Just before the release of Distant Relatives, rapper Nas spoke with the Wall Street Journal in regards to his work with Damian Marley, his perspective on the mixture of rap/reggae,and more.

“They’re both real music by people who are expressing themselves about the conditions around them,” said Nas when asked the difference between the two genres.“Many of those conditions are similar. Jamaican music can be aggressive, soulful, smooth and exciting all at once—just like hip-hop. At the same time, there’s nothing like Jamaica in the United States. Jamaica is its own thing.”

Nas also explained that he’s inspired by Bob Marley’s “untouchable” status and how he would love to have that same respect from fans.

“Everyone listens to him—it’s not a Jamaican thing or an American thing—it’s all over the world,” Nas explained. “I’ve always wished to be able to do that once, as much as he does it naturally and easily on this untouchable level, I’d want to do that.”

In his interview with the Wall Street Journal Nas also spoke on fellow rappers Lil Wayne and Jay-Z.

Nas revealed that he was able to get Lil Wayne on the Distant Relatives album by sending Wayne a track shortly before he began his prison sentence. As far as Jay-Z, Nas gave praise to his New York City anthem “Empire State Of Mind.”

“It’s just keeping that whole thing alive—this New York thing,” said Nas. “There are a lot of people complaining about New York hip-hop, about it not being what it was, and he stood up and now we have another anthem to be proud of.”

Nas and Damian Marley’s Distant Relatives was released on Tuesday, May 18.

The world is saturated with twits, tweets, and tweeps. Everyone, from Oprah to NPR has decided that this is the most brilliant application ever devised by man. They constantly cite it, talk about it, and overhype it to the Nth degree.

It’s not their fault, really, as twitter doesn’t really have a defined purpose. The idea is that it is supposed to enable real-time communication, sort of a text message broadcast to the entire world. The actual purpose of tweets are left up to the users’ imaginations.

It was too much for me to get my mind wrapped around when I started, that is for sure. With this in mind, I’d like to tell you a couple uses that will make twitter a valuable investment of your time.

This article will serve a very practical purpose, both for the novice user of twitter, and for those who have lost interest: It’ll tell you how, what, and why to follow certain users, along with giving you the ability to find and organize that data in a meaningful manner.

With that in mind, let’s begin. There are around major types of twitter users. Your interests will determine which of these folks it would be in your best interest to follow:

Gurus: These people, like Tony Robbin or Robert Kiyosaki(of Rich Dad, Poor Dad fame) use their accounts to push out mini-seminars. Their updates range from the inspirational to motivational, deliver news updates, and of course, push product in-between.

Info-Marketers: Pushing everything from get-rich-schemes, to plugging their latest eBook, these folks peddle all things downloadable. They are always mentioning some resource that seems designed to help you make money, but will make them money instead.

Power Tweeters: This is an odd group. They generally tweet about anything and everything. Most of the time, they are female in gender, and are a mixture of Gossip Gals and Newsie fare, with a spatter of hometown chatter. They never sell anything. Many times, they will live-tweet their thoughts on concerts, television shows, and fashion.

While there are sub-groups within every group, these are where the lines are generally drawn. The most important takeaway from this breakdown is the following: Most people on twitter are trying to sell you something. Now that you know who’s online, how can you get the most out of twitter?

Glad you asked. The first thing to get is a twitter client. For the purpose of this article, we’re going with TweetDeck, a leader in the twitter client arena. It’s easy to use. Download it, open it up, enter your username and password…and magically, you have a bird’s eye view of everything happening in twitter(or at least who you are following, and their activity).

You’ll see your live twitter feed on the far left, in-between you’ll find any replies that have been made to your messages(if you’ve just opened an account, there won’t be any messages here), and on the far right, your direct messages(private messages between you and another user that are not broadcast to other users).

Next, get a national news feed you trust. CNN, MSNBC, and Fox all have twitter feeds kicking out news at the speed of type. You can now see what is making waves at the national level, along with any upcoming special reports.

Now comes the fun part…your interests. Love tech…grab @TechCrunch. Need your daily fix of stats and scores: Follow @ESPN. Pick 2-3 twittering entities that don’t overlap. For instance, unless you just love too much information, don’t follow ABC, NBC, and CBS news.

You have a base of good, solid tweets that you are now following. Here comes the fun part. There are people around the world having conversations about the latest news, movies, restaurants, whatever. Now, you just have to find them. Pull up the search feature in TweetDeck. There are two ways to search: hashtag, or plain text. Hashtags denote a post in a certain category. For instance, if you were looking for all the updates that include the President, but don’t actually mention him in the body, this is the easiest way to search. If you are just looking for all mentions of Barack Obama, you would enter his name in plain text.

Now, for the bad part: Taking out the trash. Twitter is full of people who will spam you, by doing the most flattering thing of all: following your account. Since twitter sends you an email notification that someone is a follower, your curiosity makes you want to check them out. Many times, they will masquerade as a female in a bathing suit(or less). Their names will often be followed by a dash with a 4-digit number. You should immediately go to your follower page, and hit “report as spam”. This helps twitter eliminate them from the roster, and keeps any of your followers from checking their garbage out.

On a lesser note, I try to clean out people I follow from time-to-time. Some of them have reverted to inane chatter, instead of providing important news. Even worse, they are tweeting more often, and saying even less. If you are spending time in twitter, make sure that dump a few people to keep things uncluttered.

