DAMIAN "JR. GONG" MARLEY
Welcome to Jamrock
Tuff Gong/Universal
· Bob Marley’s youngest son has dropped a spacey sonic spectrum, blurring the lines between reggae, R & B and fully conscious hip-hop.
With his older brother Stephen on board as both a producer and singer, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley has assembled a collection so wide-ranging in sounds and styles that describing it simply as reggae would be both an insult and an understatement.
The opener on Welcome to Jamrock, "Confrontation," kicks off with pounding military drums, haunting strings and scraps of revolutionary dialogue from elder Jamaican statesmen Bunny Wailer and Marcus Garvey, before Marley launches into a blistering attack on war, the government and the safety of the streets. "The Master Has Come Back" loops vocal samples over eastern sounding horns, while "All Night" utilizes bouncy, Jurassic 5-inspired beats. Black Thought of The Roots contributes guest vocals on the acoustic guitar-driven "Pimpa’s Paradise," while the samples of "Exodus" on "Move!" find Damian trading verses with his dad (Bob Marley) himself. The title track might have been the breakthrough single from this album last summer, but the best song is the dreamlike "Road To Zion" with Nas dropping some of his dopest raps this side of Illmatic.
Welcome to Jamrock might sound a bit cheesy in places (ie. the smooth-jazz saxophones on Damian’s duet with Bobby Brown, "Beautiful"), but it’s still a pretty damn good record. Knock back a Red Stripe and enjoy!
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