Damian's ode to the continent is likely to be the universal soundtrack to summer 2010 for thousands around the world, in every corner of the globe.
The Marley family, Jamaica, are footie mad, so releasing it a few weeks before kick off is no surprise. Africa has waited a long time to host its very first one, and whilst, undoubtedly, a million things will go spectacularly wrong, it will all come together (and England will win). I'm talking about, of course, the World Cup that kicks off in South Africa on June 11th, a sporting event second only to the Olympics in popularity but more enthralling. Some things are worth waiting for – whether it leads to success or failure, its very existence defies belief, and you're just happy it is finally here. In a way.Nas & Damian Marley :: Distant Relatives :: Republic Records When I asked Nas if Distant Relatives is what he had in mind when he named his 2006 album Hip Hop is Dead, he laughed and said, “Probably. Nas and Marley set their egos aside and produced an album that has the potential to reach kids in New Orleans, Nairobi, and the Bronx. In the third verse, Lil’ Wayne puts a fine point on it: “This generation, I'm gonna represent/ a generation led by a black president/ now how’s that for change?”ĭistant Relatives is an achievement in collaboration, narrowing the distance between hip hop and reggae while staying true to each genre’s roots. The album’s ethos is best summed up on “My Generation,” where a choir, accompanied by the British blue-eyed soul singer Joss Stone, belts out, “My Generation will make a change,” and Nas raps, “Can you blame my generation/ subjected gentrification/ depicting their frustrations over ill instrumentation/ cause music is the way to convey you what I’m facing.” Nas and Marley are constructing an argument for how far Africa and its far flung descendants have come, and what they are capable of. A sense of urgency has returned to his voice. I would play him some Shabba Ranks, some Michigan & Smiley.” It’s safe to say the disruption benefited Nas, who has lived in the shadow of his 1994 debut and magnum opus, Illmatic.
“He would play me some Smif-n-Wessun, some Slick Rick, some KRS. But the two embraced their disparate styles, spending time listening to “what each other grew up on,” Marley said. Nas, who traditionally uses programmed beats was forced out of his comfort zone by Marley, who uses live instrumentation in the studio. Gong’s 2005 Grammy-winning record, Welcome to Jamrock. It’s not the first time the two have worked together. Nas’s biting monotone and Marley’s distinct argot spar with each other like two training partners-floating around the ring, filling the space of each other’s weaknesses with swift jabs. In the end, it was the hype that proved justified. Nas was hopeful, telling me, “We feel like it fits the place where it all started. Marley and Nas are both known for their bombastic rhetoric (you may recall Nas was crucified in his 1999 video “Hate Me Now”), so there was no telling how their big “Africa record” would turn out. track for A Very Special Christmas.) From the outset, the skepticism for Distant Relatives was as loud as the hype. and Yellowman collaboration, “ Roots, Rap, Reggae,” can attest.
Though hip-hop and reggae share a lot of the same musical DNA, crossovers in the past have proved disastrous, as anyone who has ever heard the Run D.M.C. It’s stemming from Africa being the cradle of civilization.” As Marley told me, “With Distant Relatives, we’re talking humanity. Gong Marley, Bob Marley’s youngest son, didn’t let the immensity of the place stop them from exploring their shared roots with their collaboration, which they recorded under the name Distant Relatives. But Nas, poet laureate of the Queensbridge Projects, and Damian Jr. workers, and United Nations employees devote their lives’ work on just one region. The history of Africa is long and complex professors, N.G.O.