Distant Relatives Zip Album Download
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Distant Relatives is a collaborative studio album by American rapper Nas and Jamaican reggae vocalist Damian Marley. It was released on May 18, 2010, by Universal Republic, Def Jam Recordings and Columbia Records. The album is Nas' tenth (third for Def Jam) and Marley's fourth studio album, respectively.
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.
Nas and Marley began recording in 2008; recording sessions took place in Los Angeles, California, and Miami, Florida. Marley and his brother, Stephen, produced the majority of the album, using live instrumentation in the recording process.[7] They collaborated with guest artists, including Stephen Marley, Joss Stone, Lil Wayne, and K'naan.[6][8] 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."[7]
Fusing hip hop and reggae musical elements,[9] Marley and Nas also incorporated samples from African music into the album.[6] The album's lyrical content heavily revolves around themes concerning Africa, from ancestry and poverty,[6][10] with social commentary of the United States and Africa.[9][11] The track "Count Your Blessings" reflects on the plight of Africa.[7]
Distant Relatives received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, 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".[27] Allmusic's David Jeffries complimented its themes concerning Africa, calling it "one purposeful monster and a conceptional bull's eye that fully supports its title".[17] Sputnikmusic's Ryan Flatley stated, "Nas and Damian Marley are a formidable pairing, seemingly on the same level throughout most of the album in thought and overall presence".[28] Dave Simpson of The Guardian described its music as "thoughtful, sincere, weighty stuff, tackling subjects from African poverty to the diamond trade without sounding preachy or schmaltzy".[20] Gervase de Wilde of The Daily Telegraph called it "predictably brilliant".[19]
In a mixed review, J. Gabriel Boylan of Spin felt that its "revelatory message blunted by digressions".[26] Sean Fennessey of The Village Voice found it to be "rudimentary" and "a tasteful affair full of uninteresting revelations and self-serious proclamations".[30] Jeff Weiss of the Los Angeles Times commented that the album "vacillates between the dreary and dynamic", and criticized its "didacticism": "[L]eadened by reductive philosophies and crippling self-seriousness, the record often feels overly ponderous".[31] Pitchfork Media's Tom Breihan viewed the lyrics as 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".[23] Nathan Rabin of The A.V. Club called it "an Afrocentric manifesto sometimes loaded down by the weight of its noble ambitions".[18]
Distant Relatives debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 chart with first-week sales of 57,000 copies.[32] It serves as Nas's tenth top-ten album and Marley's second top-ten album in the United States.[32] The album also entered at number four on Billboard's Digital Albums,[33] and at number one on its R&B/Hip-Hop Albums,[34] Rap Albums,[35] and Reggae Albums charts.[36] As of June 2010, it has sold 134,000 copies in the United States.[37]
Internationally, Distant Relatives attained some chart success.[38][39] It entered at number 33 on the European Top 100 Albums chart.[40] In the United Kingdom, it debuted at number 30 on the UK Albums Chart and at number four on the R&B Albums Chart.[41][42] In Canada, the album entered at number 9 on the Top 100 Albums chart.[43] In Germany, it debuted at number 38 on the Media Control Charts,[44] and in the Netherlands, the album debuted at number 72 and peaked at number 65 on the Mega Album Top 100.[39]
Nas is in a tough spot right now, coming off of a couple of half-successful, attention-grabbing concept albums and a costly, spiteful public divorce. So it makes sense for him to link up with the scion of one of the most universally beloved figures in all of music, making a back-to-basics move that pushes him away from rap and tabloid politics. Nas and Damian Marley are both sons of celebrated musical figures, so god knows they probably have plenty to talk about. Five years ago, Nas guested on Marley's "Road to Zion" and sounded great doing it. Onstage together at SXSW, they had a lively chemistry, Marley chatting madly over the "N.Y. State of Mind" beat and Nas giddily playing hypeman on "Welcome to Jamrock". And first single and album opener "As We Enter" promises great things, Nas and Marley furiously trading off tag-team punchlines over a track that perfectly splits the difference between dusty NY boom-bap and warm post-dancehall reggae.
