We review Nas & DJ Premier’s latest album Light-Years: Here’s everything you need to know about the long-awaited hip-hop release
Last updated: 16th December 2025
Nas and DJ Premier go together like bats and balls. The hip-hop game can’t substitute them, thanks to the energy the two draw from each other. Preemo’s recent projects have yielded a lacklustre to acceptable run, whereas Nas has been bouncing off every single kind of board.
From music features to commerce, rap campaigns, and more, he’s been on top of his game, even through what is rumoured to have been a stressful period following a release with Kanye West (Ye). Since then, he’s dropped a whopping set of releases like the King’s Disease trilogy. Today, both he and Preem drop their long-awaited collaboration — Light-Years. Having been on the Legend Has It… menu for some time there’s incredible hype surrounding it.
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Nas is now synonymous with the saying “Hip-Hop is Dead”, but today he single-handedly brings it back from the brink. Light-Years runs 48 minutes of the renowned Queensbridge sound with only one feature — AZ.
Opening the album, My Life Is Real features quintessential sonic foundations, reflecting on his formative years. He’s earned his place, and this track serves as the starting pistol, laying the groundwork for the rest of the project. Classic Preemo keys strike the track, escorted by signature scratches and a storytelling finesse we’re accustomed to. It’s formulaic, and incredibly simplistic, but it works. It then flips into GiT Ready, where Nas continues to flaunt lyrical gifts with an instantly recognisable cadence, cataloging the wild changes he has endured, likening himself to Nvidia. So far, it’s laced with classic dusty drums and a vestige of boom-bap loops, layered upon each together. But does this continue?
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The moment we’ve all been waiting for: NY State of Mind Part 3. Ever since the duo posted the tracklist, this track brewed the hype. Deviating from the core sound of the series, Premier cocks his sample guns to the extreme with strings galore, before the beat switches up into notes from the original.
Welcome To The Underground taps a similar energy. Jones raps over hard riffs and old-school, vinyl-sourced drums as he spits game about what it takes to make it and how the experience has shaped him. These attitudes are lyrically carried over to Madman, a joint that calls out industry racism. It’s dense, and, more importantly, direct.
Pause Tapes is one of my favourites, and rolls back to an earlier tempo and pulse that sees Nasir enter his memory banks to recollect the early days of recording; the nostalgia of crafting music, listening to MCs, and the effect it had on him.
Writers acts as its sequel, with a deliberate flow that catalogues the elements of hip-hop that made him who he is. Documenting his tagging days and a general respect for the movement and genre, both tracks follow old-school templates, yet Nas executes them stalwartly for a contemporary scene.
The two songs are eloquently placed as they move from themes of his youth to Sons (Young Kings), a piece reflecting on fatherhood and legacy, speaking to his own son. Again, this is thematically extended to It’s Time (featuring The Steve Miller Band), where he harnesses the notion of urgency and underlines that time is a weapon.
We then return to Nasty Esco Nasir, who self-mythologises himself, asserting his place in hip-hop, both historically and in the culture. My Story Your Story features AZ, recalling street life, the complexities of relationships and the harshness of its influence.
Bouquet (To the Ladies) pays homage to the women of hip-hop, from Foxy Brown, Faith Newman, Rah Digga, Mia X, and her long-time, even if intermittent, partner, Lauryn Hill. Preemo once again lets rip a bout of horns that upswing sonically, matching its message.
“You being underappreciated makes my heart melt” – Bouquet (To The Ladies)
Junkie is one of the lesser tracks. Compositionally, it fails to match the production, despite its subject matter of addiction to hip-hop. Esco does his best, and for the most part, succeeds, though its lento tempo doesn’t quite feel like him. Shine Together is an improvement, ramping up their partnership and a philosophy of success through numbers. 3rd Childhood echoes its predecessor with blunted bass plucks and session drums; however, melodiously, it’s a sour number to finish on.
The Verdict
Overall, it’s great, though not exactly what we expected. Now that we have it, we can see why Nas commissioned only a handful of tracks per release from DJ Premier. An entire album of this style can feel vapid. Preemo’s recent work has been a far cry from his prime years, yet Nas takes it from 60 to 100%. His descriptive language and multi-syllabic rhyme schemes bolster its ideas and at least give us something to enjoy. There’s something missing, though it’s enjoyable nonetheless.
From its classic rap motifs that made him a household name, Jones continues to cook triple Michelin star rhymes. It’s not just his skills that amplify his relevance, but his ability to curate. From time to time, this yields incredible substance and unparalleled vocal and music sampling, as on GiT Ready, Writers, and My Life Is Real. Unfortunately, NY State Of Mind Pt.3, took a wrong turn, and despite Nas’ impeccable rhyming skills, it’s not enough to save it. The album is strong; it just didn’t end the way we expected.
Album Details
Genre: Hip-Hop
Label: Mass Appeal Records
Studio: Kaufman Astoria Studios and D&D (New York City)
Full Album Tracklist
- My Life Is Real
- GiT Ready
- N.Y. State of Mind Pt. 3
- Welcome to the Underground
- Madman
- Pause Tapes
- Writers
- Sons (Young Kings)
- It’s Time (feat. Steve Miller Band)
- Nasty Esco Nasir
- My Story Your Story (feat. AZ)
- Bouquet (To the Ladies)
- Junkie
- Shine Together
- 3rd Childhood
Stream and Buy Vinyl
The album is available to stream on all major platforms. Mass Appeal Records are currently shipping vinyl, CD, and cassette copies from $14.
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