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DJ Premier and Nas
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When Nas and DJ Premier lock in, it comes off less like a studio session and more like a Hip Hop history class. Large Professor first put Preemo onto “The Rapper Nas,” playing him “Live At The Barbeque” and tipping him off that Queensbridge had a young problem on its hands. By the time Illmatic rolled around, the chemistry was instant. As Nas told VIBE, “We sat down, he played me records, he opened up his crates to me, he let me play them on the turntables.” Premier later told MusicWeek that, “For ‘N.Y. State Of Mind,’ Nas was in the studio when I was looking for samples. I had the drums and the [chiming sound]” before the Joe Chambers piano loop connected everything.
From that first grimy masterpiece through concept records, comeback cuts, and even orchestral experiments, their partnership stayed remarkably pure in the midst of sharp bars, surgical drums, and a shared love of dusty vinyl. The unranked cuts below trace that lineage from Illmatic on, and only add weight to their timeless relationship. Notably, one particular collaboration — the Hit-Boy-produced Magic standout “Wave Gods,” which also features A$AP Rocky — was omitted from the list, as Premier only handles the scratches throughout.
However you sequence them, they play like one long conversation between two masters who never stopped pushing each other. It started on a Queensbridge project bench and ends wherever their imagination decides to cut the record off.
1. N.Y. State Of Mind
The quintessential Nas/Preemo cypher. Those ominous pianos and chopped drums were like cracked concrete under your Timbs, while Nas mapped Queensbridge with reporter detail and corner slang. It’s cinematic but seemingly unfinished on purpose, like you’re catching a live broadcast from the project bench instead of a polished major-label debut.
2. Memory Lane (Sittin’ In Da Park)
Premier dialed the tempo down and let Nas get nostalgic without losing edge. Organ stabs, dusty vocal chops, and those drums create a Sunday afternoon haze over razor-sharp autobiography. It’s proof that their chemistry works just as well in reflective modes as it does in straight-up grimy ones.
3. Represent
If “N.Y. State of Mind” was the mission statement, “Represent” was the rallying cry. Preemo flipped that piano loop into something almost playful, then buried it under knocking drums. Nas rapped like he’s got the whole projects behind him, turning in-jokes and block codes into permanent parts of rap vocabulary.
4. I Gave You Power
A concept track from It Was Written that could have gone corny in lesser hands becomes chilling here. Premier’s beat is minimal and tense, giving Nas room to literally rap from the perspective of a gun. The result was like a short film on wax, scored with heartbeat kicks and siren whispers.
5. N.Y. State of Mind Pt. II
Coming back to a classic is risky, yet they managed a sequel that felt like an alternate angle instead of a full-on remake. Premier updated the palette with slightly cleaner polish while Nas sounded older, warier, and more famous, walking you through the same city with heavier footsteps.
6. Nas Is Like
The ultimate “how did he find that?” Preemo beat. Those cascading strings and chopped vocal snippets became a producer flex, while Nas reeled off similes like he’s trying to exhaust the English language. It’s battle-rap showmanship and crate-digger wizardry, colliding on a record you could study for years.
7. Come Get Me
Even on the rather polarizing Nastradamus, the Premier cut was undeniable. The beat lumbered in like a warning siren, all low-end menace and clipped samples. Nas sounded fed up yet focused, firing back at critics and challengers while Preemo created a soundscape akin to storm clouds gathering overhead.
8. 2nd Childhood
Nas’ Stillmatic resurgence came with sharper writing, and Premier answered with one of his warmest, most soulful beats. The Rhodes, bassline, and vocal chops were almost gentle while Nas dissected grown folks stuck in adolescence. It’s compassionate, sad, and somehow still head-nod friendly. Pure adult-contemporary boom bap.
9. Re:Generation
An orchestral experiment that still feels like Preemo. Backed by the Berklee Symphony Orchestra, he keeps his trademark chops and drums intact, just scaled up for a concert hall. Nas glides over it, sounding right at home as the strings swell around him, proving their formula translates beyond 90s palettes.
10. Beat Breaks
A love letter to mixtape-era tape hiss and late-night radio. On the Hip Hop 50: Vol. 1 standout, Preemo stacked classic breakbeats and scratched vocals like he’s hosting his own anniversary show, while Nas zoomed through eras, legends, and stations. It played like a guided tour of their shared history inside the culture they helped define.
11. Define My Name
Decades in, they still sounded locked in like hungry kids. Premier built a no-frills, neck-snapper beat that could sit next to any ‘90s classic; Nas used it to wrestle with legacy, faith, and pressure. It felt like the perfect introduction to their Light-Years era, and anything but a closer to their musical relationship.
