tagged w/ Distant Relatives
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Nas "It ain't hard to tell" (Live)
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Hassan
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added this
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1 year ago
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Grammy-nominated rapper Nas has revealed how he selects beats and why some collaborations and tracks get scraped due to time restraints. According to Nas, his process begins by considering all the producers he would like to link with.
"Well I have a wish list sometimes or I have a dream list of who I would love to work with and wish they would want to get in the studio and do records or whatever," Nas said in an interview. "Then I have my own ideas of being a producer. And what happens is a lot of time goes by with me being indecisive so it winds up with me kind of like doing what I have to do really fast because I played around for so long. Then, the deadlines come. But, you never know who has it, everyone's got a lot of talent. You have Little Brother, you have Drumma Boy. There's a lot of dudes I like right now. You have DJ Toomp." (BET)
Last month, Nas talked about being a hip-hop veteran and watching rap newcomers.
"Where do I see myself, I'm waiting for the rap game to catch up," Nas said during a press conference. "Not to sound arrogant, that's just a generational thing. When the young guys come out, they hit me on the BlackBerry, real rap and it's love because they can tell I love them. And it's just like, we're speaking from different perspectives so that's why they appreciate the older stuff and kinda like it, or the guys that's older than them because they can see where their future might be. But meanwhile, they're reinventing the game from the early stage from a young stage." (Rap Radar)
Nas is currently putting together his new Damian Marley collaboration album, Distant Relatives.
"Reggae and hip-hop are cousins,'' he said in an interview. "Go back before the '90s and think about the music that was playing on the ghetto blasters and you'll hear it...The whole world is like family, split up all over the place. It's overdue, and I want to help build whatever we can [in Africa]. I've worked with a lot of reggae artists, like Sizzla and Supercat, but not until [2005's] Jamrock did I get a chance to work with Damian. I love his music and I'm a big fan of Bob Marley and the whole family. We haven't worked out any tour dates yet. But I'm sure Damian and I will do something soon." (Miami Herald)
Marley recently shared his reaction to Lil Wayne's contribution as a guest feature on the album.
"It's funny, because the track is called 'My Generation,'" Damian explained in an interview. "It's definitely geared towards that. Wayne really showed a lot of respect in his verse, in the way that he handled it. He handled it exactly would've really loved him to. I don't have any criticism at all about what he did. I think it's a great and blessed track. That's all I can really say about that." (Hip Hop DX)Grammy-nominated rapper Nas has revealed how he selects beats and why some... more
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Nas & Damian Marley Ft. K’naan – Africa Must Wake Up
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Nas And Damian Marley Talk about new class of rappers (video)
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According to Nas, it is vital to keep in tact and maintain relationships with the rap newcomers.
"Where do I see myself, I'm waiting for the rap game to catch up," Nas said during a press conference. "Not to sound arrogant, that's just a generational thing. When the young guys come out, they hit me on the BlackBerry, real rap and it's love because they can tell I love them. And it's just like, we're speaking from different perspectives so that's why they appreciate the older stuff and kinda like it, or the guys that's older than them because they can see where their future might be. But meanwhile, they're reinventing the game from the early stage from a young stage." (Rap Radar)
Fellow rap veteran Ice Cube recently explained his issues with trying to help rappers on the come-up.
"I got burnt out," Cube wrote explaining why he stopped producing new emcees. "N*ggas couldn't take the baton and run wit it. I was sick of babysitting grown a** men and walking them through the industry...With that being said, I understand my last few blogs have been talked about in the streets and all over the internet. I want to make myself clear to all my fans who think I turned my back on the young rappers out here. No. I wish every young MC nothing but success, especially the ones from the New West. BUT, I have a major problem with any mothaf*cka from ANY COAST dissing the Old West...especially me. I'M SERVING YOU!" (Ice Cube's Blog)
West Coast emcee Xzibit, however, said it was key to help out younger generation emcees.
"I feel like if more of us held down more of our own, it would generate and circulate throughout the whole coast. We'd have a vibrate f***in' scene here," X said in an interview. "How did I get on? What happens if King Tee wouldn't have come through and been like 'Hey man, not only can you drink 40s, you can rap' (laughs). King Tee came through and gave me a shot, and Tha Alkaholiks a shot. It's gotta start somewhere. It gotta start somewhere. I think f***in' with these dudes, they gonna be representatives of where we at." (Baller Status)
Last year, rap mogul Jay-Z addressed the hip-hop age factor.
