I was just thinking , it's not that many I feel are worth it.

Too early to tell. The hard-hitting releases don't come out until after September.

daPrettyman said:

Too early to tell. The hard-hitting releases don't come out until after September.

Which albums so far is what I mean .

babybugz said:

daPrettyman said:

Too early to tell. The hard-hitting releases don't come out until after September.

Which albums so far is what I mean .

IMO....NONE so far deserve any nomination. Prince included. I hope the 2nd half of 2010 is better than the first.

This is who I'm rooting for...

[img:$uid]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y240/delivertheword/misc/DAMIENANDNAS.jpg[/img:$uid]

Corinne Bailey rae

Sade

Alicia Keys

Monica

Usher

Raheem DeVaughn

Jaheim

Janelle Monae

Big Boi

Rick Ross

Kylie Minogue

Maroon 5

babynoz said:

This is who I'm rooting for...

[img:$uid]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y240/delivertheword/misc/DAMIENANDNAS.jpg[/img:$uid]

Is that album real good? I see alot of people listening to it.

babybugz said:

babynoz said:

This is who I'm rooting for...

[img:$uid]http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y240/delivertheword/misc/DAMIENANDNAS.jpg[/img:$uid]

Is that album real good? I see alot of people listening to it.

Oh yeah...it's that good! I can't stop listening to it, People are raving about it on Amazon, Youtube, etc. Here's one of the best reviews...

http://allhiphop.com/stor...16146.aspx

REVIEWS Nas and Damian Marley: Distant Relatives (Album Review) Thursday, May 13, 2010 12:36 PM | 36 comments By: Ismael AbduSalaam

Black music has many streams of expression, 2 of the most prominent being Hip-Hop and Reggae. And when you go back far enough, these traditions are seen to have their roots in the music of Africa. This truth is the basis for Nas and Damian Marley’s unique collaboration Distant Relatives, which aims to not only bridge the gap between their cultures, but also raise funds for a school in the Congo. And this focus has resulted in an album that will undoubtedly enrich the musical legacies of both men.

From the outset, it’s very obvious to listeners that both men took their time and built up a genuine, strong chemistry over the estimated year and a half recording period. The duo comfortably trade quick bars over the first single “As We Enter,” easily handling the several rhythm changes punctuated by horn and piercing drums , which is reminiscent of Welcome to Jamrock’s “All Night”. “As We Enter” serves to establish the direction of the LP, as Damian Marley proclaims them to be “street intellectuals,” and Nas posits their purpose as “real revolution rhymers.”

K’Naan guests on “Tribal War,” which address the in-fighting the plagues people of color around the world. Damian Marley crafts a beat of urgency using bongos and sorrowful chorus signing, as each emcee tackles the issue from different perspectives. Nas parallels international conflicts such as those seen in Darfur with American gang warfare, while K’Naan reflects on how Africa’s contributions are ignored or belittled in today’s society (“I drink poison/Then vomit diamonds/I gave you Mandela, Black Dalai Lamas/I gave you music/You enthused in my kindness/So how dare you reduce me to Donny Imus?”). And Damian Marley addresses the futility of man’s violent nature (“We nuh want no more of that/Everyone deserves to earn…Man a war tribal/Over colors/Over money, over land, and over oil, and over God” ).

Damian’s brother Stephen Marley assists on 2 tracks, “Leaders” and “In His Own Words.” On the former, Stephen handles chorus duties over a traditional, reggae-flavored track. But it’s Nas who shines in his 2 verses, using allusions to the Biblical figure of Esau, Prohibition gangster Bumpy Johnson, and Marcus Garvey to argue that a leader can come from any facet of society if they’re willing to answer the call.

On the latter, the trio gives listeners the first overtly spiritual track in “In His Own Words.” Again Nas works with 2 verses, and sharply notes his struggle with balancing his art, and how it has brought him closer to God (“How I balance between the streets and the theories of/collegiate literature/I hold mirrors up/Give combinations of pain, joy, fear, and love/Through my perspective/I can see Jah reflection”). Stephen’s bluesy, paced vocals provide a nice contrast with Nas’ faster flow, and Junior Gong brings it home lyrically in rhyming on the unity of creation (“All things are related/And creation is a package/Generate together/And we increase the wattage/A how them a go manage? Tell Babylon them can’t do Rasta damage”).

