Nas & Damian "Jr Gong" Marley – "Distant Relatives"

It’s a family affair for Nas and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley as they team up to give us one of the year’s most profound albums, Distant Relatives. I wasn’t very familiar with either artist before this album and never would have given it a chance until Enter The Shell pal Arian Saleh and I spoke when we met at the Room 5 Lounge about our picks  for album of the year. This was his (as of June 8). I put off the album until recently and boy do I regret that!

Fusing classic reggae and classic rap (along with numerous other genres), this dynamic duo spits something with meaning and worth listening to in an attempt to bring a metaphorical Pangea back into existence. Themes of family, brotherhood, friendship and leadership (among others) are all over this disc, giving the listener an overall feeling of love for close family, Earth and humanity.

Relatives starts off with the pop-jazz-and-ska-friendly “As We Enter” but quickly turns tribal with “Tribal War.” Reggae, hip-hop, pop and jazz are sprinkled throughout, a merging of musical genres to symbolize the merging of humanity perhaps? Some of the songs (“Count Your Blessings“; “In His Own Words“) even sound like something you’d hear on Los Angeles’ KOST radio station, which plays those soft rock/easy listening hits. But where listening to KOST will make you think of your mom and dentist office while overwhelming you with embarrassment, Nas and Marley somehow make it cool.

The whole album is a solid listen with highlights “Nah Mean” (which features a jazz-hip-hop beat), “Dispear” (which opens with tribal singing, strings, piano and Marley’s aggressive delivery, sprinkled with the unsheathing of a sword) and “My Generation” featuring Lil Wayne (which features a kid choir, which I love, calling on the current generation coming up to make a positive change). All of this leads to the final song, “Africa Must Wake Up,” and Nas’ explanation on the meaning of the album title and why he and Marley came together.

One of the best albums of the year, Distant Relatives is more than just something to listen to, even though the beats and flows alone warrant some attention. Nas and Marley’s insights and ideas are definitely food for thought; a refreshing and thoughtful album in the sea of club beats and meaningless lyrics that 2010 has produced. Though Distant Relatives isn’t my top pick for album of the year, I agree with Saleh that this should be on the top of everybody’s “Best of 2010” lists.

Buy the album at our record store on Amazon

If you were into this page, check out these others from EnterTheShell.com:

• The Enter The Shell Show –
• A Night Out with the ETS Crew – Room 5 Lounge
• Artist of the Week [Legend Series] – Bob Marley
• Mailo’s Picks for the 5 Best Rappers of All Time