Nas Invests in Cricket Powder Protein Bars Exo, Gives New Meaning to 'Illmatic'

Nas is considered one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time, which is reason enough to write about him any day, but his recent business investment is our focus this week. The rapper, whose real name is Nasir Jones, has invested in a Brooklyn protein bar company that uses cricket flour, or dust, in its product. Exo could be the future of fast and nutritional food, but are we ready to get past the main ingredient? The Illmatic rapper is putting his money where his crickets, I mean, mouth is.

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Founded by Greg Sewitz and Gabi Lewitz, Exo is a bold product entering into the food industry, but having some high-profile backers like Nas is sure to help the process.

"In the long term, we envision cricket powder being competitive with soy, and whey, and any other protein source," Sewitz, 24, explained while speaking to Bloomberg. "That starts with introducing cricket protein to a consumer base with no direct experience with it and a lot of preconceived ideas that were negative."

There are a number of benefits to using crickets as another food production option ... but crickets? Hey, if Nas is down, it's probably not such a bad venture, right?

Chef Kyle Connaughton is Exo's resident taste-booster responsible for making the cricket taste not bug you ... sorry, had to.

"We looked at the development of these bars the way a chef looks at creating a new restaurant dish," he said of the process. "From a chef's perspective, I'm around food all day, so trying to supplement regular food with a protein bar isn't that much part of my lifestyle."

Does Nas' involvement in this product make it more appetizing?

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