Albums Nas & DJ Premier - Light-Years (Discussion Thread)

[BmoreGorilla]

This right here. Im an elder millennial too in my early 40's and while I do like that sort of "stripped down" Gang Starr sound of the early 90's I was hoping for more "Come Get Me" and "Nas Is Like" type stuff

There are hints of it here and there like on Writers and Bouquet, but most of the beats are stripped down and minimalist.

But, I understand that's the sound and vibes they were going for.....that 1993-1994 vibe

Tbh Premo ain’t made this type beats in a long time. He been very minimalistic for what feels like 15 years at least now which is why I wasn’t really looking forward to this album. His production has lacked soul imo. But I like the production on this album

 

[Tetris v2.0]

Fair enough. Livin Proof wasn't even 100% Preemo and that's generally considered his magnum opus.

The one Preemo heavy album that gets lost in the sauce is Firing Squad. He had a good 6 or 7 beats on that album and every last one of them was flames. Even the intro with the samples and talking was heat.

I'd also say that he played a defining role in Return of the Boom Bap like Firing Squad

 

[Da King]

My dawg is running out of stuff to rap about at this point.

I was thinking that too, but these average beats aren’t helping

 

[MicIsGod]

That Nas and az track dudes hating on this song too? Lol

 

[ArchStanton]

I'm from Philly

Eve, Left Eye, Charli Baltimore, Bahamadia, and Ice Cream Tee all got shout outs

Even Cornbread the legendary tagger got a s/o on the album

Oaktown 357 was mentioned toward the end. Even JJ Fad was mentioned.

 

[Supa]

9th Wonder gotta be the most overrated producer ever.

Actually nah thats Alchemist

You don't know shyt about production if you believe that.

9th is hands down one of the best at sample chops. He's a genius at it and he was innovative. There's not many who can match his output and consistency. That man had hundreds of instrumentals circulating surely after The Listening debuted and damn near all of them were fire. He's still dope. Go watch Rhythm Roulette and see how most producers on there might get 1 beat made while 9th can just keep flipping samples with ease.

Alchemist has been elite for decades. We Gon Make It, The Realest, Worst Comes to Worst, and that's his old shyt. Alfredo 1 & 2, Covert Coup, the Boldy albums, Larry June & 2Chainz, we can go on and on.

If you think Hit Boy is better or more influential than either you're out of your damn mind. Y'all were literally applauding Hit for copying 9th's style

 

[Zero]

I'll keep saying it



This is the last time we ever saw prime Primo

 

[g-ice]

Truth.

Preem definitely showed up. He brings out the best in Nas. There is no other producer who gets Nas rapping out of his mind, like this. They actually sat down and came up with the concepts together and built the structure for these joints together. So Nas directed Preem on what he needed production-wise and they came up with every detail. Which is why I think Nas sounds so fired up!

One of the OG's just said on IG that Nas ain't rap like this consistently, since the 90's. And he's right!

This was my exact thought. Nas was micro managing Premo with the production. I’m convinced he wanted to rap on the minimalistic beats from Preem.

 

[HNIC973]

Yeaaa definitely. I think it can benefit ALOT from that. Im in a weird spot cause I really like the album and think it’s dope but I’m also kinda mad at the album. shyt is weird. lol.

Because we know Preemo can do better. We've literally seen him give F-listers like Big Shug better shyt. I'll never hate Preemo he still my GOAT though

 

[Icewatermetallik]

I'll keep saying it



This is the last time we ever saw prime Primo

Imagine Nas tearing this up or if this album had a beat like this........

 

[MikeStamina]

Nas is my 1B G.O.A.T. but I gotta be completely honest…I’ve given this 2 tries so far and it has not been a pleasant experience.

I'm about to trap you in a corner

What's better, this or Nastradamus

 

[Zero]

Because we know Preemo can do better. We've literally seen him give F-listers like Big Shug better shyt. I'll never hate Preemo he still my GOAT though

My nikka



It's not fair lmao

 

[ItWasWritten]

Premo still uses the MPC60 to this day

I think he uses it but I think he moved on to the newer mpc's too



Should of known from this beat the Gawd was more washed than the pacific ocean


Source: DJ Premier, Music Producer & DJ Gear

 

[((ReFleXioN)) EteRNaL]

1. My Life is Real- 9/10. One of the standouts to me
2. Git Ready- 6/10. Crypto currency Scarface?....stop it nas
3. NYSOM 3- 4/10. Beat and flow don't mesh AT ALL.
4. Welcome to the Underground- 3/10. Beat is BASURA
5. Madman- 6/10. Feels like premo has made this same exact beat 100 times already. Just keeps recycling sounds.
6. Pause Tapes- 4/10. I get the concept but nah
7. Writers- 9/10. Really dope. One of the few times premo actually matched nas's energy. Dope rhymes. Dope beat.
8. Sons- 9/10 This is the vibe I wanted more of. Fire sample. Great flow.
9. It's Time- 7/10. Not the biggest fan of the sample. But it's decent enough.
10. Nasty Esco Nasir- 5/10. Generic beat with more generic premo stock sounds. Feels very cheap.
11. My Story Your Story- 6/10. Decent track. Not the greatest beat. Not the best performances from Nas and AZ, but it's passable.
12. Bouquet- 5/10. Okay beat. Cheesy pandering subject matter. Ehh.
13. Junkie- 9/10. Another standout. Great sample.
14. Shine Together- 6/10. Bout as middle of the road as it gets. Both of em on auto pilot.
15. 3rd Childhood- 5/10. Dope rhymes. Boring ass beat.



Overall there's a few dope tracks but still a very mid level album. But this is pretty much what I expected from premo at this point. Nas was solid but his subject matter has gotten very repetitive in the last 5 years. Just not much creativity coming from the pen anymore. I'm not trying to hear Nas rap about crypto and business deals. I would like to see him make a conceptual album. Maybe a full story where he raps from the perspective of different characters. Switch it up. Nas is at his best when he's storytelling but these beats he's rapping on aren't gonna inspire that type of writing.


Wtf happened to preme

 

[Awesome Wells]

This was my exact thought. Nas was micro managing Premo with the production. I’m convinced he wanted to rap on the minimalistic beats from Preem.

Truth.

When they previewed the album for us, the word was "We're doing this for Hip Hop and taking it back to the essence". People keep mentioning "Nas Is Like", but that sound isn't what they wanted for this project. At all.

They said this is for the "Sidekick with Dapper Dan interior days". Thing is, a lot of the casuals don’t even know what means or they missed that era, so they're not going to understand what Nas is saying. But songs like 'Pause Tapes", "Madman" and others are literally made with that in mind. This one is for the REAL heads. Bro curated this for a very particular listener.