Nas Carries the Weight, But Premier’s Production Falls Flat

Released: December 12, 2025

Usually, I do a background intro for the artist, but in this case, if you aren’t familiar with the legendary DJ Premier and arguable GOAT Nas, this review probably isn’t for you. That being said, the highly anticipated full-length collaboration between the duo has been the stuff of legend (I would’ve bet on Detox dropping before this). However, in 2025, the long-awaited project finally arrived. I went in expecting modern versions of Premier-produced cuts like “N.Y. State of Mind” and “Represent” from the classic Illmatic; instead, we got a lackluster album carried entirely by the still-sharp mic of Nas.

The album starts with the very boom-bap “My Life Is Real,” setting a tone that carries throughout, with the G.O.D. MC spitting, “Scoop me in an MPV, I’m holdin’ big heat, Soloist vocalist, maestro. This fish grease.” Indeed, Nas shows his pen is as sharp as it was in 1994. And it needed to be, because he does all the heavy lifting here. “GiT Ready” was a solid track, albeit sounding a bit like a crypto commercial, but then we get to “N.Y. State of Mind Pt. 3.” To me, the beat sounded like bad supervillain music that even a great flow couldn’t salvage. While Nas appeared to be in top form, the beat selection made getting through the project a chore. As someone who grew up loving the boom-bap era, this isn’t a case of disliking that nostalgic sound—the album was simply boring. While the production was clean (outside some slight audio mixing issues on “My Story Your Story”), the project felt uninspired.

Nas definitely held it down, providing consistent performance, rhymes, cadence, flow switches, and visualization. I can’t really find any fault there, though I do take issue with him missing a few shout-outs on “Bouquet” (No Rapsody or Sa-Roc? C’mon, Sun). AZ provided the only feature on the aforementioned “My Story Your Story.” While the duo killed the back-and-forth concept, it was evident the two weren’t in the studio together; slight audio differences kept it from being the best song on the album. I enjoyed the positive nature of concept songs like “Sons” and “Nasty Esco Nasir,” but once again, the beat selection reared its ugly head, limiting the overall product.

To wrap it up: while I appreciate nostalgia when done correctly, nostalgia alone shouldn’t carry a project. At the end of the day, music should be enjoyable, and too many times I found myself trying to focus on the lyrics just to distract from the subpar beats. I appreciate the attempt to feed the streets by two legends, but this is one of my least favorite offerings in the discographies of both the artist and the producer. It’s worth checking out for fans, but outside of a couple of highlights, I don’t see much reason to revisit it.

Standout Tracks: “Sons (Young Kings),” “Junkie”, “Nasty Esco Nasir“

Album Rating: 👑👑👑👑👑 (5/10)