Album Review: Nas and Damien Marley Distant Relatives

Although collaborative efforts on tracks is a given for rap and R&B; albums, it’s rare that a team comes together to record an entire album. And to be completely honest, when you hear about the son of Bob Marley, Damien, and rapper Nas joining together to create a record, it seems that the outcome would be an epic fail. We first received word from Nas at the 2009 Grammy Awards that a project was in the works with Damien Marley, and critics were anxiously awaiting the outcome. But by the two taking chances on each other, the powerhouses managed to break those questionable barriers and take their finished product a step further than anything we could ever even expect from the two. They succeeded in fusing hip hop and reggae sounds and merged it into a chartable record with their new album Distant Relatives. The album charted at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 200 charts its first week, selling almost 60,000 copies.

Not only is the album a different unification of genres, it also features collaborations with Stephen Marley, Lil Wayne, K’naan, and the most unexpected of all: Joss Stone. The album stems around the idea as we can see in the last track on the album “Africa Must Wake Up” that we are all somehow connected to each other, in other words, distant relatives of one another. The album is stocked full of lyrical commentary on social issues, poverty, war and unification, which are all common themes seen on the record from start to finish. The most notable track on the record “As We Enter,” which is also the first single and opening track on the album, contains funky, uptempo beats and cat-and-mouse rap and reggae exchanges between the duo sets the tone for the rest of the album. Tracks like “Tribal War,” “Friends” and “Leaders,” which features Stephen Marley, stick to the more strong reggae roots mimicking those of Bob Marley. The tracks “Count Your Blessings” and “In Your Own Words” prove that this different sound that Nas and Damien Marley have created can also be a sound of radio-friendly nature.

If you are a fan of either Nas or Damien Marley, you will not be disappointed by Distant Relatives. But most importantly, the album will gain the duo respect of new fans. Track listing is as follows:

1. 'As We Enter'
2. 'Tribal War' Feat. K'naan
3. 'Strong Will Continue'
4. 'Leaders'
5. 'Wisdom (Sabali)'
6. 'Count Your Blessings'
7. 'Disappear'
8. 'The Promised Land' Feat. Dennis Brown
9. 'Nah Mean'
10. 'Angola (Friends)'
11. 'My Generation' Feat. Lil Wayne and Joss Stone
12. 'Africa Must Wake Up' Feat. K'naan
13. 'Ancient People' Feat. Junior Reid (Bonus Track)

Image courtesy of Def Jam Records

Katherine Epstein for Citadel Digital © 2010

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