Track Listing

1. Educated Fools - Bounty Killer, Damian "Junior Gong" Marley, Treach, Bunny Wailer
2. More Justice
3. It Was Written - Capleton, Drag-On, Damian "Junior Gong" Marley, Stephen Marley
4. Catch a Fire
5. Still Searchin' - Yami Bolo, Damian "Junior Gong" Marley, Stephen Marley
6. She Needs My Love - Yami Bolo, Damian "Junior Gong" Marley, Sabor a Cacao
7. Mi Blenda
8. Where Is the Love
9. Harder (Interlude)
10. Born to Be Wild
11. Give Dem Some Way - Daddigan, Damian "Junior Gong" Marley
12. Half Way Tree (Interlude)
13. Paradise Child - Jimmy Cozier, Damian "Junior Gong" Marley, Mr. Cheeks
14. Stuck in Between
15. Half Way Tree
16. Stand a Chance/And You Be Loved - Yami Bolo, Damian "Junior Gong" Marley, Treach

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18145 in Music
• Released on: 2001-09-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Explicit Lyrics, Import

Amazon.com
Covering everything from roots reggae to dancehall, culture to (mild) slackness, and hip-hop to R&B, Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley's sophomore offering, Halfway Tree, bridges the gap between several disparate Jamaican sounds. "Where Is The Love?"--set to a slinky American R&B rhythm--juxtaposes the youngest Marley's roughneck toasting against Ruff Ryder Eve's assertive feminist rap. His posh uptown pedigree can be observed in the smooth grooves and salsa-infected vibes of the Sly & Robbie-produced "She Needs My Love," which also showcases graceful vocalization by Yami Bolo. "Catch a Fire," featuring brother Stephen's raw silk harmonies, drops some straightforward African diaspora history in a classic roots reggae style, deconstructing and updating their father Bob's classic "Slave Driver." Overall, Halfway Tree is above average, and "Give Dem Some Way" is the album's most outstanding selection. After opening with a truly funny spoken-word intro, a funky bass-drum-and-flute "wild apache" beat kicks in, and then Jr. Gong and talented newcomer Izzy set it off for the educated rude-bwoy youth. --Rebecca Levine

Customer Reviews

Solid
This is by far one of the greatest modern reggae albums out there. Named after a particular area in Kingston, Jamaica where all major roads meet, Damian "Jr.Gong" Marley sampled a variety of musical genres while collaborating with many big time reggae, dancehall & hiphop artists.

1. Educated Fools (5/5) - Nice hiphop beat. Great way to start things off. Bunny Wailer opens with an interesting skit leaving Jr Gong to do his thing along with Bounty Killa & Treach (Naughty by Nature). 2nd best track of the album.
2. More Justice (4.5/5) - Big time reggae tune. Good message.
3. It Was Written (4/5) - (modern reggae/hiphop) Very popular track. Nice collab with Capleton, Stephen Marley, and Drag-On.
4. Catch a Fire (3/5) Not bad for a solo effort.
5. Still Searchin' w/ Yami Bolo (5/5) - 3rd best track on the album.
6. She Needs My Love w/ Yami Bolo (4.5) - Dancehall track. Very nicely done.
7. Mi Blenda (5/5) - More Danchall here. Arguably the best track on the album, and Jr. Gong's best solo effort. He delivered an absolute scorcher!
8. Where Is the Love (4.5/5) - Nice Hip Hop beat. Good vibes. Nice collab with Eve. Positive message.
9. Harder (Interlude) - see #10
10. Born to Be Wild (3.5/5) - A rather dark/violent story was told but overall it's a well produced song.
11. Give Dem Some Way (5/5) - Modern Reggae. Nice african inspired beat. Jr Gong was sharp on this one.
12. Half Way Tree (Interlude)
13. Paradise Child (4.5/5) - Nice collab with Jimmy Cozier. Very smooth and relaxing R&B beat.
14. Stuck in Between (4/5) - Modern reggae tune. Jr Gong did his thing as usual. Well done track.
15. Half Way Tree (5/5) - Danchall/HipHop. Major props to Jr Gong for bringing in Swizz Beatz on this one. The beat is sick! You'll be bouncing from start to finish. 4th best track.
16. Stand a Chance/And You Be Loved (4/5) Modern Reggae. Very smooth track. The Bonus track should have been separate.

Overall, a very solid grammy winning effort that wouldn't disappoint. It's really made for the larger audience rather than just roots reggae enthusiasts, as most of the tracks had hiphop beats (crossover appeal). I'd recommend reggae/danchall/hiphop fans to get this album. It has everything that will grab your attention.

Sophmore album second best
Inferior to his first album "Mr. Marley", Damian Jr.Gong strays from his father's influence and his dancehall style to a confusing mix of R&B, Hip-hop, and Rap. Guest appearance by Treach? Whose down with O.P.P? Not me! What's with the munchkin voice on the title track "Halfway Tree"? Must be all the Ganja smoking! Save the dramatic spots for MTV and get on with the roots. Besides "And Be Loved" and "Catch a Fire" where he samples Bob's original classics "Could You Be Loved" and "Slave Driver", "More Justice" sampled from Ziggy and the Melody Makers, and collaborations with the most vocally talented of the Marley brothers--Steve, the rest of the album is sort of disappointing. About half the songs are good, and as a hardcore reggae fan, buy it...but if you don't own his 1996 debut "Mr. Marley", buy that one first!

Halfway Tree-Reinvention of Rebel Music
Halfway Tree, Damian Marley's major label debut is a ground-breaking blend of reggae riddims and dancehall bass lines. beginning with the electrifying reality rhyming of Educated Fools, and pushing into more solemn and inspirational songs such as It Was Written (my favorite), he then pays a beautiful homage to his father in Catch a Fire, doing a very worthy job putting a modern twist to Bob's Slave Driver. From there Damian moves into some R&B and more dance-able tunes, but brings the revolutionary spirit back with the Halfway Tree Selah, and with the humbling social critiques of Stand a Chance. Overall, this album is a well-rounded and fantastic reinvention of Rebel Music and Damian shows his roots and inspirations, mixing everything together, and creating an album that you can dance too and draw inspiration from. His BEST album!
You can lead a revolution with this stuff...