OUT NOW Nas & DJ Premier - Light-Years

Added to Calendar: 12-12-25

I love this album. Different energy from the Hit Boy albums.

I’ve seen some hate for Premo online but I think they’re missing the point. Pretty minimalist beats but I have to think that was an intentional choice. I feel like they were going for like Eric B and Rakim or early Gang Starr sonically on a lot of these tracks. Nas usually avoids being too retro even when rapping about back in the day but this time they embraced it.

Some Premo criticism is valid I guess, we didn’t get a ton of classic Premo bangers here. That AZ song is a bit disappointing. Shine Together is maybe the closest to what I wanted from them. That one is special and I want more. 3rd Childhood is dope too, that has a classic feel. NY State of Mind 3 didn’t deserve that title mostly cuz of the beat.

Premier went harder on the posthumous Gang Starr album One of the Best Yet and I was hoping for that level of production, but now that I hear this, I really think it’s a style choice and that it works well. I already like it but think it’s going to get better on re-listen.

Nas killed it. Lyrically sharp as ever and delivery/flow was better than about half the Hit Boy albums. Idk how he does it.

I also think people went in with crazy expectations about the long awaited Premier Nas album, and it helps that I didn’t. Nas has unexpectedly given us so much great new music in recent years, I was just sort of like wow I can’t believe we get another one. This shit is all extra at this point.

5 minute tribute to graffiti by Nas in 2025 I did not see coming. I feel like I’ve rarely heard him mention graff ever before, didn’t think he knew it like that. Half my IG feed is that song rn because I write/wrote and follow graff and mad people got a shoutout on that.

Anyway, dope album.
 
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Pete's still at it....

And the fact that so many people can’t pick up on the passive-aggressive shade here is wild. But then again, these are the same people who convinced themselves this album is a banger—and somehow a “classic” on the level of Illmatic—so there’s that.
 
Not a master piece, but a very decent listen. I think y'all being way too hard on premier.... But I'm not the level of hip hop connoisseur that I'm sure you all are... So y'all got it.

But I liked all the songs, and I'll keep them in the current rotation until something else comes out I like
 
Loch121 said:
I’m not even gonna hold yall up after some repeat listening and getting a listen in the car this should be much better and it’s not the rapping that’s the problem and Preme blessed Royce with way better beats on both pryme albums .

I understand why some people are disappointed.
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at the bolded exactly dont understand why people are talking bout
 
The final tipping point was me seeing what was wrong with this album was that I was playing it on Spotify and after the album went off ,Represent came on and I was like “why couldn’t we just get 15 of these?”

I actually kinda like that New York State of mind song though

This isn’t even the usual DJ Premier sound that people might feel is overused. It’s like he tried to do some extra old school shit with these weird Casio keyboard drums
 
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Prodigy’s “Walk Out” was the last Preemo beat that truly hit like a head-nodder to me. It was simple, but the drums and s undertones made you feel like you were right there with P, cruising the streets, soaking in every corner of his world. Preemo hasn’t touched that magic in years.

 
BobOblah said:
I love this album. Different energy from the Hit Boy albums.

I’ve seen some hate for Premo online but I think they’re missing the point. Pretty minimalist beats but I have to think that was an intentional choice. I feel like they were going for like Eric B and Rakim or early Gang Starr sonically on a lot of these tracks. Nas usually avoids being too retro even when rapping about back in the day but this time they embraced it.

Some Premo criticism is valid I guess, we didn’t get a ton of classic Premo bangers here. That AZ song is a bit disappointing. Shine Together is maybe the closest to what I wanted from them. That one is special and I want more. 3rd Childhood is dope too, that has a classic feel. NY State of Mind 3 didn’t deserve that title mostly cuz of the beat.

Premier went harder on the posthumous Gang Starr album One of the Best Yet and I was hoping for that level of production, but now that I hear this, I really think it’s a style choice and that it works well. I already like it but think it’s going to get better on re-listen.

Nas killed it. Lyrically sharp as ever and delivery/flow was better than about half the Hit Boy albums. Idk how he does it.

I also think people went in with crazy expectations about the long awaited Premier Nas album, and it helps that I didn’t. Nas has unexpectedly given us so much great new music in recent years, I was just sort of like wow I can’t believe we get another one. This shit is all extra at this point.

5 minute tribute to graffiti by Nas in 2025 I did not see coming. I feel like I’ve rarely heard him mention graff ever before, didn’t think he knew it like that. Half my IG feed is that song rn because I write/wrote and follow graff and mad people got a shoutout on that.

Anyway, dope album.
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nah


minimalist is no excuse


this one of the most minimalist beats & light years ahead of anything on that album

 


Hearing the instrumentals to these beats just pisses me off even more
:foh5:


The fact some dude in his mom's basement can so easily re-create these beats within than 24hrs after the album dropped speak volumes.
 
a.mann said:


Hearing the instrumentals to these beats just pisses me off even more
:foh5:


The fact some dude in his mom's basement can so easily re-create these beats within than 24hrs after the album dropped speak volumes.
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They be moving fast plus some just take the vocals out and don’t actually remake
 
a.mann said:
Prodigy’s “Walk Out” was the last Preemo beat that truly hit like a head-nodder to me. It was simple, but the drums and s undertones made you feel like you were right there with P, cruising the streets, soaking in every corner of his world. Preemo hasn’t touched that magic in years.

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Preme made better beats than this recently for Ransom and Roc Marciano and at least those beats sound like his regular sound.

I like a lot of the beats on those projects

What I do know is that , that song Nasty Esco Nasir deserved so much better because the concept and lyrics are dope
 
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