Nas and DJ Premier are dropping the mic on 19 years of buildup with Light-Years, their joint album hitting December 12 through Mass Appeal, and It’s Time feels like the spark that reignites everything—urgent bars over that signature scratch, reminding you why these two still own the booth.
This ninth track clocks in at just over two minutes, but it packs the weight of a full era. Pure boom-bap soul, with Premier’s dusty samples and razor-sharp cuts layering under Nas’s deliberate flow, the kind that builds like a courtroom testimony. It’s hip-hop at its core—raw reflection on legacy and the grind, themes that echo through lines hinting at seizing the hour before it slips. No guest spots here; it’s straight duo chemistry, Nas weaving street wisdom with that poetic edge he’s honed since Illmatic, while Premier keeps the pocket tight, nodding to golden age roots without chasing nostalgia.
Light-Years caps off Mass Appeal’s Legend Has It… series, a 15-track victory lap born from sessions that started back in 2006. The concept? Two architects of the game—Nas the storyteller, Premier the sound sculptor—finally syncing up for unfiltered bars on life, loss, and triumph. It opens with “My Life Is Real” and rolls through heavy hitters like “NY State of Mind Pt. 3” (a sequel drop everyone’s been begging for), “Writers” stretching nearly five minutes of ink-on-paper fire, and “Sons (Young Kings)” passing the torch. AZ joins on “My Story Your Story” for that Queensbridge reunion vibe, but the rest stays intimate. Recent teasers on Nas’s Instagram—bio swaps to “Pre-save Light-Years” and tracklist reveals last week—have fans dissecting every title like scripture.
Right now, Nas is in that rare air, fresh off his King’s Disease run and still dropping truth bombs that schools the new class, while Premier’s out here on tour with Alchemist, proving beats don’t age. This project’s their time capsule—a reminder that real hip-hop doesn’t rush, it ripens, evolving from underground whispers to this polished testament of staying power.
Dive into the It’s Time lyrics below and unpack its raw narrative. Don’t miss other Light-Years tracks for more of Nas & DJ Premier’s golden era revival.
| Lead Vocals | Nas & DJ Premier |
| Songwriter | Nas & DJ Premier |
| Music Producer | DJ Premier |
| Label | Mass Appeal Records |
| Release Date | December 12, 2025 |
| Song Language | English |
| Copyright © | Mass Appeal Records |
Lyrics of It’s Time by Nas & DJ Premier
[Intro]
Ayo, Black, It’s Time
Ayo, Black, It’s Time
Yeah
Time Travelin’
Ayo, Black, It’s Time, Yeah
Ayo, Time Flows Through Me
How Many Rhyme Flows and Lines Can I Recite With My Eyes Closed?
Yo, Let’s Shoot This Movie, Smoothly, Listen to Me
Let’s Take It to the Past Long Before the New Me
I Seen It When the First Got Tricky, Dippin’ Through the City
Whippin’ New Cars to the Herb Spots for the Sticky
I Was the One by the Tree in the Gs3 With Biggie
Next Thing You Know, Where the Time Go? It’s Gone Quickly
Spin Down the Street Back Where I Used to Be
Stompin’ Grounds, Just Touched Down in Qb, Uh
It’s Known for Violence and Money
Saw a Brother Fresh Home, He Just Walked Down 20
I Stepped Out, I Stretched Out, I Took a Breath in
Let a Breath Out, I Don’t Flex, Don’t Want Clout
but What I Do Wanna See Is My Brothers Are Winning
and All My People Out There, Cherish the Time You Given
“I Think You Know What Time It Is”
“The Illest Shit That Ever Happened”
“I Think You Know What Time It Is”
“Time Keeps on Slippin’, Slippin’, Slippin'”
“I Think You Know What Time It Is”
Time Travelin’
“The Illest Shit That Ever Happened”
“Time Keeps on Slippin’, Slippin’, Slippin'” [Verse 2]
I Use Every Second as a Weapon, Every Minute Keeps on Slippin’
Time Is a Construct of Your Limits
the Big Bang to Now, Evolution to How
Little Time Mankind Has Really Been Around
a Grown Grown Over 50 Perspective
Is There an Age Limit to Diss Records or May It Just Be a Message?
Kids Are Doing Drive-Bys, I’m Lookin’ Like, Time Flies
Squeezin’ Hammers Even When There’s Cameras Up in the Sky
Spark the Lah With the Double R I Drive
Pretty Thug Show No Love, It’s Like “When Doves Cry”
Maybe I’m Just Too Much of a Smuggler-Minded Hustler Time
Let’s Couple-Hundred Cover the Knuckles With Diamonds
Smell It on Us From the Blocks, They Was Tellin’ on Us
War Vets in the Summer, Sweatin’, They Tried Gettin’ on Us
Prayers, ‘Cause Gangsters Go to Heaven and Life’s Weighin’ on Us
Premier, Play the Chorus, Yeah [Chorus]
“I Think You Know What Time It Is”
“The Illest Shit That Ever Happened”
“I Think You Know What Time It Is”
“Time Keeps on Slippin’, Slippin’, Slippin'”
[Outro]
It’s Time, Man
Time Travelin’
Ayo, Black, It’s Time
