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

[L. Deezy]

I thank Hitboy... he unlocked another chamber in Nas.

 

[HNIC973]

I think at the end of the day, it's dope to see people having different opinions.

We're not all supposed to like the same sh*t. Expecting that is weird. We just had a whole debate about Nicholas Craven on here. I think he's weak, and others did too. But there's some cats who think he has some dope sh*t in the stash. I don’t hear it. But it's all respect. Everybody's not gonna like the same sh*t. And I don’t want them to either.

I can respect that Alc is one of favorite producers ever but @Esco would tell you I've been critical of him for years now making that sleepy shyt. I didn't like Magic 2 much but I do think HB produced a lot of dope shyt for Nas got him locked in back on track. Preemo is my goat I have faith he'll come through

 

[Awesome Wells]

He's been working with Eddie Sancho for decades lol. One of the most prolific engineers in rap, and the guy who produced 95% of the Premo beats that we consider classic.


The problem with some of Premo's recent shyt isn't the mix or engineering. It's that he keeps remaking the same 2-3 beats over and over, and the drum patterns are incredibly predictable/boring. That recent Ransom track is good example. People want the "Premo sound" and for whatever reason that no longer means a bunch of things...it just means Full Clip/Nas Is Like/Boom retread shyt. That was his go-to sound for much of the 2000s well into the 2010s.

He also has multiple dope recent beats too, as have been mentioned in the thread. So I'm not worried.

Truth.

Primo's mastered his sound. So he's gotten into this thing where he's basically making the same beat over and over again. Which is weird because during his prime, he wasn't doing that. He had a wild variety for MC's. I'm a little tired of the same exact knock and scratches on every single beat. But that's my dude, so I know what to expect on his tracks by now. LOL!!

But you're right though, we've been getting 1,492 different renditions of "Boom", "Nas is Like" and "Full Clip" FOR YEARS!!

 

[Awesome Wells]

I can respect that Alc is one of favorite producers ever but the @Esco would tell you I've been critical of him for years now making that sleepy shyt. I didn't like Magic 2 much but I do think HB produced a lot of dope shyt for Nas got him locked in back on track. Preemo is my goat I have faith he'll come through

That's what I meant about opinions. HAHA!

Honestly, I think ALC's been the best producer in Hip Hop, for years now. His output is crazy, but the quality of his work is killing everything else out there. And he doesn't give everybody the same sh*t. You listen to his sh*t with Roc Marci and you can hear that's tailored to him, specifically. The Gibbs work, the Boldy projects, Earl, on and on. He's on another level with the production right now.

 

[The Dust King]

I don’t think that comment you responded to should be attributed from me but I had the same question so it’s all good

Understanding you heard 12 minutes of something, are you saying that this might rival or exceed KD3 and Magic which I view as top 5 projects in Nas’s catalogue?

i can only speak for my tastes

im someone who thinks "who killed it" is amazing wit the funny voice

with that said yes he raised the bar so high. i repeat it was the best nas album i ever heard

i have heard unreleased nas that he did for khaled that never came out

you know how nas raps for khaled too

i have heard unreleased nas he recorded for hiphop is dead that was some more lakim type style

i have heard unreleased nas he recorded the day of 911

this beats all of that.

 

[Headcase]

If Preme can make stuff for Nas on the level of "Born in the Trap" or "E.A.T. (Evolve And Transcend)" or the joints he did for Griselda and Rome Streetz, then I'll be satisfied.

 

[Mank1nd]

.

 

[Supa]

The Hit Boy hate is so fukking corny. Like you have to turn into some damn super fan of his. The bottom line we salute HB for his work because he got Nas sounding somewhat reminiscent of his old self. None of you nikkaz gonna sit here & tell me joints like Thun, The Truth Speechless aren't dope Idgaf who produced it The last non HB produced Nas album was fukking Nasir gtfoh with that bs hate. shyt is lame

If you can fully articulate why you don't like something that's not hate it's criticism.

Y'all love something then enter threads expecting them to be an echo chamber. It doesn't work like that.

i can only speak for my tastes

im someone who thinks "who killed it" is amazing wit the funny voice

with that said yes he raised the bar so high. i repeat it was the best nas album i ever heard

i have heard unreleased nas that he did for khaled that never came out

you know how nas raps for khaled too

i have heard unreleased nas he recorded for hiphop is dead that was some more lakim type style

i have heard unreleased nas he recorded the day of 911

this beats all of that.

