Carmen Bryan doesn't rap, but she is a part of hip-hop history. She shares a daughter with rap superstar Nas. And had an affair with his biggest rival, Def Jam President Jay-Z. Listen as she discusses her feelings about the past relationships, the criticism she's presently receiving, and how she plans to move forward past it all with a line of men's make-up and her own record label.

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"Carm, is he talking about you?"

Nas's insistent voice penetrated the fog in my head. I must have picked up the ringing telephone in my sleep. Had it awakened our daughter, Destiny, too?

"What?" My bedside clock read midnight. It was 3 A.M. for Nas in New York. Uh-oh. Whatever prompted this call was troubling enough to keep him awake.

"I keep hearing about this Memphis Bleek song with Jay-Z. It's supposed to be about you."

The song was news to me, but at the mention of Shawn's name my heart sank down to my stomach, which tightened into knots. I sat up in bed and tossed aside the silk comforter. With the movement the diamond on my left hand caught a silvery ray of moonlight. I took a deep breath and calmed down. Nas and I were finally getting married. This was no time to panic.

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Here are five things that you should know about Carmen Bryan.

1. Carmen met Nas through her cousin Large Professor, a hip-hop legend and founder of the rap group Main Source.

2. In 2002 Carmen held a press conference where she lashed out at Cam'ron and Jay-Z for their derogatory references to her daughter in their raps.

3. 50 Cent approached Carmen about publishing the book on his imprint.

4. 'It's No Secret' will hit shelves between the release dates of the most anticipated albums of Jay-Z and Nas's careers.

5. Carmen released an independent version of her book first. It was called 'Sex Drugs & Hip Hop. Oh, And Did I Mention Love?' Images of it can still be found on her website.