Nas and DJ Premier‘s long-awaited joint album is officially happening — and fans don’t have to wait much longer to hear it.
On Tuesday (November 25), the two hip-hop titans revealed the title, release date and artwork for their eagerly anticipated full-length collaboration.
The project is called Light-Years and will drop on December 12 via Mass Appeal Records.
Check out the cover art below.
Light-Years will mark the seventh and final installment in the label’s Legend Has It… series, which has blessed us with brand new albums from some of New York hip-hop’s finest names throughout 2025.
Slick Rick kickstarted things in June with his comeback LP Victory, before Raekwon (The Emperor’s New Clothes), Ghostface Killah (Supreme Clientele 2), Mobb Deep (Infinite), the late Big L (Harlem’s Finest: Return of the King) and De La Soul (Cabin in the Sky) took the baton.
“It’s 1995 all over again,” Nas, who co-owns Mass Appeal Records, said of the series in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. “Sometimes I feel like 2025 has that feeling. It’s not going backwards, [it’s] going forward, though. It’s that feeling of urgency, that vibration, the celebration of life and these songs and these albums, what they meant 30 years ago. It’s still thriving right now.
“Even from younger people, they’re all derivatives of that early sound. And these artists here, from Slick Rick — he is the reason that all of us even have a pen in our hands. You look at him and you think of Mobb Deep, and you think of Raekwon and Ghostface, De La Soul, [it’s] some of the most different, brave, bold, intelligent hip hop music ever made.”
“And of course, we lost some of our brothers along the way, [but] we’re still representing for them and they’re still representing themselves through the series,” Esco continued. “It’s a celebration of a great impact, a standard that they set that we could never forget because it keeps us aiming higher.
“This series is to encourage [and] inspire hip hop and remind us all [of] the pureness of hip hop. I hope that we all can do this together.”
Light-Years is also the culmination of a legendary and long-running partnership between Nas and DJ Premier, who have made countless hip-hop classics together over the years, from Illmatic standouts “N.Y. State of Mind” and “Represent” to “Nas is Like” and “2nd Childhood.”
Rumors of the pair joining forces for a full-length album swirled for years until they finally confirmed plans for a project last year along with releasing the lead single “Define My Name.”
Nas recently revealed that in addition to new material, Light-Years will include a handful of older songs that he and Premo recorded when they first discussed making an album together.
“I’m going to say at least two of those ideas happened on this album,” he told Rolling Stone. “We didn’t get a chance to do ’em when we were talking about ’em, but we finally got a chance to put those recordings together this year.”
He added: “I can’t wait for people to finally hear it. I don’t know about anybody else, but for me and him, it was personally a long time coming for us to do it.”
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Cringe Nas sold out opening casinos in the projects and working with Jay Z. Sad to see working with zionists SMH. Kendrick always a fraud
Shut up loser. When Nas was 100 percent integrity people fronted on him. Pus he’s using his riches to give back to the culture more and anyone else. Take the good with the bad and stfu. :))
Bro you stfu Nas is not him. YoungBoy better stop with your cringe glaze probably ShawnCee or Scruface those fraud clout chasers. These people manipulate and ruin blacks, YoungBoy for instance moved on and admits he only makes violent tracks for profit after getting money to move out the hood not poison it same with Chief Keef. Real King of NY is Kay Flock and Trump will pardon him
FHVC – changed his name from Dfc to FHVC. Same weirdo f@990t who watches kiddit porn.
Dork Nas is trash thisnmore hipster zionist trash. Ignore him ruining black neighborhoods him and Kendrick take the money to screw you over. Kendrick ignore Newsom lies like reparations or repairs after wildfires and Kendrick funds Mexicans not black Californians and attacks whites but not the rich he works for them UMG, Nike, and Apple. Nas working with casinos to ruin neighborhoods get poor people more screwed then get the government to force them out to gentrify the neighborhood turn it into a tourist spot. NBA YoungBoy the only REAL rapper not a fraud
Nobody is gonna read all that f@@got. Wasted your own time writing that DUMBASS 😂😂😂😂
Did you just suffer a stroke? Because only a brain damaged mf thinks NBA Youngboy is an aspirational figure.
Shut up loser. When Nas was 100 percent integrity people fronted on him. Plus he’s using his riches to give back to the culture more than anyone else. Take the good with the bad and stfu. :))
Had to make a few edits. :)))
Yeah Nas sucks. I rather listen to Drake, Lil Uzi Vert, and Lil Yatchy while I’m getting plowed by my boyfriend than ever listen to Nas.
fuck you nas the goat u loser wake up
Ok keep being brainwashed you probably a vulture or boomer. Nas sold out
Fhvc – changed his name from Dfc to Fhvc. Same weirdo f@990t who watches kiddie porn.
Dfc – Touches little kids and watches kiddie porn.
Shut the fuck up
i might give this a listen but not a big nas fan tbh…………….. Hip hop is dead the kings disease 1 2 3………… Not a nas fan
you guys sound like roaches in a basement
Pray for Ye and Diddy. Those guys are brothers who just like to blow off a little steam. You Zionists are just jealous of them
Finally an album to be excited for. It’s been awhile
About 28 years too late, but fuggit, better late than never.
Trash! Bro sold out years ago.
YoungBoy better!!!
Nas supports the takeover of NYC same way Kendrick does LA being gentrified and Cali getting rid of black people under Newsom who never gave reparations. If Nas cared he wouldn’t build a casino when NYC is dying and Mamdani will make it worse. He needs to go get Trump to kick out Mamdani and the illegals Mamdani took foriegn donatations and lied on citizenship forms we need to get rid of yuppies.