Nas & Damian Marley solidify details for “Distant Relatives”

[via Blazing Swarm]

Initially hinted at by Nas during an interview at the 2009 Grammy Awards, final details are beginning to solidify surrounding the collaborative album between Mr. Jones and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley. Distant Relatives, the proceeds of which will go to a variety of projects in Africa including building schools and increasing AIDS/HIV awareness programs, is now set for a May 18 release despite initially being slated to hit the streets later this month. As Billboard reported nearly a year ago,

“The album title is inspired by Nas and Damian’s relationship, but also their shared African ancestry, which is a common thread throughout the album. ‘Africa is the backbone of the world and the foundation of everything and Africans are in a situation where they need help more than anywhere else,’ Damian Marley said in a statement.”

Despite the release date being up in the air for some time now, two tracks from the record have surfaced, “As We Enter” and “Strong Will Continue.” Musically, both follow a sound that is more similar to Marley’s dance hall/hip hop fusion; the latter being slightly more mellow and lyrically focused however. Simply based on the two samples, and the list of expected guest contributors though, Distant Relatives looks to be one of the early highlights of the year in hip hop.

Distant Relatives tracklist:

1. As We Enter [MP3]
2. Tribal War feat. K’naan
3. Strong Will Continue [MP3]
4. Leaders feat. Stephen Marley
5. Wisdom
6. Count Your Blessings
7. Dispear
8. The Promised Land feat. Dennis Brown
9. In His Own Words feat. Stephen Marley
10. Nah Mean
11. Friends
12. My Generation feat. Lil Wayne & Joss Stone
13. Africa Must Wake Up feat. K’naan

Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

Also: Nas “Untitled” Review