Nas & Damian Marley "Distant Relatives" Review (very on point)

[Lunatic]

I thought this review hit the nail on the head and I fully agree with it. HipHopDX gives it 4.5/5

Much has been said about Nas and Damian Marley since they announced their collaborative endeavor as Distant Relatives. While much of it was praise in anticipation, expectations grew to nearly unattainable heights. Both Nas and Jr. Gong are no strangers to this - both sons of famous musicians, both with hits in their history. Each held in high regard within their respective genres, individually, they have managed to forge rich legacies in the streets, while always maintaining a message in the music. With the message behind a project like Distant Relatives - drawing strong parrells between the music of Africa, America and the Carribean, as well as the "one blood" that flows within us all, it would be easy to get too preachy, too informational. Luckily, Damian Marley's powerful production creates the perfect surface for he and Nas to educate and demonstrate their points masterfully.

Lyrically, the album boasts thought-provoking, introspective writing. Distant Relatives exemplifies the type of lyrical prowess both artists have become known for, with songs like "Welcome To Jamrock" and "If I Ruled The World" in their respective catalogs. The Realtives speak on current events (“My Generation” ), their own triumphs through troubles (“Strong Will Continue” ) and worldly issues (“Africa Must Wake Up” ) with the same amount of dexterity, deftly covering topics with skill and insight. They lend words to the power of loyalty (“Friends”), good fortune (“Count Your Blessings”) and religious beliefs (“In His Own Words”), sharing personal touches with every turn. Both take risks, and balance their master-plan, as Nas candidly forecasts the birth of his youngest child. Throughout the album, Nas and Jr. Gong ask the right questions (“Why do we all collide? Why do the young die?”) and provide just enough inspiration in the process (“Only the strong will continue, I know you have it in you”). They offer the right amount of positive influence with a balanced realism, juggling intellect with lived experience. They also manage to do something few traditionally "conscious"-labeled artists pull off; they never sound corny or contrived. Only artists of this stature could pull of this kind of undertaking. With honest emotion, intelligent bars, enjoyable melodies and fluid delivery throughout, this is a benchmark album for Damian and Nas, both as artists, but also as social poetical prophets.

The production on the album shows just how much thought was put into the project, one that also shows range. Where many have forgotten about the lost art of full length album making, this project is best served whole. Whether mixing live instrumentation with cleverly flipped samples (“The Promised Land” ) or borrowing from various cultures and genres, the beats here do not disappoint. Not often thought of as a Hip Hop producer, Bob Marley's youngest son (with some assistance from brother Stephen) assert themselves as versatile studio conductors. It’s refreshing, for instance, to hear tribal drums on “Tribal War” following the up-tempo breakbeats of “As We Enter” . All of this sets the stage for “Strong Will Continue,” which acts as one of the standouts in a heap of uniqye cuts, an anthem that blares with electric guitars, piano keys and a potent drum pattern. They can also mellow things down (“Leaders”), bringing the acoustic guitars out (“Count Your Blessings” and “In His Own Words”) and borrow from various cultures and languages, something heard on chants in “Patience” “Dispear” and “Friends.” They can go from the accessible (“My Generation”) to the gritty (“Nah Mean”) with ease and keep heads nodding throughout, without ever losing the cohesion that makes this a complete album. Like Madlib, Damian Marley has the ability to make his music sound globally relevant. The production matches the lyrical points perfectly, which may be one of the most challenging achievements on such an ambitious project.

From the moment the listener absorbs opening-cut, “As We Enter,” the chemistry is solidified within Distant Relatives as the two trade bars and this collaborative spirit can be seen throughout the album. Nas' and Damian's work together is superb and each guest (Stephen Marley, Joss Stone, Lil Wayne, Dennis Brown and two guest spots from K’naan) fits sensibly with the project's perimeters, ensuring that nothing is done for show and no detail is spared. Front to back, this album provides no filler and boasts substance. In a genre-bending effort, the duo manages to succeed in creating a best of both worlds collaboration without compromising anything - a feat rarely seen. The relativity between Nas and Marley comes across in this music as well as it does in their message, as both men create a benchmark in their rich careers.

[Lunatic]

And here is AllHipHop's 10/10 rating/review

Black music has many streams of expression, 2 of the most prominent being Hip-Hop and Reggae.  And when you go back far enough, these traditions are seen to have their roots in the music of Africa. This truth is the basis for Nas and Damian Marley’s unique collaboration Distant Relatives, which aims to not only bridge the gap between their cultures, but also raise funds for a school in the Congo. And this focus has resulted in an album that will undoubtedly enrich the musical legacies of both men.


From the outset, it’s very obvious to listeners that both men took their time and built up a genuine, strong chemistry over the estimated year and a half recording period. The duo comfortably trade quick bars over the first single “As We Enter,” easily handling the several rhythm changes punctuated by horn and piercing drums , which is reminiscent of Welcome to Jamrock’s “All Night”. “As We Enter” serves to establish the direction of the LP, as Damian Marley proclaims them to be “street intellectuals,” and Nas posits their purpose as “real revolution rhymers.”


K’Naan guests on “Tribal War,” which address the in-fighting the plagues people of color around the world. Damian Marley crafts a beat of urgency using bongos and sorrowful chorus signing, as each emcee tackles the issue from different perspectives. Nas parallels international conflicts such as those seen in Darfur with American gang warfare, while K’Naan reflects on how Africa’s contributions are ignored or belittled in today’s society (“I drink poison/Then vomit diamonds/I gave you Mandela, Black Dalai Lamas/I gave you music/You enthused in my kindness/So how dare you reduce me to Donny Imus?”). And Damian Marley addresses the futility of man’s violent nature (“We nuh want no more of that/Everyone deserves to earn…Man a war tribal/Over colors/Over money, over land, and over oil, and over God” ).


