Anthony Cruz, born March 9, 1972, is an American rapper known professionally as AZ. Gaining early recognition for his standout feature on Nas’s track "Life’s a Bitch" from the classic Illmatic album, AZ went on to form The Firm alongside Nas, Foxy Brown, Cormega, and Nature. He released his acclaimed debut album Doe or Die in 1995, which included the gold-certified single "Sugar Hill." AZ continued to build on his success with albums like Pieces of a Man, 9 Lives, and Aziatic, the latter earning a Grammy nomination for the track "The Essence" with Nas. Often celebrated for his lyrical skills, AZ has been hailed as one of hip hop’s most underrated artists, earning spots on lists such as About.com’s Top 50 MCs of Our Time.