Available on: Universal Republic / Def Jam LP

“We all come from one place and that’s Africa. That’s right, you too.” It’s a simple premise for an album from two of urban music’s shining lights, Nas and Damian “Jr Gong” Marley, but one that is handled without simplicity. Although the old cliché of all humankind’s African beginnings does crop up, the lyrical content on Distant Relatives is far from preachy or sentimental. Africa is dealt with fairly. Jr Gong tells us that “there’s a lot of work to be done in the promised land,” addressing such topics as the diamond trade and political corruption. Nas, unusually, keeps his mouth clean while delivering lyrics with sincerity.

‘Patience’ could have been produced by a ghetto Sigur Ros, while standout track and first single ‘As We Enter’ takes its cues from Oh No’s Dr No’s Ethiopium, mincing ‘70s Ethiopian psyche-rock and jazz like Mulatu Astatqé and the Heliophonics into a jumping Gravel Pit of a hip-hop banger, as does ‘Nah Mean.’

‘Friends’ nods to the vocal styles of Angolan singer Bonga, but we are still subjected to schmaltzy nu-school reggae on ‘Leaders’ and ‘In His Own Words.’ Almost unforgivably, Joss Stone is drafted in on ‘My Generation’ alongside Lil Wayne, but doesn’t do as much damage as one might have thought. Nasir and Damian originally hooked up on ‘Road To Zion’ from Welcome To Jamrock, which felt so special at the time. Yet a full album format detracts from this, and the project would have suited an EP as initially planned.

Society and politics aside, this is an important milestone both for hip-hop and reggae, mainly due to the scale of the operation. The music pushes few boundaries and there is a gaping hole where bashment is concerned, but ironically I can see the album helping to garner support for new Jamaican music.

Tom Reid