Damian’s brother Stephen Marley assists on 2 tracks, “Leaders” and “In His Own Words.” On the former, Stephen handles chorus duties over a traditional, reggae-flavored track. But it’s Nas who shines in his 2 verses, using allusions to the Biblical figure of Esau, Prohibition gangster Bumpy Johnson, and Marcus Garvey to argue that a leader can come from any facet of society if they’re willing to answer the call.


On the latter, the trio gives listeners the first overtly spiritual track in “In His Own Words.” Again Nas works with 2 verses, and sharply notes his struggle with balancing his art, and how it has brought him closer to God (“How I balance between the streets and the theories of/collegiate literature/I hold mirrors up/Give combinations of pain, joy, fear, and love/Through my perspective/I can see Jah reflection”). Stephen’s bluesy, paced vocals provide a nice contrast with Nas’ faster flow, and Junior Gong brings it home lyrically in rhyming on the unity of creation (“All things are related/And creation is a package/Generate together/And we increase the wattage/A how them a go manage? Tell Babylon them can’t do Rasta damage”).


Since Damian Marley handled the majority of the production duties, the beats are void of any contemporary-styled Hip-hop rhythms. However, Junior Gong shows his versatility and knowledge of his partner’s strengths by making strategic rhythm changes to accentuate Nas’ style, as heard with the beautiful, guitar driven transition on “Count My Blessings.” Instinctively, both Nas and Marley fervently attack the songs with strong drums like “Friends,” “Dispear,” and “Strong Will Continue.” Ironically, the track with the closest link to boom-bap (“Nah Mean”) is dissected and dominated by Damian’s patois (“We nuh like dem colonial regime/Nah mean/Mi Queen hafi rock and come in/Nah mean/and jump pon mi big trampoline/Nah mean/And boost up her self-esteem”).


The remaining guests do exceptionally well in maintaining the theme of the album. Reggae fans will be delighted in hearing legend Dennis Brown helping in the remake of his classic “The Promised Land.” The seminal, bass-heavy funk of the song is perfect for any reggae/dancehall artist as Damian shows in his verse connecting America and Africa. But Nas also doesn’t misstep and incorporates end of days imagery in his portion (“If these are the last days/And 100-foot waves come crashing down/I’ll get some hash and pound/Pass around the bud then watch the flood/Can’t stop apocalypse/My synopsis is catastrophic”). Joss Stone compliments the child singing chorus on “My Generation,” and Lil Wayne shows his underrated adaptability with a succinct verse on his role with today’s youth (“This generation/I’m a represent/A generation led by a black president…So when you finish reading Revelations/Thank God for my generation”).


The album concludes with the poignant, lush ballad “Africa Must Wake Up.” The song is a call for those of African descent to not only remember their lineage, but establish an identity for the future, as sung by Damian (“Yesterday we were kings? Can you tell the young ones/Who are we today?”). Nas utilizes his 2 verses to speak on African culture’s discoveries in religion, architecture, and astronomy which assisted in humanity’s development. K’Naan reappears to offer a short, rhetorical refrain in Somali (“And when a country is built. Aren’t you the ones to tear it down?/ And when one attempted to tell the truth, aren’t you the ones to cut him down?). Nas ends the LP on a unifying note, explaining that because civilization derives from Africa, we are all family just spread out across the globe regardless of race.


Distant Relatives is an amazing achievement for both artists. For Damian Marley, it shows in these 5 years since this last LP (Welcome to Jamrock), he has grown as a producer and can lay claim to being one the most talented of Bob Marley’s children. Nas continues to evolve and age gracefully. Since 2002’s God’s Son, Nas has opted to use music to look inside himself for identity, rather than media, fans, or trends to define him. Instead of attempting to relive past glory (Illmatic) or personas (The Firm), he’s doing something many emcees become fearful to do; grow up with their audience and challenge themselves. And with the way he handled the varying production from Marley, Nas again shows why 19 years after his first appearance he’s still one of the premier lyricists in Hip-Hop.


Distant Relatives is a rewarding listening experience in its musicianship and lyricism, and one you can expect to go back to in the years to come.

[Meho]

Album is great, only thing that bothers me is that it's too preachy sometimes, shit about Africa and all that. But other than that... I think that Nas finally found a producer that doesn't overshadow his vocals but still manages to create great beats.

[Sikotic™]

When does this drop?

[Action!]

While I enjoy this album I have major issues with ideas presented throughout the album.  For example, the verse

Yesterday we were kings? Can you tell the young ones/Who are we today?

This is actually a huge misconception I see spread through out hip-hop about black americans.  As if the majority of them came from kings.  No, most of you were not from Kings.  You were average citizens of Africa that when the slave trade first started were sold into slavery and then when it went south you were enslaved by force (which would imply that you weren't a slave but does not imply you were of kings).  

The general ignorance of science is another issue I have with.  This isn't the first time Nas made me shake my at head at his pro-religious, anti-science perspectives (dance from God's Son was the other example).


I think the album is good.  It's not a 10 out of 10.  The beats are good but not great - are they some of Nas's best in recent years? Yeah, but it doesn't mean that they're amazing.  Nas is good but not great.  That's just how I feel about the album.  It's good but not great.

There's ignorance covered as intelligence spread throughout this album than my tastes are for.  Which, in addition, to the music is my major issue with the album.

[LyRiCaL_G]

I cant wait to hear this. Its killing me not having heard it yet.

All the reviews have been great, im hoping they fuse their sounds amazing, cant wait at all! All the reviews ive been hearing of this have been nothing less than saying its classy shit so i cant wait.

Got to get some of that nas shit, none of this bulllshiitt about raping gorrillaz and monkeys and shittin on ya grandmother and farting on records on this i hope! lol