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

[thelonious21]

The fact nas got a thread got 2 billion pages

 

[ROFL_GUY]

This the best I’ve heard Nas sound flow & lyric wise since Life Is Good.

The production is…..an interesting choice. It’s very stripped down & that’s probably what they were going for but music is still music.

It’s gotta be enjoyable to listen to, have replay value.

If Nas wasn’t flowing the way he is throughout the album this would be a complete throwaway. This like the opposite of that Group Home album, Nas carried this shyt on his back.

Any quotables ANY?

 

[Awesome Wells]

aint no fuking way!!!!

The funniest shyt are youtube producers talking about beats and their beats are all quantized shyt on the grid with stiff azz drums that no one wants to listen to.

This right here!

I said the same sh*t! I'm seeing way too many bedroom "beat makers" who haven't sold a beat in their life, talking about Preem's sh*t as if he's doing something wrong, lol. But this is how people are now. Everyone's a critic or an expert on sh*t they have no history or success in. Dudes with trash ass beats are telling us what one of the greatest producers of all-time is doing "wrong" with his latest production work.

MF's are outta their mind, bro.

 

[spliz]

Exactly, bro.

Dudes literally said the concept for "Pause Tapes" was "wack", but then right after, admitted they didn't even know what a pause tape was. LOL!! There are people trying their best to critique sh*t they have limited knowledge on. And this is why you can't take these dudes seriously.

This is also true.

 

[ROFL_GUY]

This right here!

I said the same sh*t! I'm seeing way too many bedroom "beat makers" who haven't sold a beat in their life, talking about Preem's sh*t as if he's doing something wrong, lol. But this is how people are now. Everyone's a critic or an expert on sh*t they have no history or success in. Dudes with trash ass beats are telling us what one of the greatest producers of all-time is doing "wrong" with his latest production work.

MF's are outta their mind, bro.

Your opinion is more important

Why?

 

[Tommy Gibbs]

This right here!

I said the same sh*t! I'm seeing way too many bedroom "beat makers" who haven't sold a beat in their life, talking about Preem's sh*t as if he's doing something wrong, lol. But this is how people are now. Everyone's a critic or an expert on sh*t they have no history or success in. Dudes with trash ass beats are telling us what one of the greatest producers of all-time is doing "wrong" with his latest production work.

MF's are outta their mind, bro.

aint sold ONE GODDAMN BEAT IN THEIR LIFE and never been in a studio talking about a legend's beats. I've told these dudes, " I am far from great, but I got placements. I've sold shyt. I've did songs with legends. You're just talking shyt online playing with a computer mouse". . shyt is crazy. I can't believe it.

 

[dubsmith_nz]

Yo that live stream was dope, cool see to AZ pop out and perform "Affirmative Action" and "Phone Tap"

 

[Artfull Dodger]

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.

You have been on this divide and dismissive rhetoric since the album dropped. Suddenly anyone that critics premo isnt a day one/real/older fan ???
i get it..some of the posters here respect yo industry insights and wont call u out for these hypocritical posts.
Premo can do better, he is our goat too but he seems to be god status in your takes.
Premo is top two all time (yes) but not in this time (2025) he has fallen down the pecking order of inform producers. There are highlights of his
talent on here (Writers, Junkie) but overall the rest are C-/+ beats.
We get it u dont like Hitboy, but u dont have to elevate premo average beats to stratosphere levels just to sht on HB.

You say HitBoy could produce for another 25 years, and still wouldn't be as dope as Preem on his wackest day
Hitboy already produced a gritty, 90s Ny sound album with Nas which has 6 less tracks and its way better than this.

An "Average producer" gave us Michael & Quincy, The Cure, DRE, Storerun, Rare, Thun, Truth, Wave gods, Legit, 30, WTF SMH, Dont Shoot
21 Summers, Blue Benz, Ugly, POYAC, Slow it Down, Never Die, Sitting with my Thoughts, Speechless 1 & 2, Motion, Nas is Good, Nobody
Count me In, Dedicated, Car 85.

Anyway... our gripe with this album is not about Premo vs HB

DJ Premier is a GOAT producer but we wont take him producing a Nas album that comes out the gate competing with his 2nd/3rd tier
catalogue albums. Album is OK and thats BAD it should be GREAT.
Preem can do better we wont give him legacy credits just to pass over this fumble.

 

[Awesome Wells]

aint sold ONE GODDAMN BEAT IN THEIR LIFE and never been in a studio talking about a legend's beats. I've told these dudes, " I am far from great, but I got placements. I've sold shyt. I've did songs with legends. You're just talking shyt online playing with a computer mouse". . shyt is crazy. I can't believe it.

Sh*t is wild.

Amateurs talking sh*t about legends like they're in position to even speak. If you can't get into the music, that's fine. But they're going into detail about how things are mixed "wrong" and about hi hats, kicks and snares, etc, and their issue with this or that. Then you hear their beats and they're all doo doo and you can clearly see they ain't talented, lol.

The fans today have too much access to information, so that makes them feel like they're in the business or like they're in the same league as actual greats. You can read their posts and see they don’t have a clue about what they're talking about. But the sad sh*t is, they really think they do.

 

[Shahcronz]

 

[FunkDoc1112]

Figured I oughta put my money where my mouth is and cooked up a quick version of how I woulda done NYSOM3. I just used the Billy Joel sample since the main sample hasn't surfaced yet. I didn't really mix it or sequence the drums how usually do (drums have wayyy too much reverb lmao) or anything and it's just a slghtly chopped loop, but then again so was the OG so lol

 

[Big Homie Behemoth]

Do people seriously not rock with Pause Tapes? That shyt is GENIUS, can’t get enough of it. My faves at the moment are Pause Tapes, Your Story, My Story, It’s Time, Junkie and 3rd Childhood. Nas rapping at such an elite level, it’s difficult to comprehend how a man his age is capable of turning out such quality. We knew what we were gonna get with Primo and that’s cool.

 

[FunkDoc1112]

Sh*t is wild.

Amateurs talking sh*t about legends like they're in position to even speak. If you can't get into the music, that's fine. But they're going into detail about how things are mixed "wrong" and about hi hats, kicks and snares, etc, and their issue with this or that. Then you hear their beats and they're all doo doo and you can clearly see they ain't talented, lol.

The fans today have too much access to information, so that makes them feel like they're in the business or like they're in the same league as actual greats. You can read their posts and see they don’t have a clue about what they're talking about. But the sad sh*t is, they really think they do.

I feel like this is aimed at me.

I mean look, you don't have to be a producer or a certain level of producer to know if you like something or not, we all got ears, and we all have brains that make words, and this is far from the first album that might be considered divisive, weirdly mixed, etc. If some people ain't fukking with it, then it is what it is, all this gatekeeping shyt is unnecessary. And I've been more complimentary of this album than most as it's a solid project overall, I just see the flaws holding it back and can point them out immediately going off of Premo's and others' previous output

 

[beenz]

I don't care what anyone says. this is the album I've dreamed of and it has lived up to every expectation I've ever imagined

 

[beenz]

After this Amazon show I cannot WAIT for Nas to go on tour in 2026.

The Light Years tracks go HARD live

my homegirl, who LOVES nas, said he's gonna do vegas, and if that comes to fruition, I will go despite the fact I HATE flying and especially going to the west coast cuz of the length of the flights.