Nas and Damian Marley recently spoke with Billboard about their highly anticipated album Distant Relatives. The duo first appeared on a track together in 2005 with Marley’s “Road to Zion,” featured on the album “Welcome to Jamrock.”

“Damian’s lyrics on [“Road to Zion”] are bananas,” Nas told Billboard. “It makes you go, ‘Did he just say that? Isn’t he scared of the repercussions?’ I want to work with someone like that.” That first collaboration would eventually lead to the production of one of 2010’s most awaited-upon projects. Nas and Marley’s recent collaboration contrasts that of other Hip Hop/Reggae mashups that have been done particularly for crossover appeal.

“Many of those records were made solely from business decisions,” Marley told the magazine. “Some of the artists didn’t know each other’s work until they made the records, whereas I [was] a fan of Nas years before we did ‘Road to Zion.’

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Before the release of the album this month, the pair will appear on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” (May 19), “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (May 24), and will start their domestic tour on the May 21.

Distant Relatives releases on May 18.