Dubcnn: Our first question is, how did you decide to make this album together?

Damian: Originally we met on tour, after that I invited Nas to be apart of my Welcome to Jamrock album on the song called Road to Zion, and he invited me to do some more music with him also. So we always had the intention to do more music together.


Dubcnn: Did you plan to make a CD, or was it first just a few tracks only?

Damian: We had an idea to make an EP, 4 tracks, and when we started working on that we decided to make it an album.


Dubcnn: How has to response been for the CD so far from your fans?

Nas: Its great!

Damian: Wonderful!


Dubcnn: Nas, do you think that hip-hop is still dead or is it alive?

Nas: Yeah its dead! (Damian Marley laughs). Because its been reborn! Its new, its different, its new artists. Its always the thing with nature, nature has a way of killing off to give off something new. So, it’s a new day, its new people its new artists and new sounds. Its great new sounds going on and I think a lot of those new artists today, this year, really care about the hip hop that they grew up listening to. I think there is a great chance for the whole art form to flourish. It just goes through periods.

In the 80's, one era died for a new one to be born. Curtis Blow to Run DMC, to Public Enemy, Rakim & Eric B to B.I.G., to Wu-Tang, and so on. It came to a point where they got really commercialized that not just music but the business of it and who was in charge of it, and the direction it was going to, and where the spotlights were at, all of those things became confusing. I needed to make that album, Hip Hop is Dead, to just get myself and everybody recharged. I think there is a new scene emerging right now.


Dubcnn: So you wouldn’t call it hip hop?

Nas: Nah, hip hop is hip hop, but when you see Wayne with the singing and the guitar or you see Drake with the singing, its just going in different and new directions. Kanye West with his 808s and Heartbreak album, just different electronic singing and just whole different styles are happening more often but people care about the artform. The new generation is starting to care about the art form where we got rich and started to just fuck it up, it’s a long story.


Dubcnn: You talked about Wayne, how was it like working with him?

Nas: He flew the verses to us before he went to jail. Wayne's shit is amazing so we wanted to have a piece of that with us because we have love for everybody. Distant Relatives mean everybody!


Dubcnn: Is it hard to be intellectual in the hip hop world?

Nas: No, I don’t think so. I think Kanye's shit is intellectual, I think Jay-Z's shit is intellectual, I think Drake is intellectual, I think those are the best kinds of hip hop, but there is nothing like this record, there is nothing like Distant Relatives out there! So yeah, this is different and I think it would be hard for people to do it if there heart is not into it but that’s not the case for me and Damian.


Dubcnn: The most political CDs don’t sell as much, why do you think its like that?

Nas: When you think about the sales its going to be a problem for you. Records sell! The whole world is music fans, the majority of the world is music fans, records sell, so if you really do something from the heart people can recognize that and people will get it. But if you keep giving people plastic, plastic, plastic, one day they wont want plastic and then what will you do? The real stuff will always sell!


Dubcnn: I wonder, what is the worst and best thing about Damian?

Nas: The worst, lets start with that first! (Damian laughs). He gets the best room and the best hotel, he gets the best service! Nah, there is no best and worst, its just love!