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

[spliz]

I agree with this 100%. I prefer albums to be short so 10-12 songs max. Junkie is the only song I wasn't feeling at all. Even conceptually that song didn't feel fully fleshed out.

I don't feel like this is Nas at his best. It's not Premier at his best. That's okay because I'm wasn't expecting that at their age. If they did this album in 1998-2002 it would be far superior. I'm still happy with it and on first listen it's 4/5. I said it wouldn't surpass the De La album and it didn't. Cabin in the Sky is still album of the year to me. Pos is still lyricist of the year.

With Nas I don't feel like he has those poetic/stream of consciousness verses like It Ain't Hard to Tell, Verbal Intercourse, or Take it in Blood in him anymore. I've felt that way for years not just now which is why there's other rappers I listen to way more than Nas now. He doesn't do the detailed story telling like Shootouts. He's a lot more direct now. You can see that in New York State of Mind 3. It's nowhere near as descriptive as 1 & 2. I wish he would've pushed himself to get back to that. He kind of makes up for those flaws by leaning into concepts. That kept me engaged especially on Writers. Loved that he shouted out Sane and Smith whose tags I used to see all over my neighborhood when I was a kid.

Premier surprised me in that there aren't a lot of stereotypical sounding Premier beats on here. They sound different. It's not really a good or bad thing because the production is good there's just not that 1 beat that hits like his best stuff. There's no Full Clip or Mass Appeal. Madman was where things started to come together and the beats went on a nice run.

Only 1 listen so I may get into this more but I'm happy they finally gave us something. Should've have happened way sooner though.

If Nas makes another album I want it to be Pete Rock. His work is just more melodic than Premier while still being boom bap and I think that what Nas needs to be at his best. Next would be Q Tip followed by Alchemist.

POS best rapper of the year? Buggin tf out.

 

[Ellen Degeneres]

Welcome To The Underground definitely should have been fleshed out. Makes no sense to run an intro sequence for 3 minutes.

 

[Zero]

Plenty stuff I used to see I often thought was an image of us
Getting off the city bus, all the memories rush
I used to look up at the crossing sign, a child with a grown-up holding his arm while I was walking with my mom
I pointed at it, automatic, I saw it as a little boy who was the baddest
Like don't let him run in traffic
I really thought the crossing sign was me and my mom
Like who thought we was that important for a street sign?
One year, she told me that sign was for everybody
I'm like, we ain't everybody, nah we special mommy
Playin' with toys, yo she got us Atari
Those is Miss Ann's boys, Nasir, and Jabari

Man how wholesome is this

 

[Brock Landers]

The GOAT

 

[Supa]

POS best rapper of the year? Buggin tf out.

Yeah, he is.

It's Pos then Malice a very close second.

 

[papa pimp]

wish there was that 1 screwface track

 

[ReWiNd]

beats are definitely underwhelming for this nas and premier album. Nas is definitely carrying premier on this album. I kinda wish they would have raided premier's vault of old beats from the 90s that he never used to make this album. I will tell you this.. It might be too late, but I applaud him and premier for finally putting this out . I see this album growing on me over time, but right now I will give it 7.5 off the first couple of listens.

 

[Soymuscle Mike]

0.2%er checking in (check my YouTube Music stats ).

We awake in the Netherlands now and this the first thing I listened to in the car.

So... I prefer some of the Hit albums ... But I fukking LOVE / adore this shyt on first listen. This is really really great beautiful HipHop and pretty much exactly what I wanted and needed from them.

Such a beautiful cap to the year. No diss but I'm not listening to anything else that drops today until 2026. Running this and the other 2025 albums back.

What a year.

I've had Nas as my GOAT over Pac since the Stillmatic -Lost Tapes-Gods Son run, and I was willing to entertain people not GOATING him until like ..Life is Good. It became even sillier after the Hit run.

But what the fukk y'all gotta say now

Pac will forever be a close second just for what he meant for me as a youngin.

All the other cats y'all want to rank over Nas though, nah check yaselves and talk to a therapist about what's really bothering you about him. I ain't having it no mo.

 

[T.he I.nformant]

“Hip-Hop Quotable”

It's a drive-in movie, no roofs on a bunch of Benz's
Let's try to reimagine the passion when I got in this
A panasonic with the taperecorder
Tryna level the treble and bass in order, the station sound distorted
I moved the dial to improve the sound, years later got a Sony stereo-system
No comparison with the boombox, my living room knocks
My nikka Mayo, next door, he bangin' on the wall, told us to stop
Take me back, drugs and money, we crudie, lungs smoky
Fiends in the hallway, bummy, just finished a OE, music savin' our lives
Just listen and gettin' fried to underrated emcees
Sprayin' somethin' to hide the aroma, still in my mom's cribs, was young and lazy
Quit school 'cause I needed fly shyt, the fiends would page me
Not tryin' to be locked on a bid, Queen's crazy
Guess jeans and Polo jacket, just in the crib causing all this racket
Always knew I was the verbal assassin
Submerged in the very dirty world, but only was half in
That's when I had an epiphany, Kane with last on “The Symphony”
If I could set a posse cut off, that'd be my entry
Pickin' up the stereo's remote control, quickly
Ron G’s in the cassette deck, rockin' the shyt, G
A surprise, I opened a bombshell in my mind
Tells me I could hook a beat up for myself to rhyme
My mom's hall closet and boxes all kind of shyt
Johnnie Taylor records and some good Grover Washingtons, I'm locking in
Grab a piece of vinyl, drop the needle at the top
Listen for a beat to rock, ninety minute tape, I got enough time
Play it one time, four bars, press record, then press pause, then restart
Record, loop, repeat, do that 'bout twenty times, yo, I made my first beat

Nas, from “Pause tapes” off the Light—Years LP

 

[HNIC973]

Nasty Esco Nasir . Nasty &Esco going back& forth

 

[THE 101]

I think this the third best nas album.

Mental illness

 

[Mr. Manhattan]

NY state of mind 3 beat was so ASS, Goddamn it

 

[keond]

Nas brought his A-game. No comment on Premo, I’m gonna give it a few more spins before I give a hot take

 

[Figaro]

Che Noir getting a shout out

Her joint LP with Genius is 1 of the best of the year, make sure y’all check that out.

 

[papa pimp]

7/10

needed more production that demands your attention