I'm now extremely nervous about this album

 

[Mike the Executioner]

Not at all.

Because at this point in their careers, we shouldn't be comparing 30+ year old work to sh*t the legends are doing in their 50's and 60's. Premier is about to be 60. It's not going to be Illmatic. Same as Nas always says, "People need to stop looking for another Illmatic. That's not me anymore."

Whatever they do today needs to stand on its own. But yeah, because of who they are, and the expectations, this project needs to be incredible. Absolutely. Premier said the same. He said he knows what the people want, and that's why they took their time. They understand that the hype over the past couple decades for this album is crazy. They've been talking about doing this since 2003.

So I'm echoing what Primo said. The people have been waiting for over 20 years. It has to be right.

Not at all.

People abuse the word classic to the point where it doesn't mean anything. Even when The Source was at it's height and their word mattered only a handful of albums got 5 mics. Classics are rare and don't come along often.

This album just needs to be 4 mics and I'm good. A dope album with replay value will suffice. Anything more would be a welcome surprise. They're about 20 years late from being able to make a classic.

I agree 100%. That's all I want. An album that still sounds good a couple years from now. Something that I can play all winter. It's not something I'm worried about because Nas is the most inspired he's been since Life is Good and Premier is definitely taking the job seriously with the extra time he's devoting to production. But any ridiculous takes I see in this thread like "Why is there nothing like NYSOM on this album? 2/5" are getting called out.

"Beat Breaks" went under the radar when it came out, but I really liked it. If that's a sample of what to expect from the album, I'm fine with it. "Define My Name" was also good, but that was more of a teaser to build hype. I think @Piff Perkins is right about an album like The FORCE being the measuring stick for Nas × Premier, not Illmatic.

 

[Supa]

I agree 100%. That's all I want. An album that still sounds good a couple years from now. Something that I can play all winter. It's not something I'm worried about because Nas is the most inspired he's been since Life is Good and Premier is definitely taking the job seriously with the extra time he's devoting to production. But any ridiculous takes I see in this thread like "Why is there nothing like NYSOM on this album? 2/5" are getting called out.

"Beat Breaks" went under the radar when it came out, but I really liked it. If that's a sample of what to expect from the album, I'm fine with it. "Define My Name" was also good, but that was more of a teaser to build hype. I think @Piff Perkins is right about an album like The FORCE being the measuring stick for Nas × Premier, not Illmatic.

I didn't care for Define My Name. It wasn't bad but it wasn't anything special. Don't think I played it more than twice. That said Nas sounded great as nearly everyone does over Premier beats even when they're not close to his best.

I expect Premier to understand the moment and try harder than all these loosies he's put out. Those are songs where he tries to give the artist a typical banger. He's a different producer when it's a full album so he should be using different sounds and tempos. Last big moment where he really had to lock in was the last Gangstarr album and he delivered. He just needs to be on that level.

I want Nas to get back to story telling and mixing up the topics. The more creative he gets with the subject matter the more it'll make Premier open up the production.

 

[Piff Perkins]

I agree 100%. That's all I want. An album that still sounds good a couple years from now. Something that I can play all winter. It's not something I'm worried about because Nas is the most inspired he's been since Life is Good and Premier is definitely taking the job seriously with the extra time he's devoting to production. But any ridiculous takes I see in this thread like "Why is there nothing like NYSOM on this album? 2/5" are getting called out.

"Beat Breaks" went under the radar when it came out, but I really liked it. If that's a sample of what to expect from the album, I'm fine with it. "Define My Name" was also good, but that was more of a teaser to build hype. I think @Piff Perkins is right about an album like The FORCE being the measuring stick for Nas × Premier, not Illmatic.

And I hope we can have honest convos about it. If it's not as good or on par with The Force or the Common/Pete Rock album we should be able to admit it. I don't want to have a 1000 page thread where even if the album is weak/bad it's getting nonstop praise from fans. Not saying I expect that to happen, since I believe the album should be good. But I'm saying it's an opportunity to talk about this shyt honestly because we have a legit barometer to base this stuff off (Common/Pete Rock, LL/Tip, Mobb, etc).

