Damian Marley & Nas

The worlds of rap and reggae collided in spectacular style when legends Damian Marley and Nas teamed up and recorded the powerful, anthemic, call-to-arms album “Distant Relatives” in 2010- and the incredible force of these two musical mavericks is a sheer riot in their live sets. I was lucky enough to catch them at the Hammersmith Apollo, London, on their tour following the album’s release., and the atmosphere in that place was one of the best, happiest, god time party vibes of any gig I’ve been to. The whole crowd- a very mixed bunch- were jumping around and grooving away from the very beginning, when the respective masters of reggae and hip hop exploded into their awesome album opener, “As We Enter”.

Nas and Marley kept up the high-energy tempo throughout, accompanied by a rather incredible 9-piece band who really added to the atmosphere of the show- which, with the combination of the duo’s funkily hard-hitting jams and poetically impactive lyrics of social justice, made the whole experience feel much more than just a concert. Songs like the rumbling “Tribal War”, and the beautifully poignant “Patience”, showcased the diversity and utter original creativity of the duo. I really hope that they make more music together, and more importantly, tour again soon, as this show was incredible and an encore to it is something I would not want to miss!

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