Issential Knowledge

Greetings Irie Nation,

I must be dreaming… I just caught wind of an album that is in the process of being recorded between reggae royalty Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and Rap legend Nas.  Nas’s manager Anthony Saleh told Billboard.com that the two have been recording in Los Angeles for the past few months and the album was planned to drop in the spring with a tour in the summer.  Damian has always said what a huge fan he is of Nas and the two paired up for “Road To Zion” which I think ranks in the top Reggae/ Hip-Hop collaborations of all time.  It is the first time the link between the two genres has been made both lyrically and musically and has cemented Marley as a prominent figure in the Hip-Hop community.  But a whole album!?  I’m trying not to get too excited because some projects can get recorded but never released.  One glaring reason that might happen is because both of the artists are signed to different labels.  Nas has said that the album will be a community service project, with proceeds going towards building schools in Africa.  That is righteous work indeed and should go a long way to making this album a reality.  I will have my fingers crossed but if the album does manifest, I think it’s more reasonable to expect it in the Fall or early 2010.  Check out the article on Billboard for more information.

Jah Bless – One Lovell

Can you imagine a whole album like this!