Distant Relatives is a collaborative studio album by American rapper Nas and Jamaican reggae vocalist Damian Marley. It was released on May 18, 2010, by Ghetto Youths United, Universal Republic and Def Jam Recordings.
Distant Relatives was recorded between 2008 and 2010, being produced primarily by Damian and Stephen Marley, both sons of the most-known Jamaican musician Bob Marley. Fusing musical elements of hip hop and reggae, it features wide-ranging lyrical themes concerning colonialism, poverty, Pan-Africanism and the universality of the human condition. It features appearances from K'naan, Stephen Marley, Dennis Brown, Junior Reid, Joss Stone and Lil Wayne.
The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 57,000 copies in its first week. Upon its release, Distant Relatives received positive reviews from most music critics.
Background News of the album first came at the 2009 Grammy Awards, when Nas told MTV reporters "Right now, I'll tell you first, I'm working on an album with Damian Marley. We tryin' to build some schools in Africa with this one, and trying to build empowerment. We're tryin' to show love and stuff with this album. So, the record's … all about really the 'hood and Africa also as well." The album title derives from Nas and Marley's relationship, their shared African ancestry, and the shared ancestry of the entire human race; which musically and lyrically inspired each recording. Leftover tracks from Nas and Marley's previous albums were originally planned for an EP based on Africa. After working together, the duo decided to record a full album together.
Recording and production Nas and Marley began recording in 2008; recording sessions took place in Los Angeles, California, and Miami, Florida. Marley and his brother, Stephen, produced the majority of the album, using live instrumentation in the recording process. They collaborated with guest artists, including Stephen Marley, Joss Stone, Lil Wayne, and K'naan. On the album's production, Marley told Rolling Stone, "We're trying to have a sound that's reminiscent of both of us, but not exactly like either... A lot of charity albums come off corny. We want this to be something you'd play in your car."
Music Fusing hip hop and reggae musical elements, Marley and Nas also incorporated samples from African music into the album. The album's lyrical content heavily revolves around themes concerning Africa, from ancestry and poverty, with social commentary of the United States and Africa. The track "Count Your Blessings" reflects on the plight of Africa.
Release and promotion
The album was released May 18, 2010 on Universal Republic and Def Jam Recordings. Its proceeds will go to a project in Africa, with the possibility of building a school in Congo.
Panel discussion At a sold-out panel discussion on the African diaspora and its relation to music, sponsored by National Geographic, Damian and Stephen Marley and Nas were among the several hip hop and reggae musicians voicing their solidarity. The discussion focused on the collaborations between artists of the two genres, and highlighted the Distant Relatives project.The Source, Nas and Damian Marley Distant Relatives Coming in 2010 , TheSource.com, 14 December 2009. Accessed 6 January 2010.
Singles The first single, "As We Enter", was released on iTunes on February 23, 2010.Single Cover: Nas & Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley – ‘As We Enter’. Rap-Up. It has so far peaked at #10 on the iTunes Hip Hop/Rap charts and #41 on the iTunes Music charts. The single debuted at number 39 on the UK Singles Chart.The Official UK Top 40 Singles Chart - 23 May 2010. BBC Online. Retrieved on 2010-05-27. "Strong Will Continue" is featured as soundtrack in EA Sports game, 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa. "My Generation" was released in the United Kingdom on August 30, 2010.
Critical reception
Distant Relatives received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 73, based on 23 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".Distant Relatives Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2010-05-18. Allmusic's David Jeffries complimented its themes concerning Africa, calling it "one purposeful monster and a conceptional bull's eye that fully supports its title".Jeffries, David. [ Review: Distant Relatives]. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-05-18. Sputnikmusic's Ryan Flatley stated, "Nas and Damian Marley are a formidable pairing, seemingly on the same level throughout most of the album in thought and overall presence".Flatley, Ryan. Review: Distant Relatives. Sputnikmusic. Retrieved on 2010-05-19. Dave Simpson of The Guardian described its music as "thoughtful, sincere, weighty stuff, tackling subjects from African poverty to the diamond trade without sounding preachy or schmaltzy".Simpson, Dave. Review: Distant Relatives. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2010-05-18. Gervase de Wilde of The Daily Telegraph called it "predictably brilliant".
Although he found its musical fusion "a little overblown", David Amidon of PopMatters felt that "the alchemy between Nas and Junior Gong’s voice is obvious and engenders a strong sense of unity".Amidon, David. Review: Distant Relatives. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2010-06-01. Mojo commented that the album "finds a glorious similitude between the two disciplines." Slant Magazines M.T. Richards called the album "a bright, richly cultured work" and praised its themes of humanity and humility, writing that it "shines with passion and zeal, both in its content and production, which oozes earthy warmth".Richards, M.T. Review: Distant Relatives. Slant Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-05-25. In MSN Music, Robert Christgau stated, "The result is an exceptionally melodic reggae album that's intensified by rapping devoid of dancehall patois and a hard edge unknown to roots revivalism. The result is also an exceptionally political hip-hop album that's most convincing when it doesn't multiply Afrocentric distortion by Rastafarian reasoning".Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: Distant Relatives". MSN Music: June 2010.
