Author Topic: NAS & DJ PREMIER - LIGHT-YEARS (Official Discussion) (Read 1146 times)

Mr. Sunshine · « **Reply #30 on:** December 15, 2025, 05:25:11 AM »

The album is simply really good, a journey through Na's time, and if you listen to the album from back to front, it gets even better in my opinion

Mr. T H E O · « **Reply #31 on:** December 15, 2025, 06:42:16 AM »

Writers

.:Hercy Buggz:. · « **Reply #32 on:** December 15, 2025, 01:52:06 PM »

Ill give it another listrn today! Lets see

--Vance-- · « **Reply #33 on:** **Yesterday** at 01:41:31 AM »

Where should I start? ...
First impression wasn't overwhelming production-wise. Nas is clearly the stronger and main part of this album to me. DJ Premier is next to Dr. Dre my all-time favorite hip-hop producer of all time. That's why I have very high expectations (like on Missionary, where Dre also didn't deliver his best work). I don't want to be a hater or something. I appreciate that DJ Premier is almost 40 years in the game! He is still very relevant to this day. I was at the show with The Alchemist and he is a beast still on the tables and performance-wise (hyping up the crowd like a king!).

But if I have to be honest : The Alchemist has the crown right now. His production has evolved without loosing it's touch to modern sounds. "The Great Escape" by Larry June and "Alfredo 2" are just 2 perfect examples.

Back to Nas and Preemo:

While "Light Years" doesn’t fully meet my production expectations, it still deserves respect. Nas delivers a strong, focused performance and clearly carries the project lyrically. DJ Premier remains authentic to his sound (Samples, Breakbeats, Chop-Style), even if I personally hoped for more evolution on the beat side. The drums just don't hit the same anymore (D&D magic is lost, maybe because Eddie Sancho is missing?) Part of the disappointment might simply come from the extremely high expectations attached to a Nas x Premier collaboration. Culturally and historically, this album is a "legacy project" - it kinda represents hip-hop's history in real time. That's very nice for newer generations. Maybe they will digg deeper after finding out, by listening to "Writers" for example, that Graffiti is a big part of this culture.

I give this project a 7/10 at this moment. Maybe it will grow on me. And biggest s/o goes to Mass Appeal for doing such a great job in the 2020s - representing Classic Hip Hop projects (with quality physical releases!) to the fullest. Nas is to me still the best rapper from the East Coast! He has the crown for sure!

doggfather · « **Reply #34 on:** **Yesterday** at 02:24:28 AM »

WCThang · « **Reply #35 on:** **Yesterday** at 04:24:39 PM »

This is a solid project but expectations were probably too high. Nas is still an incredible rapper but DJ Premier's production is rather average throughout this project.

The other issue is that this album would probably be 4th best in the 6-album Hit Boy run? Makes it feel more average.

I get the Billy Joel sample, but I'm not sure NY State of Mind 3 deserves it's title. Good track, but doesn't live up.

On the other hand I think 3rd Childhood is my favorite song on the album.