 

[Discipline]

i can only speak for my tastes

im someone who thinks "who killed it" is amazing wit the funny voice

with that said yes he raised the bar so high. i repeat it was the best nas album i ever heard

i have heard unreleased nas that he did for khaled that never came out

you know how nas raps for khaled too

i have heard unreleased nas he recorded for hiphop is dead that was some more lakim type style

i have heard unreleased nas he recorded the day of 911

this beats all of that.

I remember when you first said the bolded in this thread. I thought, "this nikka's crazy."

But I think that was before this Legend Has It Nas feature run, where I'd say that Nas is in even better form than during the Hitboy run. And Premier's production this year, while not quite at the level I'd want it to be, is some of his best stuff in a while (e.g. RocMarkable). Assuming Premier's saving his best for this Nas album, I'm starting to think you're less crazy than when you first said this.

Damn you, lol.

Had no expectations when this album was announced, because I knew they were trying to do the impossible. shyt is damn near Detox status.

 

[Awesome Wells]

And I hope we can have honest convos about it. If it's not as good or on par with The Force or the Common/Pete Rock album we should be able to admit it. I don't want to have a 1000 page thread where even if the album is weak/bad it's getting nonstop praise from fans. Not saying I expect that to happen, since I believe the album should be good. But I'm saying it's an opportunity to talk about this shyt honestly because we have a legit barometer to base this stuff off (Common/Pete Rock, LL/Tip, Mobb, etc).

If you want honesty, you gotta hit a barbershop or some sh*t. HAHA!

The problem on here, is that people are scared to be honest. Especially when it comes to certain dudes, (Nas, GFK, Quik, etc.) There's just a fear with these dudes that if they say how they really feel, they'll be exiled or some sh*t away from the rest of us. So they pretend everything is "classic" and say weird sh*t like, "I know a lot of people say it's wack. But I think based on where he is today, this was a valiant effort to get back to the essence and I applaud that". It's mad fake and weirdo time on here 24/7 with that.

So yeah, I think the album will be dope. But we ain't never getting honesty from the weirdo "fans" on here. They're way too concerned with belonging (or thinking they do) to be truthful when it comes to certain MC's.

 

[Alexander Wiggin]

He's been working with Eddie Sancho for decades lol. One of the most prolific engineers in rap, and the guy who produced 95% of the Premo beats that we consider classic.


The problem with some of Premo's recent shyt isn't the mix or engineering. It's that he keeps remaking the same 2-3 beats over and over, and the drum patterns are incredibly predictable/boring. That recent Ransom track is good example. People want the "Premo sound" and for whatever reason that no longer means a bunch of things...it just means Full Clip/Nas Is Like/Boom retread shyt. That was his go-to sound for much of the 2000s well into the 2010s.

He also has multiple dope recent beats too, as have been mentioned in the thread. So I'm not worried.

Eddie Sancho wasn't the engineer on the Ransom one. Nef and Parks did it. But he mixed Alfredo 2. Guess what album sound the best ?

 

[Piff Perkins]

I didn't care for Define My Name. It wasn't bad but it wasn't anything special. Don't think I played it more than twice. That said Nas sounded great as nearly everyone does over Premier beats even when they're not close to his best.

I expect Premier to understand the moment and try harder than all these loosies he's put out. Those are songs where he tries to give the artist a typical banger. He's a different producer when it's a full album so he should be using different sounds and tempos. Last big moment where he really had to lock in was the last Gangstarr album and he delivered. He just needs to be on that level.

I want Nas to get back to story telling and mixing up the topics. The more creative he gets with the subject matter the more it'll make Premier open up the production.

I also want to hear sharper writing. There's been some rambling in Nas verses to me ever since SD. I always think about that line on one of the Life Is Good songs where he said "my man Dion (No ID) says Nas overthinks the songs he's writing." Seems clear that was a producer giving him some legit constructive criticism while crafting an album. Sometimes he goes on tangents or gets way off topic randomly, where it feels like the writing just isn't as sharp as it once was.

Hit Boy is more of a beat maker than producer so I'm not sure how much coaching he was doing in the booth. But we know Premo does that a loooot. Including having Nas re-do vocals on the last track they officially released before Define My Name (the break beats track).