But should you disagree, you can’t fault the amount of great music it will be bringing to new ears. Even KRS himself is channelled by Nas who turns his famed “Suicide” phrase into “Genocide” during Nah Mean.Ī too-good-to-be-true combination with such lofty ambitions could have resulted in an overblown mess - yet somehow it works. This song speaks on the troubles facing our worlds and the fact that we have not truly opened our eyes to the problems. The all-too-timely message of Tribal War, written by Damian’s father’s one-time 12 Tribes compatriot, Little Roy, becomes the chorus for Tribes At War. Reggaeheads will be familiar with Land Of Promise, the duo’s do-over of Dennis Brown and Aswad’s Promised Land, which dreams of Africa becoming as wealthy a continent as America.
Opening track As We Enter features an overdue sample of trendy Ethio-jazz bandleader Mulatu Astatke’s Yegelle Tezeta while Nah Mean purloins the intro to Angolan singer Sarah Chaves' Kurikuté. But the New Yorker has his moments too: taking the front end of Leaders, getting personal regarding his alimony payments to Kelis, and wresting the spotlight on the jaunty Count Your Blessings to reflect on his unborn child.Īdd three guest spots apiece for Damian’s half brother Stephen and Somali-Canadian rapper K’naan, and you have a maelstrom of American, Caribbean and African voices and sounds. It seems to strike a balance – not just between reggae and rap – but between artistic endeavour and mass appeal.ĭamian’s vocals form the most upfront and obvious hooks - grabbing the chorus of catchy anthem Strong Will Continue and the hardnosed Nah Mean - with Nas often content to rhyme shotgun on the bridge. Yet there's something special about this concept album, whose message is “we are all linked", that has led to almost universal critical approval. Tippa Irie, one of the mcs KRS was checking, has been furiously linking and recording with hip hop’s finest, while New York has consistently looked to its Jamaican population for inspiration for its club scene. Certainly, KRS One was using the sound system tapes of the 80s to inform his own works. The precise relationship between the two at their inception has been the subject of much - rather precious - debate from both sides. Of course, the links connecting rap and reggae go back even further. Setlist01 As We Enter 00:0002 Tribes at War (Featuring K'naan) 02:2703 Strong Will Continue 06:5704 Leaders (Featuring Stephen Marley) 12:5905 Friends 17:180. Today, as a new decade begins, the long-awaited collaboration from prodigal rap prodigy Nas and Bob Marley's deejay son Damian feels like a culmination of these trends. “Genres” which had always intersected began to intertwine reggae started to sound like hip hop and R&B and vice versa while artists guested on the big rhythms of the day regardless of whence they came. It does not store any personal data.In the nineties and zeroes the global communication routes enabled by the internet led to a blurring of the lines of demarcation between forms of dance music around the world. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.