As previously reported in April, Nas and DJ Premier have reunited for their collaborative album titled Light-Years, set to be released on December 12 under Nas’s Mass Appeal label. This project is part of the Legend Has It… series, which has also featured new albums this year from notable hip-hop figures such as Slick Rick, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Mobb Deep, Big L, and De La Soul.
Details regarding the 15-track album Light-Years remain limited, marking a significant return more than 30 years after the release of Nas and Premier’s iconic 1994 album Illmatic. Last year, the duo provided a glimpse of what to expect with the release of the single “Define My Name.”
The album is available for pre-order through Mass Appeal’s online store in various formats, including cassette and autographed metallic label vinyl. “I can’t wait for people to finally hear it,” Nas expressed to Rolling Stone last month. “I don’t know about anybody else, but for me and him, it was personally a long time coming for us to do it.”
Light-Years follows Nas’s two releases from 2023, Magic 2 and Magic 3, which are his 16th and 17th studio albums, respectively. He has also contributed to all other hip-hop albums released by Mass Appeal this year and played a role in the title track of Clipse’s Grammy-nominated comeback album, LET GOD SORT ‘EM OUT.
According to Mass Appeal, the Legend Has It… series aims to honor and highlight “some of the most important and influential hip-hop artists of all time — trailblazers who’ve been instrumental in building and shaping the music and culture, taking it from the streets of New York to the wider world, and leaving an indelible mark on music.”