In a mixed review, J. Gabriel Boylan of Spin felt that its "revelatory message blunted by digressions".Boylan, J. Gabriel. Review: Distant Relatives. Spin. Retrieved on 2010-05-18. Sean Fennessey of The Village Voice found it to be "rudimentary" and "a tasteful affair full of uninteresting revelations and self-serious proclamations".Fennessey, Sean. Review: Distant Relatives. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 2010-05-19. Jeff Weiss of the Los Angeles Times commented that the album "vacillates between the dreary and dynamic", and criticized its "didacticism": "[L]eadened by reductive philosophies and crippling self-seriousness, the record often feels overly ponderous".Weiss, Jeff. Review: Distant Relatives. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2010-05-18. Pitchfork Media's Tom Breihan viewed the lyrics as trite and stated, "Nas and Marley fall into a sort of middlebrow funk, kicking overripe platitudes over sunny session-musician lopes and letting their self-importance suffocate their personalities".Breihan, Tom. Review: Distant Relatives. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2010-05-21. Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club called it "an Afrocentric manifesto sometimes loaded down by the weight of its noble ambitions".Rabin, Nathan. Review: Distant Relatives. The A.V. Club. Retrieved on 2010-05-25.
Commercial performance Distant Relatives debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 57,000 copies.Caulfield, Keith. 'Glee' Stops the Show at No. 1, Stones Come in Second On Billboard 200. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-05-26. It serves as Nas's tenth top-ten album and Marley's second top-ten album in the United States. The album also entered at number four on Billboards Digital Albums,Digital Albums - Week of June 05, 2010. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-05-27. and at number one on its R&B/Hip-Hop Albums,R&B/Hip-Hop Albums - Week of June 05, 2010. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-05-27. Rap Albums,Rap Albums - Week of June 05, 2010. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-05-27. and Reggae Albums charts.Reggae Albums - Week of June 05, 2010. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-05-27. As of June 2010, it has sold 134,000 copies in the United States.
Internationally, Distant Relatives attained some chart success.Album Performance: Distant Relatives. acharts. Retrieved on 2010-05-27. It entered at number 33 on the European Top 100 Albums chart.European Albums - Week of June 05, 2010. Billboard. Retrieved on 2010-05-27. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number 30 on the UK Albums Chart and at number four on the R&B Albums Chart.The Official UK Top 40 Albums Chart - 23 May 2010. BBC Online. Retrieved on 2010-05-27.UK Top 40 RnB Albums - 23 May 2010. BBC Online. Retrieved on 2010-05-27. In Canada, the album entered at number 9 on the Top 100 Albums chart. In Germany, it debuted at number 38 on the Media Control Charts,Album Top 50 KW 20 - Gültig ab 28.05.2010. MTV. Retrieved on 2010-05-28. and in the Netherlands, the album debuted at number 72 and peaked at number 65 on the Mega Album Top 100.
Track listing All tracks were produced by Damian Marley, except tracks 4, 9, and 11, which were produced by Stephen Marley.
Sample creditsTrack listing and liner notes per Distant Relatives album
"As We Enter" contains samples of "Yegelle Tezeta" by Mulatu Astatke. "Tribes at War" contains a sample from "Tribal War" by Earl Lowe. "Friends" contains a sample from "Undenge Uami" by David Zé. "Land Of Promise" contains a sample from "Promised Land" by Dennis Brown. "Nah Mean" contains a sample from "Kurikute" by Sara Chaves. "Patience" contains a sample from "Sabali" by Amadou & Mariam from the album Welcome to Mali. "My Generation" contains a sample from "Generation" by Ziggy Marley.
Personnel Credits for Distant Relatives adapted from Allmusic.[ Credits: Distant Relatives]. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-05-18.
Luke Aiono – guitar Rahsaan Alexander – background vocals Chris Athens – mastering Kreiger Bailey – background vocals Amadou Bajayoko – composer Miguel Bermudez – assistant Chad Blaize – background vocals Dennis Brown – composer, background vocals Llamar "Riff Raff" Brown – keyboards Ann Marie Calhoun – violin Andrea Carter – guitar James "Bonzai" Caruso – mixing Jason Chantrelle – A&R Daniel Chappell – brass Squiddly Cole – percussion, drums, keyboards Shiah Coore – bass, drums, background vocals, handclapping Greg DePante – assistant Courtney Diedrick – drums, handclapping Sean Diedrick – keyboards Mariam Doumbia – composer Dwayne Carter – composer Nabil Elderkin – photography Paul Fakhourie – bass, keyboards Andre "Illestr8" Forrest – background vocals, handclapping Rovleta Fraser – background vocals Nesta Garrick – art direction, design Neville Garrick – photography, art consultant Marcus Garvey – quotation author Rannoy Gordon – guitar Andrew Green – engineer Tim Harkins – engineer Phillip "Winta" James – keyboards, background vocals, handclapping Sunday Agwaze Michaels – tumbadora "African conga" Nasir Jones – composer, writer, rapper, executive producer, producer, background vocals Keinan Warsame – composer
L.A.'s Best Sunny Brae Choir – background vocals Marc Lee – engineer Funji Legohn – brass Casey Lewis – engineer Damian Marley – composer, producer, programming, background vocals, handclapping, executive producer Stephen Marley – guitar, composer, keyboards, programming, producer George Massa – engineer Christopher Merridith – bass, guitar, keyboards Jah Amen Mobley – background vocals Leon Mobley – percussion, background vocals Vernon Mungo – engineer Josh Newell – engineer Bobby Newland – assistant Steve Nowa – assistant Oakwood School 5th Grade Choir – background vocals Raymond Onyai – background vocals