Distant Relatives
Encyclopedia
Distant Relatives is a collaborative studio album
by American rapper Nas
and Jamaican reggae
artist Damian Marley
, released May 18, 2010, on Universal Republic
and Def Jam Recordings
. Production for the album took place during 2008 to 2010 and was handled primarily by Damian Marley and Stephen Marley
. Fusing musical elements of hip hop
and reggae, Distant Relatives features lyrical themes concerning ancestry, poverty, and the plight of Africa
.
The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200
chart, selling 57,000 copies in its first week. Upon its release, Distant Relatives received positive reviews from most music critics.
, when Nas told MTV reporters "Right now, I'll tell you first, I'm working on an album with Damian Marley. We tryin' to build some schools in Africa with this one, and trying to build empowerment. We're tryin' to show love and stuff with this album. So, the record's … all about really the 'hood and Africa also as well." The album title derives from Nas and Marley's relationship, their shared African ancestry, and the shared ancestry of the entire human race; which musically and lyrically inspired each recording. Leftover tracks from Nas and Marley's previous albums were originally planned for an EP
based on Africa. After working together, the duo decided to record a full album together.
, produced the majority of the album, using live instrumentation in the recording process. They collaborated with guest artists, including Stephen Marley
, Joss Stone
, Lil Wayne
, and K'naan
. On the album's production, Marley told Rolling Stone
, "We're trying to have a sound that's reminiscent of both of us, but not exactly like either... A lot of charity albums come off corny. We want this to be something you'd play in your car."
and reggae
musical elements, Marley and Nas also incorporated samples from African music into the album. The album's lyrical content heavily revolves around themes concerning Africa, from ancestry and poverty, with social commentary
of the United States and Africa. The track "Count Your Blessings" reflects on the plight of Africa.
and Def Jam Recordings
. Its proceeds will go to a project in Africa, with the possibility of building a school in the Congo
.
and its relation to music, sponsored by National Geographic, Damian and Stephen Marley and Nas were among the several hip hop and reggae musicians voicing their solidarity. The discussion focused on the collaborations between artists of the two genres, and highlighted the Distant Relatives project.
", was released on iTunes
on February 23, 2010. It has so far peaked at #10 on the iTunes Hip Hop/Rap charts and #41 on the iTunes Music charts. The single debuted at number 39 on the UK Singles Chart
. "Strong Will Continue" is featured in the soundtrack for 2010 FIFA World Cup video game
. "My Generation" was released in the United Kingdom on August 30, 2010.
chart with first-week sales of 57,000 copies. It serves as Nas's tenth top-ten album and Marley's second top-ten album in the United States. The album also entered at number four on Billboard
s Digital Albums, and at number one on its R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Rap Albums
, and Reggae Albums charts.
Internationally, Distant Relatives attained some chart success. It entered at number 33 on the European Top 100 Albums
chart. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number 30 on the UK Albums Chart
and at number four on the R&B Albums Chart
. In Canada, the album entered at number 10 on the Top 100 Albums
chart. In Germany, it debuted at number 38 on the Media Control Charts
, and in the Netherlands, the album debuted at number 72 and peaked at number 65 on the Mega Album Top 100
.
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 73, based on 23 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Allmusic writer David Jeffries complimented its themes concerning Africa, calling it "one purposeful monster and a conceptional bull's eye that fully supports its title". Entertainment Weekly
s Simon Vozick-Levinson commended Nas's and Marley's "righteous tones that only occasionally lapse into preachiness". Sputnikmusic
's Ryan Flatley gave the album four out of five stars and commented that "Nas and Damian Marley are a formidable pairing, seemingly on the same level throughout most of the album in thought and overall presence". Steve Jones of USA Today
gave it three-and-a-half out of four stars and called it "[a] potent and often provocative collaboration". Dave Simpson of The Guardian
gave the album four out of five stars and described its music as "thoughtful, sincere, weighty stuff, tackling subjects from African poverty to the diamond trade without sounding preachy or schmaltzy". Jesal Padania of RapReviews gave Distant Relatives a 10 out of 10 rating and commented that "neither Nas nor Marley come across too preachy [...] yet they also manage not to patronise Africa".
