Welcome_to_Jamrock
Welcome to Jamrock
2005 studio album by Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley
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.
| Welcome to Jamrock | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | September 12, 2005 | |||
| Studio | ||||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 62:54 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Welcome to Jamrock | ||||
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Marley won two 2006 Grammy Awards for the album, Best Reggae Album and Best Urban/Alternative Performance (for the track "Welcome to Jamrock"). Guests appearing on the album include Stephen Marley, Black Thought, Bobby Brown and Nas.
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.[1] The album's title track was inspired by the everyday life of Jamaica 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."[2]
Chart performance
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Christgau's Consumer Guide | A−[4] |
| Entertainment Weekly | A−[5] |
| Mojo | [6] |
| Now | [7] |
| The Observer | [8] |
| Pitchfork | 7.7/10[9] |
| Rolling Stone |  [10] |
| Spin | 7/10[11] |
| Tom Hull – on the Web | A−[12] |
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.[13] As of August 23, 2006, Welcome to Jamrock has sold 539,000 recognized copies in the United States.[14] Between September 2005 and 2007, the album spent more than 30 weeks at the top of the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.[15] In January 2022, it re-entered the chart at number 10.[15]
The title-track peaked at number 55 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100, but did better on the R&B and rap 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, 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."[8]
David Jeffries, writing for AllMusic, 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."[3]
All tracks are produced by Stephen Marley and Damian Marley, except where noted.[16]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Confrontation" (featuring spoken introduction from Bunny Wailer) | 5:29 | ||
| 2. | "There for You" |
| 4:41 | |
| 3. | "Welcome to Jamrock" |
| 3:33 | |
| 4. | "The Master Has Come Back" |
| 4:40 | |
| 5. | "All Night" (featuring Stephen Marley) |
| 3:30 | |
| 6. | "Beautiful" (featuring Bobby Brown) |
|
| 4:47 |
| 7. | "Pimpa's Paradise" (featuring Stephen Marley and Black Thought) |
| 5:04 | |
| 8. | "Move!" |
| 3:44 | |
| 9. | "For the Babies" (featuring Stephen Marley) |
| 4:53 | |
| 10. | "Hey Girl" (featuring Stephen Marley and Rovleta Fraser) |
|
| 4:14 |
| 11. | "Road to Zion" (featuring Nas) | Irving Berlin | 5:17 | |
| 12. | "We're Gonna Make It" |
| 4:20 | |
| 13. | "In 2 Deep" |
|
| 4:44 |
| 14. | "Khaki Suit" (featuring Bounty Killer and Eek-A-Mouse) |
| 3:57 | |
| 15. | "Carnal Mind" (bonus track) (featuring Chew Stick) | 4:26 |
Credits adapted from AllMusic.[17]
- 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 – Percussion
- Dan Warner – Guitar
- Larry Warrilow – String Arrangements
- Roselyn Williams – Backing vocals
- "Confrontation" contains spoken-word samples from speeches made by Haile Selassie I and Marcus Garvey. The music contains a sample from the entrance music of former WCW wrestler Bill Goldberg.
- "Road to Zion" contains a sample from "Russian Lullaby" by Ella Fitzgerald.
- "Move!" contains a sample from "Exodus" by Bob Marley & The Wailers.
- "Welcome to Jamrock" contains a sample from "World a Music" by Ini Kamoze.
- "The Master Has Come Back" contains a sample from "Bide Up" by Bunny Wailer.
- "All Night" contains a sample from "Nimrod" by The Skatalites.
- "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.
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[24] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[25] | Gold | 100,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[26] | Gold | 500,000^ |
|
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
- Simpson, Dave (July 19, 2012). "30 minutes with … Damian Marley" – via www.theguardian.com.
- Susman, Gary (September 9, 2005). "Welcome to Jamrock". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on November 24, 2016. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- Mojo (Publisher) (p.104) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[O]n tougher cuts 'In 2 Deep' and 'Confrontation' he's lyrically and musically most adept....He's following in the footsteps of Gil Scott-Heron and Linton Kwesi Johnson."
- Richards, Jason (November 23, 2005). "DAMIAN "JR. GONG" MARLE - WELCOME TO JAMROCK". Now. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
- Yates, Steve (18 September 2005). "At last, cheers Steve Yates, a scion of Zion shows real talent". The Observer.
- "Rolling Stone review". Archived from the original on April 18, 2008.
- Hull, Tom (November 13, 2023). "Grade List: Damian Marley". Tom Hull – on the Web. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
- Whitmire, Margo (2005-09-21). "Wall Emerges As Billboard 200 'Champ'". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved 2009-02-08.
- "Top 200 SoundScan Album Sales (08/23/2006)". Archived from the original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2008-05-14.
- Jackson, Kevin (2022) "'Jamrock' back on charts", Jamaica Observer, 21 January 2022. Retrieved 29 January 2022
- "Top 200 Albums | Billboard". Billboard. October 1, 2005. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
- "R&B/Hip-Hop Albums | Billboard". Billboard. October 1, 2005. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
- "Reggae Music: Top Reggae Albums & Songs | Billboard". Billboard. October 1, 2005. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
- "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2020.