DAMIAN 'JR. GONG' Marley made history yesterday when his Ghetto Youths/Tuff Gong/Universal Records release Welcome To Jamrock entered the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart at number seven, selling over 85,000 units and making it the biggest opening week for a reggae artiste in the history of the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart. The album's debut placing means that Marley beat out reggae/soca artist Kevin Lyttle, whose 2004 release Turn Me On charted at number eight selling 84,270 in his first week of release. The title track single, Welcome To Jamrock, was called "an early contender for song of the decade", by the New York Times. People Magazine gave the release three and a half stars, Entertainment Weekly gave the release an 'A' and Rolling Stone Magazine named Marley as one of the '10 Artists To Watch'. Marley's performance this week on Jimmy Kimmel Live and the announcement that he will open for U2 on 15 dates on their fall tour ensure that Welcome To Jamrock will be an upper chart contender for some time to come. Marley begins his slew of dates with U2 on October 16 in Philadelphia and he parts ways with the Irish rock band on November 9 in Oakland, California. Then on November 3 the Grammy Award winning Marley will embark on his own fall tour, hitting 24 cities across the United States. Co-produced by Damian and Stephen Marley, Welcome To Jamrock features such artists as Stephen Marley, Bounty Killer, Eek-A-Mouse, NAS, Black Thought of The Roots and Bobby Brown. Reprinted from jamaica-gleaner.com