In contrast, Spin
s J. Gabriel Boylan gave the album a six out of 10 rating and found its "revelatory message blunted by digressions". Sean Fennessey of The Village Voice
viewed it as "rudimentary", calling the album "a tasteful affair full of uninteresting revelations and self-serious proclamations". Los Angeles Times
writer Jeff Weiss commented that the album "vacillates between the dreary and dynamic" and viewed its "didacticism" as a weakness, stating "leadened by reductive philosophies and crippling self-seriousness, the record often feels overly ponderous". Pitchfork Media
's Tom Breihan found the album's lyrics trite and stated "Nas and Marley fall into a sort of middlebrow funk, kicking overripe platitudes over sunny session-musician lopes and letting their self-importance suffocate their personalities [...] When these guys stop trying to be positive and just vent, they do great things". Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club
called it "an Afrocentric manifesto sometimes loaded down by the weight of its noble ambitions". While noting that its "live-band reggae sometimes feels sleepy", Rolling Stone
writer Christian Hoard stated "Nas is there to slap the track awake". Jesse Serwer of The Washington Post
commented that Nas "is often guilty of coasting [...] leaves the heavy lifting to Marley", but praised each artists' "inspired lyrical performances".
David Amidon of PopMatters
stated "The collision between hip-hop and reggae is a little overblown [...] but the alchemy between Nas and Junior Gong’s voice is obvious and engenders a strong sense of unity". BBC Online's Mike Diver complimented "the balance between Zion-celebrating lyricism and the real-life observations that accompany hip hop". Slant Magazine
's M.T. Richards called the album "a bright, richly cultured work" and praised its themes of humanity and humility, writing that it "shines with passion and zeal, both in its content and production, which oozes earthy warmth". In his consumer guide for MSN Music
, critic Robert Christgau
gave Distant Relatives an A- rating, indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction". Christgau complimented Marley's production and the album's themes, stating "The result is an exceptionally melodic reggae album that's intensified by rapping devoid of dancehall patois and a hard edge unknown to roots revivalism. The result is also an exceptionally political hip-hop album that's most convincing when it doesn't multiply Afrocentric distortion by Rastafarian reasoning".
Sample credits
List of samples
used for Distant Relatives adapted from liner notes.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American rapper Nas
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
and Jamaican reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
artist Damian Marley
Damian Marley
Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley is a Jamaican reggae artist who has won three Grammy awards. Damian is the youngest son of Bob Marley....
, released May 18, 2010, on Universal Republic
Universal Republic
Universal Republic Records is a record label, owned by Universal Music Group. It is based on the now-defunct Republic Records label founded by brothers Monte and Avery Lipman...
and Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused primarily on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Motown Music Group...
. Production for the album took place during 2008 to 2010 and was handled primarily by Damian Marley and Stephen Marley
Stephen Marley (musician)
Stephen Robert Nesta "Raggamuffin" Marley is a Jamaican American musician and the son of reggae legend Bob Marley and his wife Rita Marley. He is a five-time Grammy award winner as an artist, producer, and member of Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers.-Life and career:Marley was born in Wilmington,...
. Fusing musical elements of hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
and reggae, Distant Relatives features lyrical themes concerning ancestry, poverty, and the plight of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, selling 57,000 copies in its first week. Upon its release, Distant Relatives received positive reviews from most music critics.
Background
News of the album first came at the 2009 Grammy Awards51st Grammy Awards
The 51st Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA on February 8, 2009. Robert Plant and Alison Krauss were the biggest winners of the night, jointly winning five awards including Album of the Year and Record of the Year...
, when Nas told MTV reporters "Right now, I'll tell you first, I'm working on an album with Damian Marley. We tryin' to build some schools in Africa with this one, and trying to build empowerment. We're tryin' to show love and stuff with this album. So, the record's … all about really the 'hood and Africa also as well." The album title derives from Nas and Marley's relationship, their shared African ancestry, and the shared ancestry of the entire human race; which musically and lyrically inspired each recording. Leftover tracks from Nas and Marley's previous albums were originally planned for an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
based on Africa. After working together, the duo decided to record a full album together.
Recording and production
Nas and Marley began recording in 2008; recording sessions took place in Los Angeles, California, and Miami, Florida. Marley and his brother, StephenStephen Marley (musician)
Stephen Robert Nesta "Raggamuffin" Marley is a Jamaican American musician and the son of reggae legend Bob Marley and his wife Rita Marley. He is a five-time Grammy award winner as an artist, producer, and member of Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers.-Life and career:Marley was born in Wilmington,...
, produced the majority of the album, using live instrumentation in the recording process. They collaborated with guest artists, including Stephen Marley
Stephen Marley (musician)
Stephen Robert Nesta "Raggamuffin" Marley is a Jamaican American musician and the son of reggae legend Bob Marley and his wife Rita Marley. He is a five-time Grammy award winner as an artist, producer, and member of Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers.-Life and career:Marley was born in Wilmington,...
