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

[Newark88]

It basically sounds like a demo version of Friend:



The difference is, Friend has a fuller sound, fills in the space, and more importantly HI-HATS!!!!

I swear when I get the time and look up the sample I'm gonna quickly cook up my own version just to show what I'm talking about lol

That’s actually lowkey my favorite Krs song

 

[NormanConnors]

Just bumped this album front to back for the 3rd time.

I absolutely love this album. Noddin' and grinnin' on some shyt each track. Can't even keep a favorite track from hour to hour. Even my girl likes Sons, and she doesn't even fukk with hip-hop like that.

It's Time is my fav now/tied with Pause Tapes

 

[Awesome Wells]

That's exactly what I hear on this, I had a feeling Nas may have directed Preem on what he needed, he just sounded totally different on this to me. Another reason for the difference I believe is that Preem has a tendency to coach cats on how to say/deliver certain things. I remember him saying he does that with any emcee no matter the pedigree/caliber of who he's dealing with.

That's why im a bit surprised by the stance of some of the cats in here that I know get busy with the beats and the rhymes, they should know emcees like what they like/can get inspiration from different avenues.

Also if you notice, the real 'banger' type joints he usually (with a few exceptions) gives to the emcees that are not necessarily lyrical and the let em breathe (not as complicated) joints he gives to the lyricist, we've seen with stuff he's given to Nas, Ra and etc, beats be dope as fukk but not complicated at all.

Truth.

That's why I love the album. They went in with a certain vision in mind, and they executed perfectly on what they were aiming for. Nas knew what he wanted the album to be, and Premier is from the era that the concepts were built around. So they knocked this one out the park with that! Definitely one of the best albums, this year.

Nas just sounds his best with Premier, to me.

 

[prophecypro]

Compare the warm of production on de la album to this. It’s rough

These are also two different albums with 2 different themes. De La album is almost melacholy in the theme about life and greif and positvity in everything and Light Years is like a celebration of Hip Hop history and tapes, writers, MCs thats why kinda sounds like a tribute to the past.

I dont think you can copy and paste beats to what the rappers subject always is even one sounds better. Pause Tapes is an example, yeah the beat might sound weird to a lot..but its literally a pause tape being made lol

 

[Awesome Wells]

I disagree. I been listening to gangstarr since I was like 13 and have loved the production primo has done from then til now. and while he's had plenty of misses in the modern era, dude still got it. a lot of the shyt he's been producing the last couple years been hitting in my opinion, and this album sounds fresh as hell. hit-boy is dope, but he is not premier level. even in 2025.

Facts.

But this is what happens when the casuals and new Nas "fans" feel too comfortable in the conversation. Even mentioning HB's name in the same sentence as Premier, is just wild disrespectful. We're talking two different levels of talent and production. Hit Boy could produce for another 25 years, and still wouldn't be as dope as Preem on his wackest day.

Premier is Top 2, all-time. HB ain't even Top 25, in the past 25 years. We gotta stop overrating average producers just because they worked with MC's we revere. Sh*t is beyond corny.

 

[prophecypro]

Nah. The hit albums for example were recived amazing immediately. Online and here. But I hear you

Even those Hit albums got some hate but this is getting more mixed to negative reception because of how dated it sounds it seems (which again given the producer's style and the theme is also by design and expected)


But again though im still confused why, its like people havent heard Premier and thought he would only Nas is Like and Memory Lane type shyt

 

[Nostalgic]

Esco live y'all.

 

[Clapsteel O'Neal]

This is a lie... a lot of the songs here are things that should have been on HHID... Nasty Esco Nasir, Writers, Bouquet, Pause Tapes, Junkie... Plus HHID has Who Killed It. LOL

Actually, you right...I just rechecked the tracklist for HHID and good lawd that album was a55cheeks...i wouldn't say Light Years is far from it though

And yes, topic wise a lot of those tracks would've worked for HHID, but thatrn doesn't mean they were good songs...

And when I was making the post you responded to I had mixed up the nicca album with HHID because I kept thinking "there is nothing, nothing on this light years remotely close to as good as testify and queens get the money" so my bad

 

[Awesome Wells]

These are also two different albums with 2 different themes. De La album is almost melacholy in the theme about life and greif and positvity in everything and Light Years is like a celebration of Hip Hop history and tapes, writers, MCs thats why kinda sounds like a tribute to the past.

I dont think you can copy and paste beats to what the rappers subject always is even one sounds better. Pause Tapes is an example, yeah the beat might sound weird to a lot..but its literally a pause tape being made lol

This here.

But you can see that a lot of people don’t even get the references or concepts that Nas had on the album. We had people on here who didn't even know what a pause tape was, but were complaining about the song. They don’t know WTF Nas is talking about on this project, lol. So they're having a hard time appreciating the ideas and concepts that he put together with Preem on this.

There's a lack of knowledge going on with weirdos who think they know everything.

 

[Ziggiy]

Nas on Amazon Prime now

Represent
The Message
Got Yaself A Gun
Welcome To The Underground
Git Ready
NY State Of Mind
The World is Yours
40-16 Building
I’m on Fire
Street Dreams
Nas is Like
Life’s a bytch WITH AZ
Affirmative Action
Phone Tap
Spicy
Da Don
Hot Boys
Oochie Wally
U Owe Me
Ain’t Hard To Tell (performed the last verse over Paid In Full beat)

Made You Look (performed last verse over Quiet Storm beat)

If I Ruled The World

One Mic (Finale)

 

[Clapsteel O'Neal]

Even those Hit albums got some hate but this is getting more mixed to negative reception because of how dated it sounds it seems (which again given the producer's style and the theme is also by design and expected)


But again though im still confused why, its like people havent heard Premier and thought he would only Nas is Like and Memory Lane type shyt

Why is it impossible for people like you to comprehend that most people didn't walk into the album thinking they were getting nas is like/memory lane beats (even though they did set themselves up for this kind of critique making songs like NYSOM3 and 3rd childhood) and just thought the beats for this album were 5h1t ??? Seriously...it's not that hard s concept to grasp that people just think objectively these beats are bad/subpar

 

[Clapsteel O'Neal]

This here.

But you can see that a lot of people don’t even get the references or concepts that Nas had on the album. We had people on here who didn't even know what a pause tape was, but were complaining about the song. They don’t know WTF Nas is talking about on this project, lol. So they're having a hard time appreciating the ideas and concepts that he put together with Preem on this.

There's a lack of knowledge going on with weirdos who think they know everything.

I hope you have kneepads on...you sound autistic as fucc

Take a deep breath and read this next sentence 3 times over and then take another deep breath and go get some sunlight

A lot of people got all of the layers of the album and still think it's bad/mid. There are going to be people that don't like what you like, and it doesn't mean they don't "get it"

 

[MurderToCassette]

I will say Preem did his thing on Shine together, but his beat isn't fukkin with this

 

[Awesome Wells]

I hope you have kneepads on...you sound autistic as fucc

Take a deep breath and read this next sentence 3 times over and then take another deep breath and go get some sunlight

A lot of people got all of the layers of the album and still think it's bad/mid. There are going to be people that don't like what you like, and it doesn't mean they don't "get it"

I hope you know nobody knows you exist.

A lot of us like the album. It's gonna be alright. Go to bed, bum.

 

[prophecypro]

Nas concert on Prime and Twitch now. Need that playback cause it started half an hour ago