49. Damian Marley

The amazing story of Bob Marley's posthumous legacy got a new chapter this year, in his son Damian's huge crossover single "Welcome to Jamrock." It's far from a debut -- Damian actually won a Grammy in 2002 for Best Reggae Album -- but the hard-hitting Kingston concrete-jungle reportage and hip-hop infusions in the music made for a new kind of hit, produced by another Marley scion, Stephen. Damian Marley's third album, Welcome to Jamrock, stays close to his father's style, earning him the nickname "Junior Gong" -- even as he reaches out to the U.S. with rappers like Nas and the Roots' Black Thought.

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