, Joss Stone
Joss Stone
Jocelyn Eve Stoker , better known by her stage name Joss Stone, is an English soul singer-songwriter and actress. Stone rose to fame in late 2003 with her multi-platinum debut album, The Soul Sessions, which made the 2004 Mercury Prize shortlist...
, Lil Wayne
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...
, and K'naan
K'naan
K'naan , born Keinan Abdi Warsame in 1978, is a Somali Canadian poet, rapper, singer, songwriter and instrumentalist.-Biography:Born in Somalia, K'naan spent his childhood in Mogadishu and lived there during the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. His aunt, Magool, was one of Somalia's most...
. On the album's production, Marley told Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, "We're trying to have a sound that's reminiscent of both of us, but not exactly like either... A lot of charity albums come off corny. We want this to be something you'd play in your car."
Music
Fusing hip hopHip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
and reggae
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
musical elements, Marley and Nas also incorporated samples from African music into the album. The album's lyrical content heavily revolves around themes concerning Africa, from ancestry and poverty, with social commentary
Social commentary
Social commentary is the act of rebelling against an individual, or a group of people by rhetorical means, or commentary on social issues or society...
of the United States and Africa. The track "Count Your Blessings" reflects on the plight of Africa.
Release and promotion
The album was released May 18, 2010 on Universal RepublicUniversal Republic
Universal Republic Records is a record label, owned by Universal Music Group. It is based on the now-defunct Republic Records label founded by brothers Monte and Avery Lipman...
and Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings
Def Jam Recordings is an American record label, focused primarily on hip hop and urban music, owned by Universal Music Group, and operates as a part of The Island Def Jam Motown Music Group...
. Its proceeds will go to a project in Africa, with the possibility of building a school in the Congo
Congo Basin
The Congo Basin is the sedimentary basin that is the drainage of the Congo River of west equatorial Africa. The basin begins in the highlands of the East African Rift system with input from the Chambeshi River, the Uele and Ubangi Rivers in the upper reaches and the Lualaba River draining wetlands...
.
Panel discussion
At a sold-out panel discussion on the African diasporaAfrican diaspora
The African diaspora was the movement of Africans and their descendants to places throughout the world—predominantly to the Americas also to Europe, the Middle East and other places around the globe...
and its relation to music, sponsored by National Geographic, Damian and Stephen Marley and Nas were among the several hip hop and reggae musicians voicing their solidarity. The discussion focused on the collaborations between artists of the two genres, and highlighted the Distant Relatives project.
Singles
The first single, "As We EnterAs We Enter
"As We Enter" is the first single from Nas and Damian Marley's collaboration album, Distant Relatives. The track is produced by Damian Marley. There are no full verses in the song, but rather Nas and Damian Marley rap in call-and-response fashion...
", was released on iTunes
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
on February 23, 2010. It has so far peaked at #10 on the iTunes Hip Hop/Rap charts and #41 on the iTunes Music charts. The single debuted at number 39 on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. "Strong Will Continue" is featured in the soundtrack for 2010 FIFA World Cup video game
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa (video game)
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa is the official video game for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, published by EA Sports.The game was announced on 26 January 2010 during a GameSpot interview with Simon Humber, one of the producers of the game, and released April 27, 2010 in North America...
. "My Generation" was released in the United Kingdom on August 30, 2010.
Commercial performance
The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart with first-week sales of 57,000 copies. It serves as Nas's tenth top-ten album and Marley's second top-ten album in the United States. The album also entered at number four on Billboard
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...
s Digital Albums, and at number one on its R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Rap Albums
Top Rap Albums
Top Rap Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks Rap and hip-hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart began publication for the week of November 13, 2004....
, and Reggae Albums charts.
Internationally, Distant Relatives attained some chart success. It entered at number 33 on the European Top 100 Albums
European Top 100 Albums
The European Top 100 Albums chart is the European adaptation of the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was created in March 1984.The European Top 100 Albums, commonly referred to as Eurochart Top 100 Albums shows the sales of an act in 19 European countries based on IFPI data.The European Top 100...
chart. In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number 30 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
and at number four on the R&B Albums Chart
UK R&B Chart
The Official UK R&B Chart is a forty-position R&B/Hip-Hop chart compiled by The Official UK Charts Company. Although the chart does not receive any airplay, its compilation is viewed on BBC Radio 1's website and publications such as ChartsPlus and Music Week...
. In Canada, the album entered at number 10 on the Top 100 Albums
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...
chart. In Germany, it debuted at number 38 on the Media Control Charts
Media Control Charts
The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
, and in the Netherlands, the album debuted at number 72 and peaked at number 65 on the Mega Album Top 100
MegaCharts
MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top...
