Nas and Damian Marley Visit Potomac Mills

Rapper Nas and reggae artist Damian Marley visited Potomac Mills this afternoon to sign albums for fans in the Hot Topic store.

Nas and Marley, youngest son of the late Bob Marley, were scheduled to appear at Hot Topic around 3 p.m. today for the planned promotional event.

200 wristbands were distributed through album and t-shirt sales surrounding the duo's album release of Distant Relatives; although more than 200 people lined up at early as 1 p.m. for the signing.

"Its a pretty big deal," said Hot Topic employee Kyle Johnson. "We sold out of tickets pretty fast but people are here with their parents and friends."

Only fans with wristbands were allowed into the store during the signing, and visitors were allowed one item to be autographed. No cameras were allowed inside the store.

Fans lined up outside of the Hot Topic early this afternoon; soon thereafter a red rope was pulled out to organize the queue. Prince William County Police and Mall Security patrolled the crowd.

"I'm third in line," said Belal Rafiq, who worked for Patch pre-launch. "I have been here since 1 p.m and I thought I would be late."

A queue of people lined up as far back as Build-a-Bear Workshop to wait for the event.

The store, which sells pop culture clothing and music-related retail, remained open until 15 minutes prior to the event.

A table with Hot Topic signage was set up in the middle of the small store for the signing.

Johnson estimated the signing would take roughly an hour; but the entire queue of people would have to be circulated through the narrow store.

Nas and Marley will be at the Fox Valley Mall Hot Topic in Aurora, IL on Sept. 5 for a similar signing event.