''Welcome to Jamrock'' is the third studio album by Jamaican

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

artist Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley. The album was released on September 12, 2005, in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, and one day later in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Marley won two

2006 Grammy Awards The 48th Annual Grammy Awards took place on February 8, 2006, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning from October 1, 2004 through September 30, 2005. Irish rock band U2 were ...

for the album,

Best Reggae Album The Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1985 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works in the reggae music genre. Honors in sev ...

and Best Urban/Alternative Performance (for the track "

Welcome to Jamrock ''Welcome to Jamrock'' is the third studio album by Jamaican reggae/dancehall artist Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley. The album was released on September 12, 2005, in the United Kingdom, and one day later in the United States. Marley won two 2006 Gram ...

"). Guests appearing on the album include Stephen Marley,

Black Thought Tariq Luqmaan Trotter (born October 3, 1973), better known as Black Thought, is an American rapper, actor and the lead MC of the Philadelphia-based hip hop group the Roots, which he co-founded with drummer Questlove (Ahmir Thompson). Regarded ...

Bobby Brown Robert Barisford Brown (born February 5, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. Brown, alongside frequent collaborator Teddy Riley, is noted as one of the pioneers of new jack swing: a fusion of hip hop and R&B. Brown started h ...

and

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...

Recording

Production of the album was handled by Damian and his brother Stephen Marley, the pair had frequently collaborated with Damian wanting to utilise the professionals already in his family. The album's title track was inspired by the everyday life of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

that the world does not know about. The title was a play on a song entitled "Welcome to Atlanta", which discussed the dark side of Atlanta. Inspired by this Marley wanted to showcase what it was like to live in a "third world country."

Reception

Chart performance

The album debuted at number 7 on the ''Billboard'' 200, and sold 86,000 copies, during its first week of release in the United States. As of August 23, 2006, ''Welcome to Jamrock'' has sold 539,000 recognized copies in the United States. Between September 2005 and 2007, the album spent more than 30 weeks at the top of the ''Billboard'' Reggae Albums chart.Jackson, Kevin (2022)
'Jamrock' back on charts
,

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'', 21 January 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2022 In January 2022, it re-entered the chart at number 10. The title-track peaked at number 55 in the US on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, but did better on the R&B and

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

charts, peaking at numbers 18 and 12, respectively. It also did well in the UK, peaking at number 13.

Critical reception

Steve Yates, in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'', gave the album five stars out of five, concluding that "Like his father, Damian is tucked in well behind the cutting edge of digital production, but this fine collection of songs outshines the ephemeral delights of modern day dancehall. The Jr Gong is banging. Get it on." David Jeffries, writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, gave the album four stars out of five, saying "Besides the fantastic single, this album has 'legs,' with a bulging lyric sheet filled with vivid and crafty lines that offer plenty to focus on once all the sonic brilliance has sunk in. A career-defining moment that lives up to a huge hit, ''Welcome to Jamrock'' is a tremendous achievement."

Track listing

All tracks are produced by Stephen Marley and

Damian Marley Damian Robert Nesta "Jr. Gong" Marley (born 21 July 1978) is a Jamaican DJ, singer, lyricist and rapper. He is the recipient of four Grammy Awards. Early life, education and family Damian Marley is the youngest son of reggae musician Bob Marle ...

, except where noted.

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic. *Chris Athens – Mastering *Cristy Barber – A&R *Black Thought – Guest Artist, Primary Artist *Bounty Killer – Guest Artist, Primary Artist *Bobby Brown – Guest Artist, Primary Artist *Errol Brown – Mixing *Jill Capone – Product Manager *James "Bonzai" Caruso – Engineer, Keyboards, Mixing *Commissioner Gordon – Mixing *Shiah Coore – Bass, Keyboards *Gary Corbett – Keyboards *Noel Davey – Hammond organ, Piano *Sean Diedrick – Keyboards *Eek-A-Mouse – Guest Artist, Primary Artist *Paul Fakhourie – Bass, Clavinet, Keyboards *Dean Fraser – Saxophone *Rovleta Fraser – Primary Artist, Backing vocals *Deron D. James – Cover Design *Jazzwad – Bass, Drum Programming, Drums, Keyboards *Joanne "Joey" Joseph – A&R *King Swamp – Vocals *Kevin Law – A&R *Marc Stephen Lee – Engineer *Bob Marley – Composer *Damian Marley – Composer, Drum Programming, Executive Producer, Keyboards, Primary Artist, Producer *Julian Marley – Hammond organ *Stephen Marley – Bass, Composer, Executive Producer, Guitar, Keyboards, Percussion, Primary Artist, Producer, Synthesizer *Roland McDermott – Engineer *Gregory J. Morris – Engineer *Nas – Guest Artist, Primary Artist *Stephen "Asher" Noel – Bass, Guitar *Alfredo Oliva – Concertmaster *R. Price – Composer *Ras Kass – Concept Graphics *Don Reid – A&R * Owen "Dreadie" Reid – Bass *The Roots – Guest Artist *Kenneth Roxborough – Backing vocals *R. Russell – Composer *Keith Tamashiro – Art Direction *Craig "Niteman" Taylor – Drum Fills, Drums *Franklin Thompson – Backing vocals *

Uziah "Sticky" Thompson Uzziah "Sticky" Thompson (1 August 1936 – 25 August 2014) was a Jamaican percussionist, vocalist and deejay active from the late 1950s. He worked with some of the best known performers of Jamaican music and played on hundreds of albums. Biog ...

– Percussion *Dan Warner – Guitar *Larry Warrilow – String Arrangements *Roselyn Williams – Backing vocals

Samples

*"Confrontation" contains spoken-word samples from speeches made by

Haile Selassie I Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia ('' ...

and

Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Sr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African ...

. The music is a sample of the entrance music of former

WCW World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nationa ...

wrestler

Bill Goldberg William Scott Goldberg (born December 27, 1966), often known mononymously as Goldberg, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and former professional football player. He is best known for his tenures in WCW and WWE. One of the most ...

. *"Road to Zion" contains a sample from "Russian Lullaby" by

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

*"Move!" contains a sample from "Exodus" by

Bob Marley & The Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as The Wailers, and prior to that The Wailing Rudeboys, The Wailing Wailers and The Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Robert ...

*"Welcome to Jamrock" contains a sample from "World a Music" by

Ini Kamoze Ini Kamoze ( , born Cecil Campbell; 9 October 1957) is a Jamaican reggae artist who began his career in the early 1980s and rose to prominence in 1994 with the signature song "Here Comes the Hotstepper". The single topped the US ''Billboard'' ...

*"The Master Has Come Back" contains a sample from "Bide Up" by

Bunny Wailer Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ...

. *"All Night" contains the sample from "Nimrod" by

The Skatalites The Skatalites are a ska band from Jamaica. They played initially between 1963 and 1965, and recorded many of their best known songs in the period, including " Guns of Navarone." They also played on records by Prince Buster and backed many othe ...

. *"There for You" contains a sample from "Heartbreak Hotel" by the Jacksons. *"Khaki Suit" contains a sample from "For Hire and Removal" by

Eek-A-Mouse Eek-A-Mouse (born Ripton Joseph Hylton, 19 November 1957) is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is one of the earliest artists to be described as a "singjay".Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rough Guide To Reggae, 3rd edn.", Rough Guides, ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Official websitePlanet Jamrock, Jamrock's Home Online
{{Authority control 2005 albums Damian Marley albums Universal Records albums Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album