Some of you might be wondering how to get legitimate followers. It’s simple advice: Be you. If you are chatty, be chatty. Talk about your interests. ReTweet things from others that you find interesting. Be consistent. Spend time on twitter. The more you are engaged with others, the more likely it is that people will like, and follow what you have to say.

Now, let’s recap how to get the most out of twitter:

1. Know the major categories of Twitterers. Filter them out based upon your interests.

2. Get a twitter client, like TweetDeck, to help you manage the vast streams of information coming through.

3. Make sure you are following a local news station, national news station, and sources that cover any informational gaps that you might have.

4. Follow celebrities that are active and intelligent.

5. Use search and hashtags to sort out topics and people to follow that are of interest to you.

6. Take out the trash regularly to make sure your feed isn’t overloaded with garbage. Block or report bots as spam.

7. Gain more followers by contributing to the conversation, and being yourself.

That’s all for now. There are far more advanced methods of tweeting, following, and being heard. Most of those methods are custom rules, developed by each user. You wouldn’t think publishing a message would need rules. After all, how complex should sending out 140 characters be?

Evidently, as complex as we can possibly make something that has no definable purpose.

Social Networks: Myyearbook, Perfspot, and Plenty of fish.

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The following article lists some easy, informative suggestions that can help you have a greater expertise with honeymoon.

Seashore locations continue to be the most well-liked choices for a romantic honeymoon getaway.  Honeymoons are the final word romantic trip and just about any chosen vacation spot can translate into a romantic escape for the newlyweds.  The following are only a few of the numerous romantic honeymoon vacation spot ideas.

Any of the Hawaiian Islands are all the time a superb honeymoon choice.  Whether or not you determine to do some island hopping and visit a number of islands or spend your whole honeymoon on one island you are sure to enjoy an extremely romantic destination.  The pristine and uncrowded beaches and heat, glowing blue water are just some of the benefits of honeymooning in Hawaii.  Hawaii additionally has a culture all of its own and provides its guests the sensation of being in a international land.

Though it’s dearer than most different common locations, Bora Bora is one other truly romantic honeymoon destination that is nicely worth the price.  It is an out of the best way location that’s not frequented by many tourists like another widespread honeymoon destinations.  The relative serenity of the islands creates an environment that’s wonderful for relaxing along with your new partner.  

Colorado is another romantic honeymoon destination.  Though the majestic mountain ranges and availability of cozy cabins within the woods make Colorado a romantic getaway location, it is actually well-known for its abundance of winter sports.  Selecting to honeymoon in Colorado affords a couple a romantic destination that also has a wide range of journey activities available.

Las Vegas can also be a romantic honeymoon destination.  Although it is known as, “Sin City,” and is famous for its ostentatious glamour and playing, Las Vegas can also be a romantic location for a pair enjoying their first few blissful days of marriage.  The area gives a wealth of fantastically appointed hotel rooms in quite a lot of styles.  This variety ensures that there is something for every couple in Las Vegas.

European areas akin to England, Spain and Italy are also standard romantic honeymoon destinations.  The traditions and culture that encompass these areas make them unique in offering a couple the prospect to encompass themselves with the allure of history.  Moreover if the couple does not converse the native language, it offers the couple a sense of being on their lonesome even in a crowd which lends itself fantastically to the romantic atmosphere.

If you end up confused by what you’ve read up to now, don’t despair. Every thing ought to be crystal clear by the point you finish.

Mexico is another well-liked romantic honeymoon location.  In particular the Riviera Maya offers a couple a mess of gorgeous beaches which are comparatively empty in comparison with the crowds found in different areas of Mexico reminiscent of Cancun.  Lots of the resorts in the Riviera Maya are all inclusive and a few even provide room service free of charge.

Although, it’s identified extra for harmless fun and adventure, Florida can also be a romantic honeymoon destination.  Florida offers an assortment of leisure options from beaches to theme parks and nightclubs.  Enjoying a day of rides and sights at a theme park is an excellent approach for a couple to develop nearer together.  Newlyweds are positive to seek out the whole lot that they are in search of in Florida.  

Costa Rica is another romantic honeymoon locale that gives couples so much extra than just beautiful beaches and sparkling waters.  Costa Rica is a superb alternative for a pair who is looking for each romance and journey on their honeymoon.  Right here you can spend your days kayaking, white water rafting or scuba diving in a number of the most stunning waters around.

New York Metropolis is one other romantic vacation spot for newlyweds to spend their honeymoon.  There is a lot to see and do within the city that a couple may discover themselves wishing to come back back for the primary anniversary.  New York City affords a variety of elegant eating places, an intensive theater district and the most effective areas on this planet for people watching.  

Caneel Bay in the US Virgin Islands is another beach location that could be a romantic place to honeymoon.  Caneel Bay gives a gorgeous setting that’s unparalleled in its beauty.  This picturesque location is the proper place for a couple to relax in the sun and revel in every others company.

Though seaside places are a number of the hottest honeymoon location destinations there are additionally different fashionable decisions for a romantic getaway.  Colorado, Las Vegas, Europe and New York Metropolis are just some of the other fashionable destinations which might be perfect for enjoying a romantic honeymoon that additionally affords slightly one thing extra.

Now that wasn’t arduous at all, was it?  And you’ve got earned a wealth of information, simply from taking some time to check an expert’s phrase on honeymoon.

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