S. Samuel
Rap veteran Nas has reflected on previously contemplating if he should hang up the microphone as a solo artist and only focus on collaborative projects.
According to “QB’s Finest”, his recent studio time alongside reggae artist Damian Marley inspired his contemplation.
“Sometimes, you can approach a record and can think, I got to take care of this person and I got to take care of that person, but you really got to take care of you,” Nas explained in an interview. “I look at Michael Jackson, and before he passed away, I can only imagine the pressure he had to live up to for the next Moonwalk. And the reality is physically, he wasn’t able to live up to that. I would have loved to see him come up with the next level, without even dancing, just using his creativity. It’s all about evolving and that’s what I want to do, evolve. I been so caught up into me and [Damian’s] thing that I started to get used to it. Like, I didn’t want to do the solo thing for a while. Me and D have just been doing our thing, reaching millions of people, but it’s that time.” (MTV)
Last spring, Nas opened up about their Distant Relatives album’s theme.
“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)
In 2009, Nas admitted to worrying over fans’ reception of the LP.
“I feel good about it,” Nas said about the album and his legacy. “So I can’t say how it’s gonna affect my musical legacy. I just think that with everything I do, I want it to mean something. Like [‘Tony Montana’] said, ‘I tell the truth, even when I lie.’ What he was sayin’ is, he never lies. He’s honest, even when he makes mistakes or misjudgements, he did it in truth. Everything I’m doing is because I feel right about it. The benefit of it [is] we contributed something to the world. Something like this…I don’t know who’s gonna like it, who’s gonna hate it or whatever, but it’s another contribution to the world. One more thing to just listen to.” (Hip Hop DX)
Upon its release last May, Distant Relatives debuted within the Top 5.
Hip-Hop duo Nas and Damian Marley’s Distant Relatives leads the way this week at No. 5 as Glee: The Music tops the chart with 135,800 sold albums. According to Nielsen SoundScan, the duo’s new collaboration album has sold 57,500 records after a week in stores. (SOHH Sales Wrap)
Check out a portion of Distant Relatives below:
