Nas and Damian “Jr Gong” Marley have teamed up to record Distant Relatives, a cross-cultural opus that brandishes both lyricists skills and bridges the gap between hip-hop and reggae. The project is expected to drop in March 2010 and the duo is taking an unorthodox approach to promotion by helming a panel on December 12th that featured hip hop greats, reggae legends and music intelligentsia.
Flanked by large scale projections of late ’70s hip hop flyers and pictures of jaunty b-boys, MTV VJ and moderator Sway introduced night. Kicking off the discussion, Nas and Marley spoke about the growth of their collaboration from guesting on each other’s projects to putting together a full-length LP. Marley revealed his first hip hop influences (Slick Rick and LL Cool J) and Nas discussed the relationship between Bob Marley’s “One Love” and Nas’ song of the same title. After the two soft-spoken artists traded accolades (Nas praising Marley’s humility and Marley admiring Nas’ vocabulary), Damian’s brother Stephen surprised the crowd and joined the discussion. Stephen linked hip hop and reggae to their historical and metaphysical origins in African music, saying the same “spirit” can be found in both genres.
Then the rest of the panel joined the stage which included Senegalese hip hop star Waterflow, XM Radio personality Pat McKay and reggae luminary Big Youth and hip hop historian Jeff Chang. DJ Red Alert, DJ Kool Herc and surprise guest Rakim added major star power to a multifarious and enlightening discussion about hip hop and reggae culture. Big Youth and McKay discussed the importance of the soundsystem in popularizing dancehall artists outside of mainstream radio while Rakim backed up Stephen Marley in attributing the roots of hip hop to Africa.
Even amongst the array of luminaries Waterflow provided the most elegant insight of night describing how inspiration via music transcends language barriers and pointing out that revolutionary thinkers from Steve Biko to Malcolm X are always great resources for creating significant art. And with this panel, Nas and Damian Marley are changing how we view hip hop, reggae and all types of black music.
Distant Relatives will be available in March 2010
www.myspace.com/nas
www.myspace.com/damianmarley
