On the heels of the release of Distant Relatives, rapper Nas spoke with the Wall Street Journal in regards to his work with Damian Marley, his thoughts on reggae music and rap, and more.
“They’re both real music by people who are expressing themselves about the conditions around them,” said Nas when asked about the similarities between Jamaican music and rap. “Many of those conditions are similar. Jamaican music can be aggressive, soulful, smooth and exciting all at once—just like hip-hop. At the same time, there’s nothing like Jamaica in the United States. Jamaica is its own thing.”
Nas also explained that he’s inspired by Bob Marley’s “untouchable” status and that he would someday hope to have that kind of effect on fans.
“Everyone listens to him—it’s not a Jamaican thing or an American thing—it’s all over the world,” Nas explained. “I’ve always wished to be able to do that once, as much as he does it naturally and easily on this untouchable level, I’d want to do that.”
AD LOADING...
In his interview with the Wall Street Journal Nas also spoke on fellow rappers Lil Wayne and Jay-Z.
Nas revealed that he was able to get Lil Wayne on the Distant Relatives album by sending Wayne a track shortly before he began his prison sentence. As far as Jay-Z, Nas gave praise to his New York City anthem “Empire State Of Mind.”
“It’s just keeping that whole thing alive—this New York thing,” said Nas. “There are a lot of people complaining about New York hip-hop, about it not being what it was, and he stood up and now we have another anthem to be proud of.”
Nas and Damian Marley’s Distant Relatives was released on Tuesday, May 18.
