Back in the day, collaborative pairings between two talented artists were typically confined to a song or two on an album. The new millennium saw collaborative albums from R. Kelly and Jay-Z, and 9th Wonder and Murs, among others. 2009 looks to give music fans another of these pairings with Nas and Damian Marley’s Distant Relatives.

Slated for a June 23 release, Relatives will find Nas holding down the bulk of vocal duties against Marley’s instrumental backdrops. The pair first met in 1996 and scored a critically acclaimed hit in “Road to Zion,” from Marley’s Welcome to Jamrock album.

Distant Relatives offers a double entendre of sorts—referring to the bond between Nas and Marley, and the duo’s shared African ancestry.

“Africa is the backbone of the world and the foundation of everything and Africans are in a situation where they need help more than anywhere else,” Damian Marley says. “We know there are dire situations here in America but when you look at America—with public libraries and free education—these are not opportunities most Africans have. It’s a completely different scale of trying to help people. As human beings, we’re part of a human family.”

Nas echoed the sentiments of his new musical partner, stating, “As an American, we have so much even in a so-called recession that a neighborhood like Queensbridge or Red Hook is Beverly Hills compared to the way people are living in Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Ghana,” says the emcee. “So obviously if we making records with that theme, there’s gonna be things I want to build on. I think Africa has a lot to teach us.”

Nas and Damian Marley will also be headliners at this year’s Rock The Bells festival.