(AllHipHop News) Nasir Jones is known as an iconic emcee, but the Queens, New York native is also building a name for himself as a notable angel investor. His venture capital firm QueensBridge Venture Partners has allowed Nas to finance more than 40 start-up companies ranging from technology to health care to music production.

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QBVP typically invests $100,000 to $500,000 in a company, and the firm has conducted over 100 deals in the last six years. The creator of the classic Hip Hop album Illmatic connected with CNBC to discuss his turn to the financial sector. Nas was asked to define his investment philosophy.

“People. That is the absolute number 1,” wrote Nas in an email to CNBC. “I love to bet on great people that inspire me and make me think or see things differently.”

The product of the Queensbridge housing projects has heavily invested in Silicon Valley companies such as Lyft, Dropbox, Coinbase, Tradesy, and LANDR. Nas wanted to dive into the tech world and other businesses with full force.

“I want to meet the people who are innovating in all different fields, and investing lets me do that,” added the “One Mic” rapper. “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.”

Besides Nas, the QueensBridge Venture Partners team includes fellow partners Anthony Saleh, Anand Murthy, Ajay Relan, Dee Murthy, and Craig Vaughan. The firm’s investment portfolio also features Virgin Mega, Pocket, Storefront, The Noun Project, Alpha Draft, and numerous other ventures.