RapRadar got the drop on folks today by posting not one, but two interviews on the upcoming Distant Relatives album from NaS & Damian Marley. They sat down with NaS & Damian seperatley to get their thoughts on the project. Check out some excerpts from each below…

Nas’s Take…

Growing up in Queensbridge, did you listen to a lot of reggae?
I grew up, it definitely was in my mix. Early hip-hop to me is like reggae. From, what’s the kids called? Sound of a generation?

Musical Youth?
Yeah, them. To a few other records that were out when I was hearing early hip-hop, I was hearing early reggae at the same time. So, you know yeah, big time fan.

On your record, “Theif’s Theme” you named dropped Peter MacIntosh. Was he an influence?
Yeah man, “Legalize It!” He’s amazing. Just that whole thing, The Wailers. Like, Jamaica’s own Temptations or Supremes or what have you. But it was just that movement and the music that came out of that group is crazy.

Right. So on this album can we expect to hear you kicking any Patois?
[Laughs] Nah, so far we almost done. But it’s a good chance you might not hear any of that, but we do mess around in the studio. I just haven’t laid my vocals like that, yet. So it’s possible before we close it out. Dame went crazy. His whole style is so crazy ’cause most guys who listen to hip-hop [and] don’t listen to dancehall or reggae, they don’t know what they’re missing. But a lot of the lyrics from reggae music—— and if you listen to any of Damian’s albums, he’s going in. So, with this album, it’s really dope like that ’cause dude is bringing it. It’s for real.

Damian chimes in…

Whose idea was it to do this album?
It came about through an idea that was really from management. I guess the seed was sowed before [with] me and Nas working together previously. But it was really my manager who brought the idea to me saying that it would great if me and Nas did an EP together toward Africa. So, originally when the idea came to me, it was supposed to be like five to six songs based around Africa. And when we started working on the music, everybody was loving what we’re doing so we decided to make it an album.

Will you be spitting any rhymes?
Um, [laughs] well, the album isn’t finished yet, so we’ll have to see. I mean, a lot of the words I’m using, I have to express myself clearly so that even Nas fans can understand that are my fans. So I can definitely say that about the approach I’ve been taking on this album.

Will any of your brothers be featured on the album?
Stephen will be on the album also.

Have you always been a fan of Nas?
Yeah, definitely. That’s really how he became a part of “Road To Zion” cause I was a fan of his music.

If your father were alive, what do you think he’d say of this collaboration?
Well, I think he’d be very proud. I think Nas would be on the artists he would be a fan of in terms of what Nas stands for in his lyrics and what he has communicated to the fans over the years when it comes to Africa and African philosophy. So in that sense, I can see him being a fan of Nas even without me having to do an album with him. And of course, you know the fact we’re doing an album geared toward Africa there is no secret that was something that was very close to my father’s heart, so that’s something that would definitely resonate with him.

Check out both features, in full, here: NAS x DAMIAN MARLEY: E PLURIBUS UNUM (PART ONE) | NAS x DAMIAN MARLEY: E PLURIBUS UNUM (PART TWO).

Tags: Albums, Damian Marley, Hip-Hop, Interviews, Jamaica, Music, Nas, News, Reggae

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