Welcome to Jamrock (song)

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"Welcome to Jamrock"

Single by Damian Marley
from the album Welcome to Jamrock
Released	2005
Format	12" single
Recorded	2005
Genre	Reggae
Length	3:33
Label	Tuff Gong/Universal/Ghetto Youths
Writer(s)	Damian Marley
Producer(s)	Stephen Marley
Chart positions
#13 (UK) #55 (US) #18 (US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks) #12 (US Billlboard Hot Rap Tracks)
Damian Marley singles chronology
"And You Be Loved" (2001)	"Welcome to Jamrock" (2005)	"The Master Has Come Back" (2005)

"Welcome To Jamrock" is the first single from Damian Marley's album of the same name.

"Welcome to Jamrock" marks the re-emergence of reggae without the dancehall influence that is the trademark of other Jamaican artists. The young Marley talks about Trenchtown, crime, poverty, and political corruption in his first single. Citing that Jamaica is portrayed as a great tourist location, but Jamrock - rife with violent cocaine traffickers - is the harsh reality.

The hook of the song says Out in the streets, they call it murder! and more powerful lyrics such as Welcome to Jamdown, poor people are dead at random or Come on let's face it, a ghetto education's basic/And most of the youths them waste it/And when dem waste it, that's when dem take the guns and replace it/And them don't stand a chance at all.

Parts of the song can also be interpreted as a warning to naive tourists seeking to experience the ideallized version of Jamaica presented in tourist brouchures:

Some boy na know dis, them only come around like tourist On the beach with a few club sodas Bedtime stories, and pose like dem name Chuck Norris And don't know the real hardcore Cause Sandals a now back too, the thugs dem wi do what them got to And won't think twice to shot you Don't make them spot you, unless you carry guns a lot too A bare tuff thing come at you

While it may sound to some like Marley is promoting or glorifying Jamaica's high crime rate and violence that he talks about in the song, that is not the case, as he is actually lamenting it. One listen to his whole album and you will hear his many profoundly positive and uplifting messages just like his father before him.

Both the rhythm and the above-mentioned hook are sampled from the 1984 track World-A-Music by Ini Kamoze - the original rhythm on the Ini Kamoze album was provided by Sly and Robbie.

The track also samples the bassline from Zap Pow's hit Reggae Music. An edited version of Welcome to Jamrock was featured on the popular video game franchise FIFA 06.