Welcome to a masterpiece

It's finally fair to compare one of Bob Marley's musically inclined children to him. \nDamian "Jr. Gong" Marley released Welcome to Jamrock -- the first good, major label reggaeton release not intended for preteens and Britney Spears fans. Damian, with brother Stephen, has produced a masterpiece with Jamrock. This album captured a piece of the fire their dad brought to his music. Of course, Damian will never be Bob's equal: it's not fair to ask him to be. \nBut Jamrock introduces a new generation to what you know the Black Eyed Peas or the Roots could be -- and wish so bad they would be. \nThe militant-Rastafari-meets-"One Love" swagger is back in the way only a Marley could do it. With "Confrontation," Damian brings audio clips of Marcus Garvey to hype up a revolutionary sound. This 20-second clip of crowd-speak makes it easy to understand the power of his speech. The title track carries a similar feel, bringing reggae up to par with modern gangster rap, Talib Kweli-style. \n"Welcome To Jamrock" is easily the best song on the CD bearing the same title. While the rest of the CD wanders through musical genres, it doesn't disappoint. "Move!" features a sample of his papa's "Exodus," which could have gone awry all too easily, but flows seamlessly in and out of the song's chorus. And "All Night" is brilliantly recorded, making it sound like a 50s club jazz-swing hit.\nNot all tracks are so grand: the Bobby Brown collaboration "Beautiful" sounds dumb, to say the least. And the track splitting up "Confrontation" and "Welcome To Jamrock" is the inane "There For You."\nBut Damian brings a social conscious to music that it needs so desperately. He disparages tourists visiting Jamaica, pretending children aren't killing each other just a few miles inland. And it's nice to hear prophetic reggae that matters once again.