Damian'JuniorGong'Marley
Jay-Z, Junior Gong collab
Superstar rapper Jay Z and Damian “Junior Gong” Marley go reggae-dancehall on Bam , one of the songs from Jay Z’s highly anticipated album, 4:44 .
Bam samples Jacob Miller and Inner Circle’s 1976 classic Tenement Yard, and Bam Bam by Sister Nancy. Jay Z was in Jamaica last month with Marley and Sister Nancy.
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On Bam, Marley sings the hook to Tenement Yard as ‘Gangsta cant live inna tenement yard’. The memorable, original line, sung by Miller, went ‘Dreadlocks cant live inna tenement yard’.
Three years ago, the song was given new life as Newscarrying Dread by Inner Circle and Chronixx.
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Miller died in a motor accident in 1980 at age 27.
Ian Lewis of Inner Circle said they were recently contacted by Jay Z’s legal team for clearance on the sample. He is not surprised the rapper went for a Jamaican flavour.
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“He grew up around Jamaicans in Brooklyn (New York), jus’ like Puffy and Biggie (Smalls), whose mother is Jamaican,” Lewis told the Jamaica Observer.
The Inner Circle bass player also pointed to Marley’s influence.
“I think Welcome to Jamrock help set it up. There are certain songs the rappers love, like Ring The Alarm (by Tenor Saw) an’ One Blood (Junior Reid),” he said.
Marley’s Welcome to Jamrock was an international anthem in 2005. The album of the same title won Best Reggae Album the following year.
Bam Bam, recorded eight years after Tenement Yard, has also shown resilience. It is part of the soundtrack to the 2014 movie, The Interview, and was used in a Reebok television commercial that year.
4:44 is creating a stir in music circles. On it, Jay-Z addresses issues such as cheating on his wife Beyonce; death of pop star Prince and the OJ Simpson murder trial.
It has received favourable reviews. The AllHipHop .com described it as a “dense, superlative, work of art”.
Jay Z signing an autographon a recent trip to Jamaica.(Photo: Kandice Moncrieffe)