But too often on Distant Relatives, 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. Marley's never done his best work shooting for inspirational. On his best tracks, he brings less of his father's wizened optimism and more of the gravelly, demonic snarl of dancehall-schooled avengers like Sizzla or Capleton. Nas, meanwhile, is best at tense, tactile details: The feeling of gunpowder burning your nostril hair, the dank smell of piss in the project elevator. In trying to make what basically amounts to a modern-day Bob Marley album, they've both pushed themselves away from their strengths.
Nas strays into either the too-general ("I reach 'em like Bono/ So get rid of your self-sorrow") or puzzling paranoia ("If satellites is causing earthquakes, will we survive it?"). The production, mostly from Marley and brother Stephen, tends too often toward stifled, Grammy-bait guitar solos and tinkling, expensive R&B sheen. The track "My Generation" is all the album's worst impulses put on display, a sickly attempt at gospel with Joss Stone yowling all over the chorus and a truly dogshit Lil Wayne guest verse-- all in service of fuzzy, feel-good preachiness. On tracks like this one, the dorm-room philosophizing gets a little thick.
But even with all that, the album is still a true collaborative affair, two deeply talented guys with amazing, evocative voices finding common ground and exploring it. So when it does work, it's serious. "Nah Mean" puts a nasty mid-90s NY rap beat in service of some ferocious snarling from both principals. "Land of Promise" is devastating old-school dancehall toughness, not far removed from Marley's own "Welcome to Jamrock", with Nas finding new cadences for his dusky monotone. "As We Enter" and "Patience" respectively sample Mulatu Astatke and Amadou and Mariam, both to great effect. When these guys stop trying to be positive and just vent, they do great things. Nas sounds most like himself in the last minute of "Strong Will Continue". The song is mostly pretty bland, five minutes of sloganeering before Nas suddenly turns ugly, wondering if his ex-wife cheated on him, bringing up Bruce Lee's family curse, raging at nobody in particular, then breaking everything off with haughty style: "See a nigga disappearing with the baddest honeys in the whole spot, yeeah." With all the heavy-handed philosophizing all around it, it's pretty thrilling to hear Nas suddenly going all "Oochie Wally" on us, if only for a second. But then the song ends, and it's back to the preaching.
Across two decades of modern Nigerian pop music, no label has projected superstars with as much intent and creativity like Mavin Records. Evolving from Mo\u2019Hits in the mid 2010s, a key element of that transition was the new focus on younger stars. Di\u2019ja looked and sounded nothing like Tiwa Savage and the duo of Reekado Banks and Korede Bello appealed more to Nigerians who think Superstar is the first great album in our pop history.
On 19 & Dangerous, Ayra Starr\u2019s debut album, her talent is bare. The 11-track project is a snapshot into the heart of a nineteen year old, on the cusp on womanhood with a lot of stuff going on. Her romantic reality comes under focus: on Toxic she sings of the aftereffects of heartbreak and how it can lead young adults into dangerous vices. \u201CWhy did you make me do it?\\\\ why did you make me lose it?\\\\ why did you give me the drugs I took, why did you force me to take it?\u201D she asks. On Lonely and Karma, she reels from the boy\u2019s absence, but beneath her evocative deliveries one can hear the stubborn optimism, and you know she\u2019ll be alright.
19 & Dangerous works as a project due to the coherence of its story. It begins from Ayra\u2019s current position as a trailblazer for the Gen-Z generation (\u201CCast\u201D) before going into Fashion Killer, a record that further flaunts her appeal. \u201CYeah, my ass got thicker,\u201D she sings to the old lover who\u2019s revealed in the songs to come. CKay\u2019s feature run continues on Beggie Beggie, an album highlight. He is the Boyfriend from his last project, witty and toxic, with lines like \u201Cgirl, I made you cry and I gave you tissues\u201D and \u201Cyou say I led you on, you sef dey follow me.\u201D
The album\u2019s producers deserve plaudits as well. Crafting warm, elegant beats to match Ayra\u2019s vocals, they take from the peculiarities of R&B, Pop and Soul music, maintaining a mid-tempo, house party vibe all through. Shunning what\u2019s hot for what\u2019s true, the beats mirror the eccentricity of the musician in a symbiotic manner. Mavin might be famous for their musical superstars, but they\u2019ve also had an impressive roster of emerging producers in recent years\u2014Baby Fresh, Andre Vibez, London, Ozedikus and Louddaaa, who produces five songs on the album.
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