Since Damian Marley handled the majority of the production duties, the beats are void of any contemporary-styled Hip-hop rhythms. However, Junior Gong shows his versatility and knowledge of his partner’s strengths by making strategic rhythm changes to accentuate Nas’ style, as heard with the beautiful, guitar driven transition on “Count My Blessings.” Instinctively, both Nas and Marley fervently attack the songs with strong drums like “Friends,” “Dispear,” and “Strong Will Continue.” Ironically, the track with the closest link to boom-bap (“Nah Mean”) is dissected and dominated by Damian’s patois (“We nuh like dem colonial regime/Nah mean/Mi Queen hafi rock and come in/Nah mean/and jump pon mi big trampoline/Nah mean/And boost up her self-esteem”).

The remaining guests do exceptionally well in maintaining the theme of the album. Reggae fans will be delighted in hearing legend Dennis Brown helping in the remake of his classic “The Promised Land.” The seminal, bass-heavy funk of the song is perfect for any reggae/dancehall artist as Damian shows in his verse connecting America and Africa. But Nas also doesn’t misstep and incorporates end of days imagery in his portion (“If these are the last days/And 100-foot waves come crashing down/I’ll get some hash and pound/Pass around the bud then watch the flood/Can’t stop apocalypse/My synopsis is catastrophic”). Joss Stone compliments the child singing chorus on “My Generation,” and Lil Wayne shows his underrated adaptability with a succinct verse on his role with today’s youth (“This generation/I’m a represent/A generation led by a black president…So when you finish reading Revelations/Thank God for my generation”).

The album concludes with the poignant, lush ballad “Africa Must Wake Up.” The song is a call for those of African descent to not only remember their lineage, but establish an identity for the future, as sung by Damian (“Yesterday we were kings? Can you tell the young ones/Who are we today?”). Nas utilizes his 2 verses to speak on African culture’s discoveries in religion, architecture, and astronomy which assisted in humanity’s development. K’Naan reappears to offer a short, rhetorical refrain in Somali (“And when a country is built. Aren’t you the ones to tear it down?/ And when one attempted to tell the truth, aren’t you the ones to cut him down?). Nas ends the LP on a unifying note, explaining that because civilization derives from Africa, we are all family just spread out across the globe regardless of race.

Distant Relatives is an amazing achievement for both artists. For Damian Marley, it shows in these 5 years since this last LP (Welcome to Jamrock), he has grown as a producer and can lay claim to being one the most talented of Bob Marley’s children. Nas continues to evolve and age gracefully. Since 2002’s God’s Son, Nas has opted to use music to look inside himself for identity, rather than media, fans, or trends to define him. Instead of attempting to relive past glory (Illmatic) or personas (The Firm), he’s doing something many emcees become fearful to do; grow up with their audience and challenge themselves. And with the way he handled the varying production from Marley, Nas again shows why 19 years after his first appearance he’s still one of the premier lyricists in Hip-Hop.

Distant Relatives is a rewarding listening experience in its musicianship and lyricism, and one you can expect to go back to in the years to come.

Tribal War (featuring K'NAAN)


DISTANT
 RELATIVES


CHORUS
 1 
 - JR. 
GONG

TRIBAL 
WAR

 WE 
NUH
 WANT 
NO 
MORE 
A 
DAT


Every
 man
 deserve 
to 
earn, and 
every 
child 
deserve 
to 
learn, 
now

TRIBAL
 WAR

 A 
NUH 
DAT 
WE 
A 
DEFEND
 


Every 
man 
deserve
 a 
turn
 
Like
 a 
flame 
deserve 
to 
burn


TRIBAL
 WAR
 WE
 NUH
 WANT 
NO 
MORE 
A 
DAT

Each
and
every one 
deserve 
to 
earn, and 
every 
child
 deserve 
to 
learn


TRIBAL
 WAR
 
A 
NUH 
DAT 
WE 
A 
DEFEND
 


Cause
 every
 man 
deserve 
a 
turn,
 Like
 Babylon
 deserve 
to 
burn!
 