.
Critical response
Distant Relatives received positive reviews from most music critics. At MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 73, based on 23 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". Allmusic writer David Jeffries complimented its themes concerning Africa, calling it "one purposeful monster and a conceptional bull's eye that fully supports its title". Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
s Simon Vozick-Levinson commended Nas's and Marley's "righteous tones that only occasionally lapse into preachiness". Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
's Ryan Flatley gave the album four out of five stars and commented that "Nas and Damian Marley are a formidable pairing, seemingly on the same level throughout most of the album in thought and overall presence". Steve Jones of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
gave it three-and-a-half out of four stars and called it "[a] potent and often provocative collaboration". Dave Simpson of The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
gave the album four out of five stars and described its music as "thoughtful, sincere, weighty stuff, tackling subjects from African poverty to the diamond trade without sounding preachy or schmaltzy". Jesal Padania of RapReviews gave Distant Relatives a 10 out of 10 rating and commented that "neither Nas nor Marley come across too preachy [...] yet they also manage not to patronise Africa".
In contrast, Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
s J. Gabriel Boylan gave the album a six out of 10 rating and found its "revelatory message blunted by digressions". Sean Fennessey of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
viewed it as "rudimentary", calling the album "a tasteful affair full of uninteresting revelations and self-serious proclamations". Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
writer Jeff Weiss commented that the album "vacillates between the dreary and dynamic" and viewed its "didacticism" as a weakness, stating "leadened by reductive philosophies and crippling self-seriousness, the record often feels overly ponderous". Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
's Tom Breihan found the album's lyrics trite and stated "Nas and Marley fall into a sort of middlebrow funk, kicking overripe platitudes over sunny session-musician lopes and letting their self-importance suffocate their personalities [...] When these guys stop trying to be positive and just vent, they do great things". Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
called it "an Afrocentric manifesto sometimes loaded down by the weight of its noble ambitions". While noting that its "live-band reggae sometimes feels sleepy", Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
writer Christian Hoard stated "Nas is there to slap the track awake". Jesse Serwer of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
commented that Nas "is often guilty of coasting [...] leaves the heavy lifting to Marley", but praised each artists' "inspired lyrical performances".
David Amidon of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
stated "The collision between hip-hop and reggae is a little overblown [...] but the alchemy between Nas and Junior Gong’s voice is obvious and engenders a strong sense of unity". BBC Online's Mike Diver complimented "the balance between Zion-celebrating lyricism and the real-life observations that accompany hip hop". Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
's M.T. Richards called the album "a bright, richly cultured work" and praised its themes of humanity and humility, writing that it "shines with passion and zeal, both in its content and production, which oozes earthy warmth". In his consumer guide for MSN Music
MSN Music
MSN Music was a part of the MSN web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. In 2004, Microsoft created an MSN Music download store to compete with Apple's iTunes Music Store, though its sales in comparison were...
, critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
gave Distant Relatives an A- rating, indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction". Christgau complimented Marley's production and the album's themes, stating "The result is an exceptionally melodic reggae album that's intensified by rapping devoid of dancehall patois and a hard edge unknown to roots revivalism. The result is also an exceptionally political hip-hop album that's most convincing when it doesn't multiply Afrocentric distortion by Rastafarian reasoning".
Track listing
- All tracks were produced by Damian Marley except tracks 4, 9, and 11, produced by Stephen Marley.
Sample credits
List of samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
used for Distant Relatives adapted from liner notes.
- 'As We EnterAs We Enter"As We Enter" is the first single from Nas and Damian Marley's collaboration album, Distant Relatives. The track is produced by Damian Marley. There are no full verses in the song, but rather Nas and Damian Marley rap in call-and-response fashion...
' contains samples of Mulatu AstatkeMulatu AstatkeMulatu Astatke is an Ethiopian musician and arranger best known as the father of Ethio-jazz....
's song Yegelle Tezeta. - 'Tribes at War' contains a sample from Tribal War by Earl Lowe.
- 'Friends' contains a sample from Undenge Uami by David Zé.
- 'Land Of Promise' contains a sample from Promised Land by Dennis BrownDennis BrownDennis Emmanuel Brown was a Jamaican reggae singer. During his prolific career, which began in the late 1960s when he was aged eleven, he recorded more than 75 albums and was one of the major stars of lovers rock, a sub-genre of reggae...
. - 'Nah Mean' contains a sample from Kurikute by Sara Chaves.
