Hip-hop titans Nas and DJ Premier announced that their long-awaited collaborative album, Light Years, will finally arrive on Dec. 12 via Mass Appeal. The project marks a reunion nearly three decades in the making, uniting two of the genre’s most defining creatives for a full-length release that fans have waited years to hear.
Their storied partnership began in 1994 with Nas’s landmark debut, Illmatic, where Premier produced classics such as “N.Y. State of Mind,” “Memory Lane,” and “Represent.” The pair continued to elevate each other’s legacies with later collaborations including “I Gave You Power,” “Nas Is Like,” “2nd Childhood,” and “N.Y. State of Mind Pt. II.”
Light Years represents a continuation of that lineage, described as a 30-year working legacy reborn. Limited physical editions of the album are available now at shop.massappeal.com and select indie retailers.
The album serves as the grand finale of Mass Appeal’s Legend Has It… series, a yearlong collection honoring foundational hip hop artists. This run has included celebrated releases from Slick Rick, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Mobb Deep, Big L, and De La Soul. Bringing the series home with Nas and Premier underscores the duo’s enduring influence and the timeless quality of their work.
Hints of a joint project date back to their 2006 Scratch Magazine cover, which sparked years of speculation. The momentum intensified last year when Nas and Premier celebrated the 30th anniversary of Illmatic with “Define My Name,” where they first confirmed the album was finally on the way.
With Light Years, the pair deliver a historic moment for hip hop culture, proving that true chemistry not only endures but evolves.