Light-Years

Album ∙ Rap ∙ 2025

Nas & DJ Premier

Any telling of Nas’ story would be woefully incomplete without mentioning DJ Premier. Back in the day, the esteemed Gang Starr producer laced the then-rising Queensbridge MC with three beats that made his game-changing 1994 debut, Illmatic. That professional connection continued with placements on albums like I Am… and the triumphant Stillmatic, further linking the two artists in the annals in hip-hop history. As such, the arrival of Light-Years, fully produced by Preemo at the virtual halfway point of Nasir’s improbable 2020s run, seems like the fulfillment of rap destiny.

Naturally, these men have grown and evolved in the three decades since their first team-up. Nas’ references to crypto portfolios and Saudi investments on “GiT Ready” and “Welcome to the Underground” are exceedingly far from those found on their initial studio collaborations, a better reflection of the artist as contemporary businessman while intermittently nodding to his origins as a NYCHA project kid. That’s not to say the album doesn’t indulge in nostalgia, evidenced early on by a sociopolitically-charged third installment in their “NY State Of Mind” series. Elsewhere, he conjures the spirit of graffiti’s glory days on “Writers” and revisits his rap personas on the existential run-through “Nasty Esco Nasir.”

Raising the bar, Premier’s signature scratch-laden instrumentals veer between throwback to timeless through the cavernous chill of “Madman” and the cassette noise groove of “Pause Tapes.” Some of his unapologetic sample choices convey his elder statesman status, repurposing a seminal mid-’70s funk-rock hook for the evocative “It’s Time” and elevating the lost art of elite boom-bap on closer “3rd Childhood.” By combining his impossibly deep crates with Nas’ extensive book of rhymes, Light-Years sets itself apart as a standout in both of their storied catalogs.