- Mon, 2010-09-27 11:23
Nas and Damian Jr. Gong Marley single handedly provided THE album of summer 2010, Distant Relatives. Our first introduction into the wonderful world of Nas meets Marley, rap meets reggae, was the INCREDIBLE single As We Enter, set to soundtrack parties for years to come. In As We Enter, Nas and Marley set down a couple of ground rules concerning their collaboration; firstly that Nas has the guns (lyrical, of course) and secondly, that Damian has the ganja. Though neither came as much of a suprise, we still all shouted a resounding Yes in response to the first verse Nas proposition We can come and blaze it up on your block if you wanna.
It seems we have been ignored. Reports of Nas and Damian turning up outside the block of any Distant Relatives fan, offering a mammouth blaze up and packets of crisps, have been rather thin on the ground. Perhaps this is because they've quit hazing up their hummer, or perhaps it's because they've been busy playing gigs across the globe and getting things ready to release Distant Relatives single number two, Land of Promise.
Released on Island Records, Land of Promise features a short vocal sample of legendary reggae singer Dennis Brown (1957-1999), Bob Marley's favourite singer. The track focuses on the connection both Nas and Damian have to their African ancestry and each other - having first met in 1996, leading to the Nas feature on Marley's track Road To Zion (track 11 from his Grammy winning, critically acclaimed 2005 album Welcome To Jamrock).
