Nas and DJ Premier have finally announced the title and release date for their long-teased collaborative album: Light-Years is out December 12 via Mass Appeal. See the album cover—featuring a photograph by Danny Hastings and art direction by Mike Lukowski of Mass Appeal—below.
Nas and DJ Premier have worked together for the bulk of their careers, dating back to the Queens rapper’s iconic 1994 debut, Illmatic. The artists reunited last year for “Define My Name” and began to tease an album.
Light-Years caps Mass Appeal’s yearlong celebration of New York hip-hop that has included new albums from Slick Rick, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Mobb Deep, the late Big L, and De La Soul.
Nas shared his latest studio album, Magic 3, in September 2023. DJ Premier, this year, has released collaborations with Roc Marciano (The Coldest Profession) and Ransom (The Reinvention).
Read about Nas’ Illmatic at No. 5 in Pitchfork’s “The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time.”
