HEAR THIS: Damian Marley “Just Ain’t The Same”

Jr. Gong Switches Up His Flow, Kicks The Half That’s Never Been Told

From birth, Damian Marley has been exposed to real situations that most of us could never even imagine. But every once in a while he lifts the curtain and lets his fans glimpse the innermost thoughts of a champion in action. His remarkable new tune “Just Ain’t The Same,” is as real as it gets, treading on all sorts of touchy topics with righteous abandon.

Damian switches up his whole flow on this one, as if all that time spent in the lab with Nas has been rubbing off on him. But the reality Gongzilla’s reflecting is more TG than QB. Check it out…

[audio:https://www.boomshots.com/tunes/JRGONGJUSTAINTTHESAME.mp3]

Jr. Gong’s latest composition wastes no time in getting to the point: “Things just ain’t the same for gangsters,” he says for starters. “Most of the don dem deh inna handcuffs.” He notes that “Garrisons been losing sponsors / Cause most politicians flake out like dandruff” (Bounty voice: “Yo Bruce!”) and that “Things happen for the strangest reasons / Most of the artistes dem can’t get visas.”

Leaving little to the imagination, this carefully constructed song breaks down the roots of Jamaica’s recent crisis, detailing the various roles played by the police, the media, economic forces, reggae music, and the political / gangster connection that has led so many youths astray. When Fela said “Music is the weapon of the future,” this is just the sort of thing he had in mind:

“So all the criminals at large, or criminal weh large
Ah rob the country blind and give corruption camouflage
And if the streets could ever talk what’s really going on
Whole heap ah people would be wanted”

Who have ears, let them hear.

(Shout to @JWonder21)