NAS TALKS ABOUT BEING A G.O.A.T

It wasn’t always a smooth road to stardom for one of Queens’ finest lyricists — but he wouldn’t have written it any other way.

Street-wise rapper Nas, a.k.a. Nasir Jones, sat down with Rolling Stone scribe Anthony DeCurtis last week to discuss his nearly 20-year career that has included hip hop industry feuds, platnium-selling albums and lawsuits.

The Queensbridge Houses product was humble — yet unapologetic — about the rough-and-tumble roller coaster ride his life and music have been on since he burst onto the scene in 1994 with the album “Illmatic.”

“The flaws, the mistakes I make — that’s the real me,” Jones, 39, said Tuesday at the 92nd St. Y. “It’s not so polished. It’s not a hit.”

The often-controversial emcee was hit with a $10 million breach of contract lawsuit last month by a jilted New Jersey promoter over a failed New Year’s Eve appearance in Africa. He also had issues with the Internal Revenue Service over unpaid taxes, which he admitted are still ongoing during his one-on-one with DeCurtis.

But nearly 20 years since his debut record, his hard-hitting songs are still garnering praise.

His latest album, “Life is Good,” earned him four Grammy nominations, including Best Rap Album and Best Rap Song.

The bombastic rapper grew surprisingly somber when discussing the late Amy Winehouse, with whom he developed a fast friendship via Skype before the crooner’s untimely demise.

“When I got the call that she passed, it really brought me down,” he said. “She had all these ideas. She was witty.”

The two are nominated for their collaboration on “Cherry Wine.”

But accolades for his latest album aren’t what surprise Jones.

“I could never imagine back then having a career that lasted even one decade,” he said. “At one point everyone around me was on parole — the next moment everyone owns mansions.”

The Queensbridge housing development where he grew up formed his musical taste, from his jazz trumpeter father Olu Dara playing John Coltrane records in their apartment to the oversized boomboxes blasting LL Cool J in the project courtyards.

Jones still visits his old Long Island City stomping grounds on occasion, but prefers a more solitary lifestyle. The posh penthouses still feel foreign and the harsh streets all too familiar, he said.

“I don’t go out unless I’m working. My quality time is when I’m doing nothing,” he said.

Meanwhile, the hip hop elder statesman cautioned aspiring artists against instant fame, saying that the tribulations are often the best part of the journey.

“Once you make it to your point of making it, you’ll appreciate the struggle,” he said.

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