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]
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]
"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.
^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."
