Last Friday BET presented their fundraiser for Haiti. It consisted of a slew of artists like Wyclef, Nas, Damian Marley, Akon, Mary J Blige, Busta Rhymes and more. Here are some of the performances from the night.

More videos inside…

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The guys over at chromemusic did their due diligence and found the sample that was used in the track “As We Enter”. The sample originates from the Ethiopian jazz legend Mulato Astatke’s track “Yegelle Tezeta”. It’s also nice to see how the Distant Relatives project is coming full circle. Part of the premise of “Distant Relatives” is about the links to Africa that are shared by Nas and Damian so its only right the production reflects that.

Spotted on Seen

Damian Marley & Nas “As We Enter”

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Mulatu Astatke “Yegelle Tezeta”

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I guess they couldn’t sit on this one forever.

If you remember, Dom hit you with a snippet of this one a while back. Now, the full track has come to light and it’s another heater.

I can’t wait for the full album. Check out the audio below…

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Download it here: Nas x Damian Marley - “As We Enter”.

…via RapRadar.

More new music from their upcoming Distant Relatives album. Check it out below…

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Download it here: Nas & Damian Marley - “Strong Will Continue”.

…via PleaseDon’tStare.

Striking album artwork for the collaborative album by Nas & Damian Marley, due in March of 2010. It definitely ties the concept of the album together.

Check out the track listing after the jump…

…via FreshnessMag.

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This past Saturday in DC Nas & Damian Marley sat down with other luminaries to discuss the African origins of both Reggae and Hip-Hop.

Weren’t able to catch the live webcast? Then you’re in luck. Check out the video below…

…via Asho.

via Flickr J Sommers

These dudes are just building the tension with this Distant Relatives LP. Here is an interview with Damian Marley speaking on Africa, Rastafarianism plus performances by him and Nas.

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In The Fader’s latest release of Ghetto Palms they blended in a snippet of “Afro Beat” a collaboration from Damian Marley and Nas (which logic only reasons most be off of the Distant Relatives project), along with some Ethiopian soul music and the Weapon Riddim.

The fire-starter was “Afro Beat”—Nas’ collabo with Damian Marley which just leaked in a truncated snippet version. Featuring Nasir and Junior Gong alternating bars over a chop-n-quench of Ethiopian soul pioneer Mulatu Astatke, it manages to spear all three birds in one track even though it is barely a minute long. Luckily the original, a ’60s Ethio-jazz monster that foreshadowed the fusion experiments of Fela, is long enough to carry both of them. That gave me a framework to cut together a couple other Ethiocentric joints—beats that are so idiosyncratic they don’t even blend, exactly, but are so much on the same vibe it doesn’t even matter, really.

Ghetto Palms blend

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Afro Beat Snippet

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Track listings inside

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When we first caught wind of the Distant Relatives project, we had to mention it on the blog cause it sounds like it can be an epic album. As it stands, it looks like the Nas/Damian Marley compilation is coming closer to fruition. Check out the video preview…

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).