Grammy Award Winning artists Nas and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley,  Digiwaxx Artist Supa Nova Slom, radio personalities Steph Lova from Power 105 and Dahved Levi from WBLS, were all on board, Thursday, April 1st, 2010, to present a sneak preview of Jr. Gong and Nas’ highly anticipated collaborative album Distant Relatives. Distant Relatives is due to be released on Universal Music in May of 2010. The private, intimate (crowded, hot and sweaty) gathering at Digiwaxx headquarters in Harlem, was packed with press, DJs, trendsetters (Don’t you hate the word “tastemakers?”) and bloggers.

The track intros of Distant Relatives were played by DJ Getlive,  after which there was a question and answer session.  Some audience members were so eager for face time with Nas and Jr. Gong, they shamelessly plugged their own media outlets, or musical groups, but failed to ask any real questions. One question put to Jr. Gong as to how he felt about Ky-Mani Marley’s new book Dear Dad, was diverted by quick-thinking radio host Levi, who responded that the artists wouldn’t be answering any personal questions. (Too bad, because I was dying to ask Nas what in the hell he was thinking by showing up drunk to Kelis’ delivery room.)

When Nas was asked whether the proceeds from Distant Relatives were still going towards building a school in Africa, he responded, “I know I did say that initially, but maybe that was a little overly ambitious. We’re gonna do something though.” Nas seemed pretty high throughout the press conference and at one point went off on a tangent and freely admitted, “I forgot the question, but I answered it, didn’t I?” Nas should follow Jr. Gong’s lead on how to maintain his meditation without appearing too stoned for social functions.

In addition to debuting the Distant Relatives album, artist and nutritionist Supa Nova Slom previewed his new album and plugged his book, both entitled, The Remedy. The album features Erykah Badu, Jadakiss, and The Game.

Steph Lova stressed the importance of supporting the artists by buying the album. “Don’t go cop the album from your mans and them,” she said. “Make sure you support the artists if you want to keep seeing major collaborations like this.” Needless to say the tracks were  brilliant. Distant Relatives is going to dominate the hip hop and dancehall charts for a good long time.