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The Deal: Hip-hop and reggae royalty team up for an album that skillfully meshes the two genres while raising money for charity.
The Good: Thank God this album didn't turn out to be a 13-track "We Are The World" record – this is a grown man's album. Damian Marley produced the entire album except for "Leaders," produced by brother, Stephen, and manages to create a vibe that feels either epic or uplifting throughout. Nas sounds like he's settling into hip-hop elder statesmanship with lyrics that don't talk so much about his current life but more about close calls in the past and the more global outlook he has now. On "My Generation" with Joss Stone & Lil' Wayne, Nas spits, "Music is the way for me to convey to you what I'm facing" before comparing himself to Bono and touching on faith and gentrification while questioning why athletes today aren't more like Muhammad Ali. K'Naan made the most of his two appearances on "Tribes At War" and "Africa Must Wake Up."
The Bad: Some lyrics looking to shine a light on problems in Africa just came off forced; then again, it's hard to rhyme anything with children dying from circumcision. "My Generation" was inspiring but had a certain "I believe the children are our future" vibe that's corny.
The Verdict: Mission accomplished for being Afrocentric and empowering. It definitely didn't feel like this was a heavy-handed, charity album. Sure, on occasion they settled on generic and gimmicky world-awareness themes, but they also managed to produce more than a handful of heartfelt and poignant tracks.
Universal Republic; Release date: May 18, 2010
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