Entertainment

'Jamrock' no 'One Love'

By GERMAINE SMITH, Staff Reporter

Damain' Junior Gong' Marley - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

"Don't mek dem spot yuh, unless yuh carry guns a lot to

A peer tuff thing come at yuh...

When Trench Town man stop laugh and block off traffic

den dem wheel and pop-off and dem start clap it

wid di pin file long and it a beat rapid

Police come inna jeep and dem can't stop it..."

THESE CHILLING LINES are from Damian 'Junior Gong' Marley's latest single 'Welcome To Jamrock'.

Backtrack some 20 odd years ago, and his father ironically was singing 'One Love', which captured some not so chilling lyrics about life in Jamaica at the time.

To many people, the Stephen Marley produced 'Welcome To Jamrock' is a gritty reflection of the cold realities of Kingston's street life, a somewhat different reality from the days of Bob.

For others still, the track is a bouncy rub-a-dub tune to dance to in the sessions. For others, it is a bit too much detail. In Damian Marley's eyes, however it is reality.

"Well it come a long way, the inspiration is just basically Jamaica pon a whole, weh yu know seh where the average Jamaican lives is not what is sold to the tourists in terms of welcome to Jamaica," stated Damian in an interview recently. Ironically, some of what is sold to the tourists is being done through Bob's earlier tune, One Love.

Real inspiration

"No disrespect, but Jamaica is of course still the sweetest island, but yu done know at the same time the standard of living that the people facing is not Jamaica as it is set in the commercial form. It is Jamrock. That is the real inspiration for the tune," he continued.

Welcome To Jamrock is the title track for his album to be released soon. The tune's imagery is graphic, but gets passionate approval from dancehall supporters. Others take an opposite view, prompting some members of the public to write disapproving letters about the song to THE STAR.

The Grammy award winner noted however that the tune does not describe anything that is not already happening now.

"I think it is pretty plain and straight," Damian contended. "From this year mi have couple brethren weh pass out already, so mi no really see, it's just straight, mi no see that as no over exaggeration in any shape or form."

"Yu done know we a no poster boy fi Jamaica, in terms of if Jamaica is not living up to what Jamaica really is, yu understand, those people who don't like what is happening, then do something about it, do something about it, yu know weh a mean."

Damian added that the single came about almost by accident. The track he said was supposed to be a part of a mix-tape effort in collaboration with some US based rappers. Because of unexpected delays, however, they could not record it in time, so he and Stephen recorded it for local release.

From what he has heard he added, Ini Kamoze, whose voice is sampled for the chorus, is loving the tune, and Damian noted that he enjoyed it just as much.

(Damian is currently on the 'Welcome To Jamrock' US tour to promote the album. See the rest of his interview tomorrow in THE STAR as Junior Gong talks about his visit to Ethiopia, his new band and more....).