Nas and Damian Marley: SXSW’s first surprise

March 20th, 2010 | By

I discovered our mystery guest was Nas, with new bestie Damian Marley, in town supporting Distant Relatives, their album-length collaboration (tentatively scheduled for a May 18 release, though it was also scheduled to come out last year). They’ve got great chemistry — Marley’s able to trill his classic reggae voice at the exact same speed Nas raps — and as they weave together hip-hop and the Marley family legacy (samples of “One Love” and “Exodus”), it’s more compelling than it reads on paper.

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