Throughout 2009, Nas and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley have been tucked away in a Los Angeles studios, recording their Distant Relatives album. The duo has joined National Geographic for a Distant Relatives event. On December 12, Nas and Damian Marley will come together at National Geographic’s Grosvenor Auditorium in Washington DC to lead a discussion on the cultural links between the early days of Hip Hop and its Caribbean and African origins. REPEAT
 
The discussion will follow the journey from Africa through the slave trade to the American and Caribbean colonies to the dancehall parties of Jamaica and the park jams of The Bronx.Moderated by Sway Calloway, the Distant Relatives event will include DJ Kool Herc, Rakim, Daddy U-Roy, King Jammy, Jeff Chang and Moussa Lo and DJ Red Alert – in addition to Nas and Marley.

This event is significant because it features the often reclusive “Godfather” of Hip Hop: Jamaican-born DJ Kool Herc, who brought about the music elements of the culture to The Bronx as early as 1973. Kool Herc is paired with legendary Jamaican deejay Daddy U-Roy a rarely-credited Rap pioneer for his 1969 hit “Wake the Town,” recorded in the country the same year Herc moved to the States.

Also speaking together for one of the first times in history classic Rap innovators DJ Red Alert and Rakim will share the stage, as both have incorporated elements of African and Reggae music in their careers. Red Alert and Rakim will be joined by Hip Hop author and scholar Jeff Chang. The panel is coordinated by Reggae deejay and VIBE magazine founding editor Rob Kenner, who is writing a book on the links between Reggae and Hip Hop.