NAS & DAMIAN MARLEY
Distant Relatives
Universal/Def Jam
It goes without saying that Nas is one of the most prolific and talented rappers to come about in the last twenty years so it’s nice when some one with his pedigree decides to take a chance. His current roll of the dice is a politically focused album titled Distant Relatives where the Queens MC pairs up with Damian Marley, son of Bob, for a reggae, dub, hip hop tour de force that works on as many artistic levels as it does political ones. Originally planned as an EP featuring leftover tracks from Nas and Marley the two decided to make a full-length album a choice that is a real benefit to us as listeners.
The first thing apparent in Distant Relative is how hard the two men worked to make this feel like an organic coupling of the two styles. Often when the terms “Reggae” and “Hip Hop” are used in the same sentence you end with something like Snow or at the very least rehashed Peter Tosh beats with a rapper attempting to fake a Jamaican accent.
Distant Relatives sounds more like Nas took a trip around the world with Marley and they honed various sounds from different lands into a dense soup you just happen to be able to groove to. Take the opening track “As We Enter” which erupts with a reggae dub dance beat as Nas lays in his unique flow. Backing that up is Marley who doesn’t just jump in for a catchy chorus but instead places his vocals throughout the entire song.
The entirety of Distant Relatives runs that way, a unique tug of war between Nas and Marley performed over a bed of varying musical elements. “Tribal War” moves with a world beat feel and a rich chorus of different voices backing up Marley and Nas. I particularly liked the tune “Leaders” which keeps a slow reggae vibe while playing out like a really old school basic hip hop tune, just drums, bass and some other basics. Adding a new element to Nas’s ability to connect words and phrases is K’naan who adds his own rich vocals to the mix.
I must urge that while the hip-hop elements in Distant Relatives are strong and apparent this isn’t a hip-hop album per se. If you’re expecting stories about life on the streets or the hardcore beats that have become associated with Nas’s no-nonsense style then you won’t be happy. This is an album that takes Nas down a much different path and shows that his ability to rhyme can mix with pretty much any style. For Marley this is much less of a stretch but still a command performance.
The album also features some great production work from Erick Sermon (EPMD) and Stephen Marley who complete a nice balancing act of music and vocals. Nothing here outshines the other and Distant Relatives manages to make its point about Africa, the future and global awareness without getting preachy. The only misstep on the entire album is the song My Generation but the fault there is mainly with Lil Wayne’s phoned in performance and the horribly out of place Joss Stone. With so much hip-hop out there failing to be inspiring or even really interesting it’s refreshing to hear something that comes across as genuinely creative.
MISERY INDEX
HEIRS OF THIEVERY
RELAPSE RECORDS
On the complete opposite end of the musical spectrum come Misery Index and their fourth studio offering Heirs To Thievery. Several years ago Richard Pryor did a stand up routine about boxer Leon Spinks commenting on how simple what Leon could do best was. He said “Leon what do you do?” and Leon responded “I knock motherfuckers out!” That same idea can be used to describe Misery Index who does one thing well “Play motherfucking fast”. Much like Leon Spinks that’s all Misery Index needs to do and if you don’t like it then get out of the way.
Heirs To Thievery is a Mach 5 fast death metal album that adds a generous helping of grindcore with a dash of punk rock. You want stripped down and raw? You want brutality simply used to stomp your face in? Well then step up to the Misery Index side of beef and cut yourself off a slab. This isn’t an album about poise or grace or even really song writing, this is an album about power. To be honest differentiating between tracks makes no sense because the album pounds into your ear canal as one long sonic assault. Misery Index really has no interest in jamming on hit singles, they’d rather stomp your testicles up into your ass cheeks,
That’s not to say that the guys in Misery Index are sloppy players, these guys have a razor sharp technical proficiency. The drums here are so ridiculous I picture the double bass foot pedal to actually be more like a gas pedal the drummer steps on to get the beaters moving this fast. On top of the ridiculous drums the riffs are pummeling and when leads come in they’re executed with a perfection that would make Skynet proud. What keeps Misery Index from getting boring is that touch of punk, those little indications the band puts in that humans are actually playing this stuff and they believe strongly in what they’re doing.
Heirs To Thievery also doesn’t suffer from song masturbation mode the way so many other metal albums do. Misery Index realizes who they are and what they’re playing so they keep most of the songs three minutes or under. Each tune launches, attacks, pummels and then ends. That’s how grindcore influenced death metal should be. I don’t care how long you can solo; I want to see how much damage you can do and how fast you can do it.
Misery Index hasn’t written the most interesting or innovative album ever and I don’t think they really care. In the classic tradition of bands like Terrorizer and Napalm Death, Misery Index is built on power and speed. These are pure rapid shots of adrenaline fueled rage that try to bleed away the dark poison before it gets the better of us and we’re all off killing random people screaming how nobody understands. Misery Index understand and they know their audio version of a chisel and stone kicks a lot of ass. If this is too simple for you then you’re just too cool for school and maybe one day when you grow up you’ll understand. For now though I must get back to having my face torn off my skull.
