This whole record, by and large, tries to be a message piece. Doesn’t always make for great music, however. Sure, with the presence he holds in hip hop, he can more or less afford this, and might even deserve it. What then, you ask, is the problem? It’s nothing new with Nas: the guy takes himself pretty damn seriously. His presence over the reggae-infused beats and Damian’s singing is great one the ears, and he can pretty much carry you through the album regardless as to what he’s saying. It’s pretty much understood he can at the very least hold his own, if not out rap, anyone in the game. His flow is absurdly fantastic, smooth and equally in turns forceful. Nas, is both the album’s greatest asset and detractor.

Damian is just as much of a presence on the record as Nasir, sometimes – yes, really – overshadowing the great. Would he be that prominently featured? Many people, attached to Nas, assumed and hoped Marley’s presence would be fleeting, just backing up the hip hop godfather.

As buzz amongst the hip hop world grew, the presence of Damian Marley was something of a mystery. Might seem silly, but I wonder if the record execs were less faithful in the record as it couldn’t be marketed simply as a Nas album. This album received practically no press, at least for an album featuring someone as big of a deal as Nas. Now that the record’s out, it’s yet another hip hop record where the delays really weren’t warranted. Talk of Distant Relatives began quite a while ago, I recall thinking the album had to be coming soon probably a year ago.

Following Untitled, let down, I immediately began rooting around to see what he had up next. But even if you disagree with his politics or recoil from his growing paranoia, you've got to give him top marks for his erudition.You know, whether it’s the case or not, it feels like we’ve been waiting forever for this one. Nas is still hooked on those conspiracy-theory websites that heavily informed his last set: 'Dispear' demonizes international bankers, 'Land Of Promise' fantasizes about '2012'-style tidal waves swamping the globe. As Nas raps on 'Friends,' 'Selfishness is a character flaw.' If we don't treat each other with the familial respect that relatives deserve, the pair implies, maybe we've forgotten the basic lessons of humanism. Fusing contemporary hip-hop and roots reggae with world-beat percussion and Afro-pop? That’s such an interesting idea it’s a wonder it took North American rappers 30 years to get around to giving it a shot.īecause the outspoken Damian Marley and the increasingly professorial Nasir Jones are in on this project, it's intellectually rigorous: the lyrics remind us, forcefully and persuasively, that we're all descended from Africans.

Nas distant relatives album cover