"I hear it all the time -- 'Yo, he should let the young guys, the new generation of guys come in,'" Jay explained in an interview. "But you don't become the front-runner in music because someone lets you. You have to claim your shoes...If you grow up listening to hip-hop, you love hip-hop and that's the end of it. But if you're a 30 year-old rapper still trying to make music like you're 15, then you're making it narrow. At my age, I can't relate to a 15 year-old. I deal with mature and relevant topics for my age group -- it has to all be based on true emotions. The more diversity and the more mature we make hip-hop, the bigger the net you cast." (Reuters)According to Nas, it is vital to keep in tact and maintain relationships with the rap... more
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Nas Speaks On Beat Selection For Distant Relatives
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Nas & Damian Marley are joined by Oliver Stone, K’naan, Busta Rhymes, Saul Williams, & DJ Green Lantern to talk about the creation of the Distant Relatives album.Nas & Damian Marley are joined by Oliver Stone, K’naan, Busta Rhymes, Saul... more
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Nas & Damian Marley Distant Relatives Video Trailer
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After initial plans for a first quarter 2010 release, Damian Marley & Nas' Distant Relatives collaboration album has a concrete due date, set at May 18, 2010. Speaking with HipHopDX late Monday night, Marley expressed his enthusiasm. "It's a relief. I feel excited. It's been a lot of work and we've been lookin' forward to [releasing the album]."
While his leading album singles like 2005 smash hit "Welcome to Jamrock" have been summer sensations, none of Marley's work has been released at a time that many specifically seek Reggae riddims in stereo. Marley explained to DX how he looks at this opportunity in Distant Relatives. "At the end of the day, [my philosophy] has always been to put stuff out when it's ready, 'cause I don't believe in puttin' out music that I'm not satisfied with, or I don't think has reached its potential in terms of the creative process. At the same time, I've never really had an album that was released at the beginning of summer. All of my albums have been previously released in September. I'm really lookin' forward to what that response will be, knowing that traditionally, Reggae music is what they call 'summer music,' so I'm kind of really looking forward to what that's gonna be."
Already boasting two appearances from K'Naan as well as Pop/Soul singer Joss Stone and Reggae legend Dennis Brown, many Rap fans were excited to hear last week's announcement, courtesy of XXLMag.com, that Lil Wayne will be appearing on the Universal Republic Records release. Damian was asked his thoughts on Lil Wayne bringing a younger generation into his and Nas' global-minded album."It's funny, because the track is called 'My Generation,'" Damian answered with a chuckle. "It's definitely geared towards that. [Lil] Wayne really showed a lot of respect in his verse, in the way that he handled it. He handled it exactly would've really loved him to. I don't have any criticism at all about what he did. I think it's a great and blessed track. That's all I can really say about that." Wayne's verse reportedly touches on the one-ness in different cultures, eras and music.
With the newly-confirmed tracklisting, Damian also spoke about the importance of sequencing the album and finalizing its 13 cuts. "To tell you the truth, the tracklisting hasn't really changed that much in the months, it's more-so that there's been some inaccurate listings that people have put on the 'net. The tracklisting has pretty much remained the same throughout the project. Marley did however admit, "The sequencing has changed. That is a matter of trying to make the album a long-listener, where you can put it in, hear from top, and just play straight through. So it goes off of feel; you don't want to have too many slow tracks back-to-back or too many fast ones back-to-back for that matter. I just try to make sure that the album feels good throughout."
The finalized tracklisting is as follows:
1. As We Enter
2. Tribal War (feat. K’Naan)
3. Strong Will Continue
4. Leaders
5. Wisdom
6. Count Your Blessings
7. Dispear
8. The Promised Land (feat. Dennis Brown)
9. In His Own Words
10. Nah Mean
11. Friends
12. My Generation (feat. Lil Wayne and Joss Stone)
13. Africa Must Wake Up (feat. K’Naan)
Lastly, Damian reacted to the impact of December's VTech-sponsored Distant Relatives event at the National Geographic in Washington DC that included Hip Hop godfather DJ Kool Herc, Rakim and Dancehall legend Big Youth. "It really feels like something important - everybody feels like it's an important project. Not just because of the music, but because of the whole idea behind the project, the focus of the project itself - both in aspects of it being related to Africa and us tryin' to shine a light and educate our generation on that a little bit more and also from the fact that two genres, which we've been saying, come from similar beginings and their destinies are intertwined. A lot of people have known that for a very long time, and this whole project has become a platform for us to express it. I've seen that it's not just myself and Nas, but all these other people, who are very credible, have validated what we've been tryin' to say."
Next Monday, specific dates will be announced for a North American tour that plans to hit almost every American city, as well as dates in Europe. Sony/Decon Records artist Nneka will be the Distant Relatives Tour opening act, as Nas will appear on her official remix to "Heartbreak," from her album Concrete Jungle.
As of this week, fans can visit DistantRelatives.com for information on the duo, the project and tour dates. The site is going live this week, with full launch expected by next week.
The Distant Relatives will also be performing in South By Southwest this Wednesday (March 17) at Emo's (603 Red River) in Austin, Texas. They're slated to hit the stage at midnight, joined by DJ Green Lantern.
Add this page to your favorite Social Bookmarking websitesAfter initial plans for a first quarter 2010 release, Damian Marley & Nas'... more
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