VERSE 
1 - 
NAS


Man, what 
happened 
to 
us?
 Geographically 
they 
moved 
us
 From
 Africa,
 we 
was 
once 
happiness
 pursuers


Now
 we 
back
stabbing, 
combative 
and
 abusive,
 the
 African
 and 
Arab 
go 
at 
it, 
they 
most 
Muslim. Used
 to 
be
 moving 
in 
unison,
 disputes
 would 
end,
 bounty 
hunters 
and
 Grape 
Street 
get 
cool 
again.

Sub-standard 
housing,
 got 
the 
young 
running 
rampant, wilding, for 
a 
Phantom
 he
 can 
style 
in.

Mask
on
his 
face, grabbing his Luger
saying,
“nobody 
move 
or
 I’ll
 shoot 
ya”,
 man
 you’re 
expiring.


Catch
 25, 
and 
he 
does 
it 
like 
a 
man.
 He
 sides 
with 
Black,
 White 
Pride 
and 
Mexican.

Survive
 the
 best 
he 
can, strap
 a
 shank 
to 
his 
thigh.


Why 
do 
we
 all 
collide?
 Why 
do 
the
 young 
die?


Extortion,
 murder
and 
burglary,
 tattoos on 
his
 chest
 Says
 his
“Enemies Don’t
 Deserve 
To 
Breathe”


CHORUS 
2 - JR GONG
 

 


VERSE
 2 - 
K’NAAN


I
 drink 
poison,
 then 
I 
vomit 
diamonds

I 
gave 
you 
Mandela, 
black 
Dalai 
Lamas


I
 gave 
you 
music,
 you
 enthused 
in 
my kindness,

So
 how
 dare 
you
 reduce 
me 
to 
Donny
 Imus!


Timeless 
in case 
we ain't 
never 
been 
acquainted,
 flyness 
who 
made 
it?
 It
 gets 
duplicated.


Mindless
 violence!
 Well 
let
 me
 try 
to 
paint
 it
 Here’s 
the 
5 
steps,
 in 
hopes 
to 
explain 
it...

One!
 Its
 me 
and 
my 
Nation 
against
 the 
World


Two!
 Then 
me 
and 
my 
Clan 
against
 the 
Nation


Three!
 Then 
me 
and 
my
 Fam’
 against 
the 
Clan


Four!
 Then
 me 
and 
my 
brother 
with 
no 


hesitation
 Uh!

Go against
 the 
Fam’ 
until 
they
 cave 
in


Five!
 Now 
who’s 
left 
in 
this 
deadly 
equation?
 That’s
 right, 
it’s 
me 
against 
my 
brother
 Then 
we
point 
a 
Kalashnikov
 And
 kill 
one 
another

CHORUS 
3 - 
JR. 
GONG

 


VERSE 
3 - 
JR. 
GONG

Man
 a 
war
 Tribal.
 Over 
colors.
 Over 
money,
 over
land,
 and
 over 
oil,
 and
 over 
God
 And
 over 
Idols, and 
even 
lovers.
 Over
 breakfast, 
over 
dinner, 
over 
suppers.
 Over
jungle,
 over 
Rema, 
over 
Buckers,
 Over 
Brooklyn,
 over
 Queens, 
and 
over 
Rutgers,
 Over 
red, 
and 
over 
blue, 
and 
over 
Chuckers.
 Over 
red 
and 
over 
blue 
and 
under‐covers


Tribal 
trouble,
 The 
drive-bys 
double, huh,
 'cause
 the
 youth
 dem 
nah
 go
 war
 and 
go 
fight 
with 
knuckle,
 the 
two 
sides 
scuffle,
 Vietnam
 nah
 go 
to war
 with 
no 
more 
Kung-Fu
 Nun-chucka,
 missile and 
shuttle, huh.


And
 the
 Queen 
of 
England 
and
 Uncle
 Sam
 Dem 
a 
flex 
dem
 muscle,
 The
 Tribal 
hustle,

Blood 
Diamond
 puddle,
 Survival 
Struggle.

CHORUS 
4 - 
JR.
GONG


I'm gonna with my homer pick, and say Janelle Monae is the big winner of the night.