Distant Past: Nas & Damian Marley’s New Video for ‘Patience’

Words by Jesse Serwer

In an era when chatter about new albums typically dies out a week after their release date, Nas and Damian Marley’s Distant Relatives has had an impressively long shelf life. Nearly nine months after the LP first hit stores, the project has just birthed its second video, for album standout “Patience.” The surreal clip, prophetically set in Egypt and directed by Nabil Elderkin (Kanye West’s “Paranoid,” “Coldest Winter” and “Welcome to Heartbreak” videos), was worth the wait. In a nice touch, it co-stars Malian husband-and-wife duo Amadou & Mariam, whose “Sabali,” is sampled on “Patience.”

Meanwhile, other artists from the Caribbean diaspora continue to reinterpret “Sabali” in their own way. Theophilus London was the first interloper to co-opt the Damon Albarn-produced track for his own uses, back in 2009. More recently, LargeUp contributor DJ Theory has cooked up “Quick Money” with Jahdan Blakkamoore, using a sample of the track. (Theory explains on his blog Forward After All, that the track has been in the works for over a year, however). Download it here.