Press
Damian Marley to Grace SummerFest 2006
June 27, 2006
Simpson Bay,
St. Maarten - When “Welcome
to Jamrock” erupted onto airwaves
and blew apart iPods halfway through
2005 it came as a shock to some—but
not to Damian “Jr Gong” Marley.
The song is about the farthest thing
from commercial music offerings today—an
outraged and unapologetic description
of the poverty and “political
violence” ravaging his homeland
of Jamaica—but “Welcome
To Jamrock” hit—and hit
hard—because it’s the
sound of truth and the result of
years of work to bring that truth
to light. “I spent a lot of
time thinking and this is the fruit
of that labor,” explains the
youngest child of the musical Marley
family. “The song might be
a ‘success’ so why be
blind to that? But success can’t
surprise given the time put into
it.”
Jr Gong has been honing his skills—not
so quietly—for some time. He
made noise early on with 1996’s
Mr. Marley, and his major label debut
Halfway Tree showcased a unique gift
for blending hard-hitting reality rhymes
and an uncommonly eclectic musicality;
with a classic reggae sensibility at
its core and run through with streams
of hip-hop, R&B and dancehall,
the album resonated with urban tastemakers
and won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album
in 2001. (“A Grammy in reggae
is good,” he observes. “But
it will be great to see reggae win
Album of the Year…it’s
not about one man shut off from the
rest of the crabs in the barrel.” So
while slow-burners like “It was
Written” and “Educated
Fools” became club classics,
Jr Gong was laying the groundwork for
the tracks that would become Welcome
To Jamrock—an album that was
ultimately several years in the making.
Hear the album and you instantly understand
it to be the work of a perfectionist;
Jr Gong is not focused on overnight
success. “Some songs just come. ‘Jamrock’ was
like that,” he explains. “But
other songs take a lot longer. This
is street music, and the streets have
to feel it.”
He can be sure the streets will. Following
the path blazed by its title track,
Welcome to Jamrock opens with the devastating
attack of “Confrontation”—this
is Jr Gong at his best, rhyming with
the conviction of a street preacher
and the intellect of a university economist.
That essence is spread throughout the
album, even when he switches pace and
explores different riddims. “It’s
like going to war. Sometimes you have
to wear camouflage to really get in
there,” says Jr Gong of the diverse
appeal of the album. “Dancehall,
R&B, hip-hop…it’s
more about feelings. We’re not
just trying to do a segment of the
mix. We’re trying to do the whole
mix.” This is that mix—never
content to deliver a straightforward “reggae” album,
Jr Gong touches on various sides or
urban life as we live it today, from
the smoky spiritual love ballad “There
for You” to the nostalgic throwback
jam “The Master Has Come Back”.
Hip-hop fans will bump to “Pimpa’s
Paradise” featuring Stephen Marley
and Black Thought of the Roots as Nas
rips his verse on “Road to Zion”,
while classic reggae heads will spark
to the rugged sound of “Khaki
Suit” which features the combo
of Bounty Killer and Eek-A-Mouse. Taken
together the songs on Welcome To Jamrock
convey a consciousness that’s
framed by the song “For The Babies”,
which Jr Gong says was inspired by
the idea that “we raise our children
with the same lies we were told.”
From the first listen it is undeniable
that Jr Gong detonates his lyrical
gifts with force and precision, but
it would be a mistake to think the
man’s abilities begin and end
in the recording booth. A quick scan
of Welcome To Jamrock’s credits
reveal that he co-produced all but
three of the tracks with his brother
Stephen (the two are the album’s
executive producers)—so while
the youngest Marley suggests his fiery
vocal delivery is partly inspired by
seeing fierce dancehall icons like
Shabba Ranks, Ninjaman and Super Cat
at Jamaica’s Reggae Sunsplash
festival as a youth, his work at the
boards show him to be a knowing student
of the early ’80s digital roots
sound of Sly and Robbie, a touch of
Stephen’s other productions and
the magic in his own father’s
recordings. All told it’s the
science behind Welcome to Jamrock’s
instantly classic sound and an appropriate
release on the family’s Tuff
Gong/Ghetto Youths International label. “It
reflects us,” Jr Gong says simply. “And
I say us ‘cause it’s not
just me that makes the album. We’re
taking the baton from the elders who
made rebel music—we’re
new leaders of the old school.”
The response to the “Welcome To Jamrock” single heightened expectations for the record you’re holding in your hands, and its 14 songs—songs of both love and war—have a depth that surpasses what many might have expected, given the fear of creativity and strong beliefs that permeates the current pop climate and our daily lives in general. “These are difficult years…and this has been a year of signs and wonders and mystics. We’re in a mind opening time now—a lot of people don’t have material suffering, but spiritual suffering,” he offers. “Welcome to Jamrock is about hope, and there’s still more to share. I’m still very close to the beginning.”
