam executives

Back in October, DJ Premier confirmed that he and Nas have plans to drop an album—just not while the rapper is signed to Def Jam. “It’s coming,” Preemo said. “He has another project to drop on Def Jam, then he's a free agent. Let him get that out. It'll give me time to get my artists ripped and ready.”

Twenty years after Nas and Premier first linked on wax, we still need that. And it’s reason enough for calls for Nas to leave his major. Beyond that though, back in 2010, Nas’ issues with Def Jam became public when an email was leaked. Though they may have been patched up with the release of his celebrated 2012 album, Life Is Good, a legend like Nas could pull a Beyonce with an overnight release and no promo and hip-hop would lose its collective shit.