Nas & DJ Premier’s ‘Light-Years’: All 15 Tracks Ranked

Those of us old enough to be alive in 1994 when Illmatic dropped have been waiting for Nas and DJ Premier to drop a full-length project for 30-plus years, especially after the numerous classics they’ve made together following the three offerings Preemo provided on the Queens rapper’s pivotal debut.

Songs like “N.Y. State of Mind Pt. II” and “Nas Is Like” are important in both their catalogs, and only turned up the anticipation — and the expectation when it came to them linking up for something like Light-Years. Back then, it wasn’t as easy as it is today for two heavyweights to link up due to major label red tape and bureaucracy, so we’ll have to thank the current music business landscape for this project as one-producer albums have become somewhat the norm these days, especially when it comes to the underground scene.

During an interview I conducted with Premier and Roc Marciano when they were getting ready to drop their own collab album The Coldest Profession, the legendary producer said that this album was supposed to happen 20 years ago — and the stars finally aligned during Nas 50th birthday party, which resulted in the announcement record “Define My Name.”

Well, it’s finally here.

Now, is it as mind-blowing as we’d hoped for? Not necessarily. However, the project is a solid offering and includes a handful of standout tracks that scratch that itch and maybe leaves the door open for a follow up.

With all that being said, check out Billboard‘s ranking of every track of one of the more anticipated albums in rap history below.