Nas and DJ Premier are bridging decades of hip-hop royalty on Light-Years, their long-dreamed collab album hitting December 12 via Mass Appeal Records, and “Sons (Young Kings)” already whispers like a father’s late-night letter to his boys—raw legacy lessons wrapped in golden-era grit.
This track, slotted as the eighth cut on the 15-song set, channels Nas’s introspective elder statesman vibe over Premier’s signature dusty loops and razor-sharp scratches, blending boom-bap purity with subtle modern sheen. It’s conscious rap at its core: themes of fatherhood’s fierce love, navigating street shadows while crowning your seeds as untouchable heirs, all delivered in Nas’s measured multis that hit like wisdom teeth. No features here—just the duo’s alchemy, born from marathon sessions in Premier’s NYC lab where they revisited Illmatic blueprints but laced ’em with 2025 clarity. Teased in a cryptic Insta clip last month, it had fans buzzing about those “young kings” bars, nodding to Nas’s own sons amid his post-divorce reflections—creative direction screaming evolution, not nostalgia.
Light-Years itself? It’s the sequel Illmatic heads didn’t know they craved, a 50-minute odyssey reclaiming the throne with cuts like “NY State of Mind Pt. 3,” the AZ-assisted “My Story Your Story,” and bangers “Git Ready” and “Madman.” The concept’s all about cosmic distance traveled—Nas dissecting fame’s long haul, Premier dusting off samples like old friends—without a single skit or filler. Recorded piecemeal over two years, it’s their first full tape since ’94, proving time bends for gods.
Nas is in god-mode at 52, fresh off King’s Disease 4’s Grammy whispers and that sold-out Met Gala verse that shut down TikTok, while Premier, 58, just etched his 500th production plaque. This drop? It’s their midlife manifesto—Nas trading street fables for family scrolls, Premier’s cuts sharper than ever—reminding us why they’re the architects hip-hop still bows to.
Dive into the Sons (Young Kings) lyrics below and unpack its raw narrative. Don’t miss other Light-Years tracks for more of Nas & DJ Premier’s timeless boom-bap wisdom.
| 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 Sons (Young Kings) by Nas & DJ Premier
[Intro: Nas]
Yeah
Young Kings
It All Starts
Humble Beginnings
Young Kings
Young- Young Kings
Head On A Swivel, Loaded Lead In A Nickel
The Devil Holding A Sickle, Wanna Sever Your Tissue
That’s Forever The Issue, Then Candlelight At A Vigil
They Say Jail Is Both A Rehab Center And A Homeless Shelter
And Life And Death Is As Close As Tonic And Seltzer
Never Fold Under Pressure, Give You My Manifesto
Every Man Is A Vessel, My Son Is My Reflection
He From The Highest Heaven, I Try Not To Possess Him
Allow Him To Be Tested
One Day Words May Come Out The Mouth Of The Reverend
By The Power Vested In Me, Loud At His Wedding
Gift Flowers While You Can Smell Them I Try To Tell Them
All The Diamonds And Foreigns, All The Finest Of Garments
Is Really How It Ends And Not How It Started
Filthy Rich, Scuba-diving In Your Filthy Pockets
Louie, Prada, But Health Is My Most Valuable Stocktip
Ya’ll Bout To Run Things To My Young Kings
To My Brothers With Sons, Let Him Run
To My Brothers With Sons, So Fun
I Pray Ya’ll Both Share The Most Powerful Bond
A Little Different From Him And His Mom
To My Sisters With Boys, The Joy
To My Sisters With Boys, Enjoy
Tell ’em Stand Tall, Know He Should Go For It All
Meet The Glorious King [Verse 2:Nas]
Plenty Of Stuff I Used To See I Often Thought Was An Image Of Us
Getting Off The City Bus, On The Mirror Was Rust
I Used To Look Up At The Crossing Sign,
A Child With A Grown-up Holding His Arm While I Was Walking With My Mom
I Pointed At It, Automatic, I Saw It As A Little Boy Who Was The Baddest
Like Don’t Let Him Run In Traffic
I Really Thought The Crossing Sign Was Me And My Mom
Like Who Thought We Was That Important For A Street Sign
One Year, She Told Me That Sign Is For Everybody
I’m Like, We Ain’t Everybody, Nah We Special Mommy
Playin’ With Toys, Yo She Got Us Atari
Those Miss Ann’s Boys, Nasir, And Jabari
Our Youth Was Constantly Fightin’ Institutional Racism
In School, We Question The Bias To Little Future Lions
[?] In Training
Wide Chromosome, In No Time They Grown
First Born Like The Mom, Then The Second One Like Dad
Then You Add The Other Siblings
Hold Each Other Down Cause Love Brings,
The World At Your Feet, My Young Kings
[Chorus: Nas]
Ya’ll Bout To Run Things To My Young Kings
To My Brothers With Sons, Let Him Run
To My Brothers With Sons, So Fun
I Pray Ya’ll Both Share The Most Powerful Bond
A Little Different From Him And His Mom
To My Sisters With Boys, The Joy
To My Sisters With Boys, Enjoy
Tell ’em Stand Tall, Know He Should Go For It All
Meet The Glorious King
