Nas and DJ Premier Announce LightYears Album for Dec. 12

Nas and DJ Premier, two hip-hop legends, announced on Monday the title and release date for their long-awaited collaborative album, LightYears, set to arrive on December 12 through Mass Appeal Records.

The project marks a reunion for the Queens rapper and the acclaimed producer, who first joined forces over 30 years ago on Nas's seminal 1994 debut album, Illmatic. Their partnership has since produced standout tracks including "I Gave You Power," "2nd Childhood," "Nas Is Like" and "N.Y. State of Mind Pt. II." LightYears builds on that history, following the duo's 2024 single "Define My Name," which served as the first preview of the full-length effort. The album features 15 tracks and includes cover art with a photograph by Danny Hastings and art direction by Mike Lukowski.

This release serves as the seventh and final installment in Mass Appeal's Legend Has It series, a yearlong initiative honoring iconic New York hip-hop artists. Previous entries in the series include Slick Rick's Victory, Raekwon's The Emperors New Clothes, Ghostface Killah's Supreme Clientele 2, the partially posthumous Mobb Deep album Infinite, Big L's Harlems Finest: Return of the King and De La Soul's Cabin...