Pitchfork

Welcome to Jamrock couldn't even top "Welcome to Jamrock", so it's understandable that it's been three years since Damian Marley pretty much reclaimed mainstream reggae from stoners with fraternity paddles. He did, however, quietly drop the Bollywood-tinged anti-poverty banger "One Loaf of Bread" on Tuff Gong compilation Gang War last year. "Christ feed the multitude with only one loaf of bread," Marley proclaims, as a clattering, bass-heavy dancehall beat settles in behind dramatic strings and sinuous woodwind chirps. Singing directly to "poor people", Marley delivers a message of hope, with the biblical allusions and prophetic air of, yup, his father-- an earnest solemnity that rarely gets pulled off so well, or can claim such a lively arrangement. (Although, to be pedantic about it, even Jesus needed five loaves of bread-- and two fish-- to feed the multitude. What'd you want, a miracle?) Not that "Junior Gong" is totally back to the fierce urgency and real-life righteousness of "Welcome to Jamrock", nothing quite like that. Still, the track is a good reminder to get excited (or at least curious) about Marley's expected appearance on Mariah Carey's new album next month. And the video, shot and directed by Jason Goldwatch for Deconmedia, humanizes Marley's message, with scenes of children and daily life in Haiti and South Africa, interspersed with images of the bearded, dreadlocked singer. Encircled, OK, by a cloud of smoke.

[from Gang War; out now on Tuff Gong/Ghetto Youths]