Ken Haddad's Blog

This is dopeness. Eminem is the man.

Produced/Edited by Ken Haddad
Camera by Joel McNamara

First off, let me say, I am not a huge fan of Nas. I don't think he's as good as people play him out to be. He's put out a plethora of music that has been average at best. That being said, I wouldn't have downloaded "Distant Relatives", the new Nas & Damien Marley album, if Damien Marley wasn't on it. So, for the first time on the Ken Haddad blog, I am reviewing an album with Nas on the cover.


"Distant Relatives" is a 13-track album featuring Nas and Damien Marley. I must say, I love the mix. The combination of reggae and hip hop has always been a great relationship, but this was done to perfection. And also, the album has a message, which is always good in my book. I recently read that Nas said that Damien Marley "Saved Him". Whatever that means. I refuse to give Nas too much credit for me liking this. I am a reggae fan, always have been. Nas is simply a compliment to Damien on this album. And in my book, Nas is a good compliment.

On another note...

The new Reflection Eternal album, RPM, is another classic from the Talib Kweli and Hi-Tek duo. They never seem to disappoint. They are real hip hop, get familiar.

P.S.
You can like rap again.

Why should you listen to Chiddy Bang? Well, not for the name. Chiddy Bang is ridiculous. Infact, they sat rotting on my C drive for a good week because I couldn't convince myself to listen to someone called Chiddy Bang.

But looking through the tape, one track stood out like a sore thumb. Slow Down ft. Black Thought. Yup. Black Thought, of The Roots. So, I winced, and listened to Chiddy Bang.

Not bad. Infact, the new group is pretty good. And not dumb either. In the ongoing skit, they refer to a manager of 'Major Label Inc.' who goes by the name of 'Mike Hoffman' (my coffin). I laughed when I got that. Nothing like industry commentary from brand new artists.

The intelligence actually seeps into their songs as well:

"They ask, 'how you make the world feel it?
I say it's DNA; it's just in my double-helix"

Dope. They're rhyming about chemistry. Definitely innovative.

It's very hard to describe what they sound like. There is a very light, pop feel, combined with prominent hip-hop lyricism. So, if you don't trust me, trust Black Thought. Download Chiddy Bang's The Swelly Express today.