Friday, April 9, 2010 Wednesday, March 31, 2010 
Saturday, December 26, 2009
I'll keep you posted on this project.
When you consider the Blak Roc album is out and has been documented, now this is coming... it signals a change in terms of creative control by artists of a certain level.
No not all of the music is going to improve, but, a great deal of it is going to influence newer artists to pursue an alternative path.
If not, these dudes better start coming up with some better "coke rap/stripper rap/bling rap/(insert style here)" stories. I'm tired of listening to the same bullshit story from 100 different dudes.
Word.
Thursday, December 24, 2009 
Distant Relatives cover art.Don't even ask. Of course I'm going to let you know when the album drops.Don't forget, I was the dude that found out about the project and found out the studio the project was being recorded in when they were trying to say it was a secret and not confirming it.I got you!
Monday, August 3, 2009 via 2dopeboyz
Nas & Damian Marley Live @ Rock The Bells (Vancouver, BC) from Luis Valdizon on Vimeo.
Unfortunately, the sound is hella bad.
On the road supporting that upcoming Distant Relatives album I told you about back in April.
I said that joint wasn't going to drop this Summer.
Friday, July 3, 2009 
Thursday, April 9, 2009 
This is the latest news about Nas and "Junior Gong" collaborating. In my last update on their newest offering, Distant Relatives(no release date...don't ask), I told you they were likely to be working in a North Hollywood studio with Salaam Remi, Nas' longtime producer and friend. Now it appears they are testing the waters to see how the public will receive them in a live setting(plan to hear new material at these shows).
With Nas being one of the premier lyricists able to outlast many of his peers, in terms of longevity and relevance and Damian Marley being an international, multi-talented, well respected musician, we can expect their talents to elevate each of them to levels of creativity we haven't seen in either individually.
Working on an album will force them to do more than trade "hot 16's" or only experiment with clever word play. We can expect entire songs and concepts with a cohesiveness that is rarely seen when singles are the priority.
Nuff said. ~ Martin Cameron Smith
The Concert
The lineup for the 2009 Rock the Bells tour was announced today (April 8), featuring old-school legends, independent superstars and artists on the come-up.
Headlining the concert series is Queensbridge’s finest Nas along with Jamaican sensation Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley. The duo are currently working on their collaboration album. Joining them on the bill is Philadelphia ensemble The Roots, Chi-Town vet Common, OutKast rapper Big Boi, seminal Bronx MC KRS-One, a reunited House of Pain featuring super-group La Coka Nostra, DJ Hi Tek and Talib Kweli’s Reflection Eternal, Wu-Tang mainstays RZA and Raekwon, internet supergroup Slaughterhouse and Brooklyn reps M.O.P.
Indie favorites Buckshot, Slum Village, Necro, Eyedea & Abilities, Sage Francis, Tech N9ne, The Alchemist and Evidence and Charlie 2Na have also been added. While up-and-coming rappers K’Naan, Mickey Factz, Tabi Bonney will also be hitting the stage.
Murs, KRS, Supernatural and Pete Rock will host the show with more surprise acts to be named at a later date.
Set to hit cities across the U.S. and Canada, dates and venues are yet to be announced
Check the performance from the press conference in Cali:
Nas x Damian Marley (Video) from 2dopeboyz.com on Vimeo.
Video from 2 dopeboyz.com
Friday, March 27, 2009
UPDATE: Remember you heard it here first! The so called "undisclosed studio" Nas and Damian are recording at in Los Angeles is NRG Recording Studio in North Hollywood(lots of rock music done there). Look for Salaam Remi to be on some of the production.
They have been there for a while and expect to be done soon, but, I wouldn't count on it. With no distributor for the album and no set deadline, this project could be released closer to July, but, before September, which would qualify it for an '09 Grammy nomination.
My advice...when this comes out, buy a physical CD, it will be hard to find later.
Nas and Junior Gong equals more fire!!!!
From the L.A. Times:
Few rappers have had a more divisive career than Nas. Other than his instantly canonized 1994 debut, “Illmatic,” each of his ensuing eight efforts has either been regarded as a startling return to form, or yet another failure to reach his precocious zenith.* But even those who haven’t cared since Clinton’s first term must have been intrigued by the news of "Distant Relative," his collaboration with Damian “Junior Gong" Marley, slated for an early June release. Recorded at an undisclosed Los Angeles studio over the last several months, the duo will finally unveil stripped-down versions of the new songs Friday at 8 p.m. at L.A. Live’s Grammy Museum.
The performance will be accompanied by a Q&A, where the pair will answer questions about their new album and discuss their humanitarian work. Earlier this year, Nas told MTV News, “We tryin' to build some schools in Africa… and trying to build empowerment. The record's all about the 'hood and Africa.” While an official label announcement has yet to be made, most media speculation has pointed toward the release of "Distant Relative" coming from Island Def Jam, the label for which Nas currently records (Marley is signed to Universal).
Nas and Marley have worked together before, on “Road to Zion,” the second single from Marley’s breakthrough third album, the Grammy Award-winning “Welcome to Jamrock.” Though the pairing of the metaphysical Queensbridge rapper and the offspring of Jamaican music royalty seems odd on paper, the pair share an avowed ardor for both illicit herbal substances and progressive politics. Last year, Nas’ “Untitled” featured searing sermons aimed at the U.S. government and the nation’s racial inequalities. Like his father, Bob, Marley’s oeuvre has drawn heavily upon the bleak poverty of the Trenchtown ghettos.
While his father made his name in the more traditional roots reggae, the youngest singing Marley (elder siblings Ziggy, Julian, Stephen and Ky-Mani also sing professionally), has carved out a niche with his “toasting” style, a strain of reggae that borrows heavily from both dancehall and hip-hop. Accordingly, some of Marley’s finest work has come in collaboration with rappers, including guest appearances on albums from B-Real, Redman and Method Man, and Snoop Dogg.
Tickets are available at $19.95 via Ticketmaster, but only 200 are available. Considering that Nas’ last album debuted at No. 1, and Marley’s previous effort went gold, the wise money says: Start scouring Stub Hub and Craigslist now.
-- Jeff Weiss
*Except for “Street’s Disciple” and “Nastradamus” — only the most staunch Nas apologists refuse to repudiate those disappointing albums.
Damian Marley and Nas Q&A and performance at the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., Suite 200, Los Angeles. 8 p.m. Friday. $19.95. Buy tickets here.
Photo courtesy Press Here Publicity
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March 26, 2009 in Jeff Weiss , Preview | Permalink LINK