Universal
2005
Welcome To Jamrock
About This Album
Armed with an air horn, an Ini Kamoze sample, and a gritty tale of life in Jamaica, Damian Marley made a huge splash with his massive single "Welcome to Jamrock," a reggae-meets-hip-hop track that dominated urban radio and street-level mixtapes during the summer of 2005. Dancehall kings Elephant Man and Beenie Man had made some worthy crossover progress in 2004, but Damian's hit was the biggest Jamaican splash on mainstream American radio since the days of Shabba Ranks, maybe the days of father Bob himself. Delivering on the promise of the single, Welcome to Jamrock the album is the full-length revolution that's filled with purposeful material, guest appearance from reality television star Bobby Brown included. There's more than enough slick studio trickery to alienate earthy roots fans and this is reggae in one of its loosest definitions, but anyone who's kept his eye on Damian and his brother Stephen -- who is all over the album as a producer, songwriter, and singer -- can tell you this is where the talented, genre-blending duo was headed. Reggae with guest rappers can end up sounding horribly contrived, but the sonic stew the brothers create allows for rap, samples, and all things synthetic and acoustic, along with everything else you'd expect on a Massive Attack album if the dour bunch were fueled by Red Stripe and ghetto Kingston spirit.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10 and 11)

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