UPDATE: DJ Premier has confirmed the project arriving July 15. DJ Premier: Hip Hop 50 features five songs, all produced by Preemo, arriving on Mass Appeal. The Gang Starr O.G. works with everlasting voices from the ’80s, ’90s, 2000s, and 2010s. The tracklist is as follows:

Tracklisting:

1. “Lettin’ Off Steam” featuring Joey Bada$$
2. “Remy Rap” featuring Remy Ma and Rapsody
3. “Beat Breaks” featuring Nas
4. “Terrible 2’s” featuring Run The Jewels
5. “The Root Of All” featuring Lil Wayne & Slick Rick

In a statement, Premier said, “It’s an honor to kick off this iconic Hip Hop 50 music program.  Hip Hop continues to inspire fans across the globe and it’s incredible to think of what the next 50-years will bring.”

ORIGINAL JULY 8 STORY: In the closing days of 2021, Nas and DJ Premier reunited on the video single “Wave Gods.” The Hit-Boy-produced song from Magic featured scratches from the Gang Starr legend, along with an appearance by A$AP Rocky. Now, the two men who worked together on Illmatic appear to be up to something else.

Yesterday (July 7), DJ Premier posted an 11-second video revealing something upcoming. The clip shows Preemo’s gold Illmatic plaque hanging at Queens, New York’s HeadQCourterz Studios. The camera pans to the door for Control Room B. All the while, a snippet of a brand new Nas and DJ Premier track plays in the background. Premier’s text includes the date 7/15, presumably referring to Friday, July 15. In the overheard lyrics in the teaser, Nasir Jones touts, “Runnin’ with Preem is nothin’ short of amazin’.” Preemo tagged Nas in the tweet too.

7/15 @Nas pic.twitter.com/sC3Z0L3dPH

— DJ Premier (@REALDJPREMIER) July 7, 2022

DJ Premier Made Others’ Albums Great. Now Nas, Snoop & Dre Are There For Preemo. (Video)

In 2006, Nas and Preemo covered Scratch magazine. Inside, they discussed the potential of a collaborative album. “Nas approached me about doing a whole album for him over a year ago, and I said, ‘I’m down, just holla at me when you’re ready,’” DJ Premier said in the January/February issue. “This is the first time I’ve seen him since…I really hope we can get it crackin’.” After more than 15 years, Heads are still waiting.

Back in 2019, Nas helped DJ Premier make a special announcement for a Gang Starr album. One Of The Best Yet was later chosen by Ambrosia For Heads to be among the best albums of that year.

A New Report Details How DJ Premier Rescued Guru’s Lost Recordings

DJ Premier produced “N.Y. State of Mind,” “Memory Lane (Sittin’ in da Park),” and “Represent” on Nas’ 1994 debut, Illmatic. That album has been previously decided by AFH readers as the greatest Hip-Hop Album of Time. The basis of that 2016 contest was the subject of the most recent episode of the What’s The Headline podcast:

Since ’94, DJ Premier has produced on several Nas singles, including 1999 single “Nas Is Like.” Mass Appeal, a company Nas co-owns, takes its name from a Gang Starr classic.

Nas Won The Grammys Without Getting An Award

#BonusBeat: AFH‘s in-studio interview with DJ Premier for the 20th anniversary of Gang Starr’s Moment Of Truth: