Nas Speaks on Bob Marley

In a recent interview,Legendary rapper Nas spoke on Bob Marley and the previlege of working with two of his children. Bob Marley was in a lane of his own, and created timeless music, and i guess i understand why nas can relate to him on that level.



“Bob Marley’s impact is unmatched by any artist, ever. He stands alone like Beethoven. Like Stevie Wonder. Like Michael Jackson. He owns his block. There’s been nothing like him. There will be nothing like him,” said Nas. “And we don’t’ realize how old Bob would have been [if] he was alive today. He probably would have been what 70-something? But his music is timeless and it’s been a great inspiration to me and I had the honor to work with his kids: Damian, Stephen Marley, and meet a lot of his children.”

Nas also shared that he plans on working with Damian Marley on yet another project. In May 2010, the two artists released the joint album Distant Relatives.  (hiphopdx.com)

I think with the Distant Relatives album, both nas and damian marley made magic and opened a larger audience for each-other. There are a lot of rap lovers that didn't use to listen to reggae and are now checking out for damian because they heard him with nas, and knew he was also a poet in his own way. And also, a lot of people that listen to reggae would also be checking out for nas after their collabo album. I think it is the reason why they have been touring for so long...like 15 months now, since they dropped the Distant Relatives album last year (2010).

And on Bob Marley? Men! Let me put it this way, i didn't know he was dead till i was in my teens. All along, i thought he was alive, because my dad played so much of his music, and they all felt like they were released yesterday. And he died  5 months after i got to this earth, so you can imagine how long ago his music was made. That is what happens when you sing from the heart, and talk on issues that would always be...issues that would always affect people. And the melodies he put in his songs set him apart from the other reggae artists of his time. I heard he was trying to put an end to racism by infusing so much melody in his songs, although they had messages in them, so that even the people he was singing against would be so lost in the music and embrace his course. he was a great man, and he would always live on.