Today, GRAMMY-Award winning rap icon Nas and DJ Premier– two of the most influential and revered figures in hip-hop history-announced their highly anticipated collaborative album, Light-Years, is set to release on December 12th via Mass Appeal. Pre-Order Light-Years HERE.
After decades of anticipation, Light-Years is a 30-year legacy reborn. Nas and DJ Premier’s partnership is embedded in the DNA of Hip-Hop. Their origin story began in 1994 with Illmatic, which resulted in hits such as “N.Y. State Of Mind,” “Memory Lane,” and “Represent.” Illmatic helped establish Nas as a generational talent and furthered Preem’s then burgeoning legacy. Their chemistry deepened over the next decade through classics like “I Gave You Power,” “2nd Childhood,” “Nas Is Like” and “N.Y. State Of Mind Pt. II.”
Limited physical product for the day one fans is available now at https://shop.massappeal.com/ and other Indie retailers.
Spearheaded by Mass Appeal’s groundbreaking Legend Has It…, a series celebrating and spotlighting some of the most important and influential Hip Hop artists of all time, the series has gifted a year-long run of historic releases from culture-defining artists including; Slick Rick, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Mobb Deep, Big L & De La Soul. With Light-Years, Nas and DJ Premier deliver the grand finale to close out the legendary series, where their undeniable synergy remains elusive.
In 2006, Nas and DJ Premier appeared on the cover of Scratch Magazine, teasing a joint project that again refueled fan frenzy and two decades’ worth of anticipation. Last year, Nas and Preem linked up to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Illmatic with the release of a new track, “Define My Name,” where they first announced their landmark collaborative album.
Light-Years is a true testament to both artists’ influence, legacy and the timelessness of the music they create together.
Nas (Nasir Jones) first reached an international audience when his track “Halftime” was tapped by producer MC Serch as the opening cut on 1992’s Zebrahead movie soundtrack. Signed to Columbia Records, the first full-length album by poet and rhyme-master Nas arrived in 1994, Illmatic. The RIAA platinum Hip Hop landmark featured “It Ain’t Hard To Tell,” “The World Is Yours, “and “One.” 1996 brought the breakthrough double-platinum It Was Written, (#1 R&B for 7 weeks, #1 Pop for 4 weeks) with his first major crossover singles ”Street Dreams” and “If I Ruled The World (Imagine That).” Success continued with the double-platinum I Am in 1999 (again #1 pop and #1 R&B), with the chart singles “Nas Is Like,” “Hate Me Now” (featuring Puff Daddy), and “You Won’t See Me Tonight” (featuring Aaliyah).
Subsequent albums by Nas included; the RIAA platinum Nastradamus (1999, #2 R&B, #7 pop, with “Nastradamus” and “You Owe Me” featuring Ginuwine); the platinum Stillmatic (2001, #1 R&B, #5 Pop with “Got Ur Self A…,” “One Mic,” and “Rule”); the platinum Gods Son (2002, #1 R&B, with huge R&B/pop crossover hits “Made You Look” and “I Can”) and the platinum double-CD Street’s Disciple (2004, #2 R&B, #5 pop, with “Bridging The Gap” and “Just A Moment”). And his 2012 album, Life Is Good, earned him 4 Grammy nominations including Rap album of the Year and is certified RIAA gold.
Over the years, Nas has also been the featured guest on a number of crossover hits by other artists, among them: Allure (“Head Over Heels,” 1997); Missy Elliott (the #1 “Hot Boyz,” 1999); Mobb Deep (“It’s Mine,” 1999); Jagged Edge (“I Got It 2,” 2002); J-Lo (“I’m Gonna Be Alright,” 2002); Kanye West (Classic (Better Than I’ve Ever Been),” 2006); DJ Khaled (“Nas Album Done,” 2016); Swizz Betaz (“Echo,” 2018); Jhene Aiko (“10K Hours,” 2020) and others.
In August 2020, Nas released King’s Disease. King’s Disease marked Nas’ first new album in 2 years. The album was entirely produced by Hit-Boy, and Gabriel “G Code” Zardes serves as the album’s co-executive producer. The album won “Best Rap Album” at the 2021 GRAMMY’s, Marking Nas’ first ever GRAMMY win.
In August of 2021, Nas released Kings Disease II, a sequel to the GRAMMY award-winning album. Kings Disease II was executive produced by Nas and Hit-Boy and features collaborations with Eminem, EPMD, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, YG, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Hit-Boy & more. The album earned a nomination for “Best Rap Album” at the 64th GRAMMY Awards.
In November 2022, Nas released the third installment on the King’s Disease series. With no features, Kings Disease III was produced by Hit-Boy and executive produced by Nas and Hit-Boy.
In addition to his successful career in music, Nas has pursued a career in motion pictures that began with his co-starring role (alongside DMX) in 1998’s cult classic crime drama Belly, a film by director Hype Williams (with whom Nas has done several music videos). Most recently, he was the executive producer of the 2016 Netflix series The Get Down.
Nas is also the co-founder of Mass Appeal Records.
