Fans of hip-hop can rejoice in Distant Relatives, a well-done mixture of rap and reggae from musical heavyweights Nasir Jones (Nas) and Damian “Junior Gong” Marley.
Some music-lovers may shake their heads at the rap/hip-hop world, where many artists display more of an interest in their bank accounts and egos than their music. But here, Nas and Marley—who previously worked together on the song “Road to Zion,” on Marley’s 2005 album Welcome to Jamrock—set aside egos and return to hip-hop’s foundations: telling realistic stories via powerful lyricism.
The collaboration is especially strong on songs such as “As We Enter,” “Patience” and “Friends.” “As We Enter” opens the album with a booming reggae beat as Nas and Marley exchange lines, as if in a friendly competition.
Throughout Distant Relatives, Nas shows that he’s lyrically superior to most MCs working today. He preaches about youth on “My Generation,” and rants about alimony payments on “Strong Will Continue”; the Queensbridge thug poet’s delivery is consistently impressive. Consider this passage from “Friends”: “May laughter / From backstabbers / Turn to tears faster / I wish for you no snake shall slither past ya.”
However, this is not just Nas’ show; Marley’s creative stamp—natural reggae elements—can be found throughout. In fact, he produced most of the album.
The bottom line: On Distant Relatives, Nas and Marley came together, crafted a powerful work of sheer genius and showed that creativity can still overpower ego-driven hip-hop mediocrity.
This article appears in Jul 22-28, 2010.
Blending hip hop and reggae music has been around for quite some time as Jamaicans in brought hip hop with them to NYC (check out U Roy, Big Youth, Dennis Alcapone). When I first heard about this album I thought it had great potential to be A) a stepping stone for more recognition of modern Jamaican music in American pop culture, and B) An opportunity for an established rapper to put out a conscious Africa centered album. I feel the results are mediocre at best. Don’t get me wrong a handful of the songs are top quality. The album starts on a high note with As We Enter which has an early 90’s – late 80’s Supercat raw dancehall kinda feel. Thing is they never get back to the form they have in “As We Enter”. Let me rephrase that, Nas never regains his form. The only other track that Nas delivers on is “Nah Mean”. This is Damian show. The track “Friends” starts off with a great melodic feel and Nas’s verse ruins the track. I feel like this was more of an opportunity for Damian to do a hip-hop style album than it was for Nas to do a dancehall style album.
Nuff Said, Rasta Bless