NaS & Damian Marley - Distant Relatives

If you have spoken to me in the past month, then I am sure you already how excited I have been to hear and write about this album in full - so when it arrived in my Inbox today; it’s safe to say that it made my day, week, month and year. It was a slightly strange feeling listening to the album as a whole for the first time, because it feels as though I have had some of the songs for years now. However; saying that - I truly believe that this is one of the most enjoyable first listens I have experienced in a very long time.

When I first heard about the project last year, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn’t judge/compare any of this album on material that they have both released throughout their solo careers. If you are going into this expecting an ‘Illmatic Part 2’ sprinkled with some choruses from Damian, or a ‘Halfway Tree Vol. 2’ featuring a couple of verses from NaS then you will be extremely disappointed - this is SO much more. It is important that you have an open mind when you click play for the first time, because they have both created a quite spectacular new sound that has never been done before.

Opening with the thumping 1st single ‘As We Enter’; you automatically forget that you’ve actually had half of the album in your iTunes for the past 3 months. The timeless element is evident throughout, making each and every song feel just as special as the first time you listened to them. Most of the time it is possible to pick a couple of stand-out tracks; however that’s an impossible task for an album of this quality. Every time I heard a new leak from the album, I thought I must have heard the best song on the album; I was VERY wrong - in fact, I personally think the two best songs on the album are part of the 4 that most people are still yet to hear.

2010 is starting to become a ridiculous year for Music and I am starting to worry about how hard it’s going to be compile my Top 10/20 of the year. There are 3 albums that have stood out for me so far, and they have been: Special Kind of Fool, New Amerykah, Pt. 2 and Plastic Beach - however; Distant Relatives is genuinely one of the best albums I have heard from the last 10 years. It wouldn’t surprise me if it is an album that I look back on in 40 years time and call it one of the best ever. It’s a revolutionary piece of art and touches on matters that people have never dared to before. Perfect is a word that I very rarely use, but I believe that this album is more than perfect. I genuinely couldn’t have wished for anything more.

Below is ‘In His Own Words’, which features Damian’s brother Stephen - personally my favourite song on the album (absolutely stunning). Distant Relatives is released on May 18th and you can Pre-Order HERE from Amazon - all the other links you need are on the Official Site.

If you don’t usually buy Music, then I think you should change your ways and support an album that is going to change many peoples’ lives.