- 'Patience' contains a sample from Sabali by Amadou & MariamAmadou & MariamAmadou & Mariam are a musical duo from Mali, composed of the couple Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia . The pair, known as "the blind couple from Mali" met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind, and found they shared an interest in music...
from the album Welcome to MaliWelcome To MaliWelcome to Mali is the fifth studio album by Mali musicians Amadou & Mariam. It was released on Because Music on November 17, 2008 in Europe and was released on Nonesuch Records on March 24, 2009 in the United States.-Track listing:#"Sabali"...
. - 'My Generation' contains a sample from Generation by Ziggy MarleyZiggy MarleyDavid "Ziggy" Marley is a Jamaican musician and leader of the band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. He is the oldest son of famed reggae musician Bob Marley...
.
Personnel
Credits for Distant Relatives adapted from Allmusic.- Luke Aiono – guitar
- Rahsaan Alexander – vocals (bckgr)
- Chris Athens – mastering
- Kreiger Bailey – vocals (bckgr)
- Amadou Bajayoko – composer
- Miguel Bermudez – assistant
- Chad Blaize – vocals (bckgr)
- Dennis Brown – composer, vocals (bckgr)
- Llamar "Riff Raff" Brown – keyboards
- Ann Marie Calhoun – violin
- Andrea Carter – guitar
- James "Bonzai" Caruso – mixing
- Jason Chantrelle – A&R
- Daniel Chappell – brass
- Squiddly Cole – percussion, drums, keyboards
- Shiah Coore – bass, drums, vocals (bckgr), handclapping
- Greg DePante – assistant
- Courtney Diedrick – drums, handclapping
- Sean Diedrick – keyboards
- Mariam Doumbia – composer
- Dwayne Carter – composer
- Nabil Elderkin – photography
- Paul Fakhourie – bass, keyboards
- Andre "Illestr8" Forrest – vocals (bckgr), handclapping
- Rovleta Fraser – vocals (bckgr)
- Nesta Garrick – art direction, design
- Neville Garrick – photography, art consultant
- Marcus Garvey – quotation author
- Rannoy Gordon – guitar
- Andrew Green – engineer
- Tim Harkins – engineer
- Phillip "Winta" James – keyboards, vocals (bckgr), handclapping
- Nasir "Nas" Jones – composer, writer, rapper, executive producer, producer, vocals (bckgr)
- Keinan Warsame – composer
- L.A.'s Best Sunny Brae Choir – vocals (bckgr)
- Marc Lee – engineer
- Funji Legohn – brass
- Casey Lewis – engineer
- Damian "Junior Gong" Marley – composer, producer, programming, vocals (bckgr), handclapping, executive producer
- Stephen Marley – guitar, composer, keyboards, programming, producer
- George Massa – engineer
- Christopher Merridith – bass, guitar, keyboards
- Jah Amen Mobley – vocals (bckgr)
- Leon Mobley – percussion, vocals (bckgr)
- Vernon Mungo – engineer
- Josh Newell – engineer
- Bobby Newland – assistant
- Steve Nowa – assistant
- Oakwood School 5th Grade Choir – vocals (bckgr)
- Raymond Onyai – vocals (bckgr)
- George Pajon – guitar
- Lisa Parade – director
- Josef Powell – vocals (bckgr)
- José Quintero – assistant
- Benjamin Reid – engineer, assistant
- Mike Rowe – keyboards
- James Rudder – assistant
- Noelle Scaggs – vocals (bckgr)
- Miles Tackett – cello
- Charles Wakeman – engineer, mixing, assistant
- Oren Waters – vocals (bckgr)
- Will Wheaton – vocals (bckgr)
- Roselyn Williams – vocals (bckgr)
- Betty Wright – vocals (bckgr)
- Eric "Twizted" Young – assistant
- Gabriel Zardes – A&R
- Danny Zook – sample clearance
Chart positions
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Albums Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
53 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
10 |
| Dutch Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
72 |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
38 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
32 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
42 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
11 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
30 |
| UK R&B Albums UK R&B Chart The Official UK R&B Chart is a forty-position R&B/Hip-Hop chart compiled by The Official UK Charts Company. Although the chart does not receive any airplay, its compilation is viewed on BBC Radio 1's website and publications such as ChartsPlus and Music Week... |
4 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
5 |
| US Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
1 |
| US Billboard Rap Albums Top Rap Albums Top Rap Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks Rap and hip-hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart began publication for the week of November 13, 2004.... |
1 |
| US Billboard Reggae Albums Billboard charts The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine... |
1 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
170 |
External links
- Distant Relatives at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Distant Relatives at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
- Electronic press kit at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
- Distant Relatives panel discussion at National Geographic