Nas isn't as active on the mic as he was a decade ago, but the proud QueensBridge native is focusing more of his time, energy and money into business ventures. The rapper's latest investment is in Exo, a Brooklyn-based startup that makes protein bars out of crickets. According to Business Insider, Exo has closed a $4 million round of Series A funding led by Accel Foods that has brought its total funding to $5.6 million.

Founded by Greg Sewitz and Gabi Lewis, who started experimenting with cricket-based food while they were seniors at Brown University, Exo claims that "cricket flour" is better for the environment and can help in the fight against world hunger.

The investment into Exo adds to Nas' growing business portfolio. The MC founded the venture capital firm QueensBridge Venture Partners and lists Lyft, Dropbox, Coinbase and Tradesy as startups that the company has invested money into.

"I always wanted to be surrounded by the smartest people in the world and didn't want to limit that to just music," he told CNBC. "I want to meet the people who are innovating in all different fields, and investing lets me do that. I meet the people that are changing the game across all different industries, and I get to be there first at the ground level. It's helped me to progress tremendously in my business."

The Illmatic MC has partnered with Brooklyn-based restaurant Sweet Chick, helped cloud-based company LANDR raise $6.2 million and is listed as an executive producer for The Land, an upcoming indie film that stars Erykah Badu.

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