Ini Kamoze last showed up on the mainstream radar with 1995’s “Here Comes the Hotstepper,” a re-working of one of his own tunes, based around the powerhouse “na-na-na” hook of Wilson Pickett’s soul classic “Land of 1,000 Dances.” It’s almost fitting, then, that Kamoze’s unexpected re-emergence isn’t due to his own material, but as an increasingly popular source for both samples and cover versions.

Despite a stellar career in Jamaica since the late 1970s, Kamoze, whose best work comes from his 80s collaborations with Sly and Robbie, has been criminally underrated. Classic albums like Statement, Pirate, and Shocking Out capture the same sinister rhythms, darkly political lyrics and otherworldly wailing vocals as classic-period Black Uhuru, but for some reason, Kamoze’s records never received the same amount of attention. “Hotstepper” was a one-off novelty hit, and his follow-up album, Lyrical Gangsta, was an ill-conceived attempt at drawing in a hip-hop audience. For all intents and purposes, Kamoze was a mere footnote in music history—a guy who showed a lot of promise but never made enough of an impact to have a lasting effect on anyone but reggae diehards. Despite his best efforts, it seemed no one was listening…except for a younger generation of his fellow musicians. In a completely unexpected twist, you can hear Kamoze’s voice on mainstream radio and million-selling albums, thanks to the likes of Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, Sublime, and others.

At this point, Jr. Gong’s 2005 smash “Welcome to Jamrock” is impossible to ignore. A so-real-you-can-hear-the-gunshots depiction of Jamaica’s treacherous ghetto life, “Jamrock” was THE summer anthem last year, this year and probably some more years to come. The track is anchored by an unstoppable rhythm, Jr. Gong’s ultra-serious vocals…and a weird, ghostly voice holding everything together: “out in the streets, they call it murder….”

The voice belongs to Ini Kamoze. With the exception of some updated-for-the-times studio polish, “Jamrock” is basically Kamoze’s “World-A-Music” with new lyrics. A song that can be most easily found on Columbia’s 1995 Here Comes the Hotstepper retrospective, “World-A-Music” despite its sonic similarities, is actually a very different song from “Jamrock.” For starters, the famous “murder” line refers not to a bullet to the head, but an addictive rhythm blasting through the listener’s brain. Kamoze’s high, ethereal voice tends not to dominate the track, but rather weaves in and out of Robbie Shakespeare’s loping bass notes. It almost becomes part of the rhythm itself, which is probably why the vocal sample fits so well into Jr. Gong’s track.

Jr. Gong isn’t the only Marley to express love for the Hotstepper. On the soundtrack to the 2000 film Third World Cop, a Jamaican crime drama that received only limited play outside its homeland, Kamoze’s best tune, “Call the Police,” gets an update for the 21st Century thanks to the Ghetto Youths Crew, a dancehall supergroup featuring three Marleys, some of their lesser-known pals…and, of course, Sly and Robbie ‘pon de riddim.

From the first note, the Ghetto Youths’ version sounds different from the original, with techno-ready drum machines and robotic vocals, but the reverence a younger generation of reggae artists has for Kamoze is clear. The brilliantly-conceived original, which compares Kamoze’s lyrical prowess to a criminal act (it’s so good, it HAS to be a crime) is perfectly suited to a film which intertwines hot Kingston beats with hot Kingston gang wars. The remake, although it includes some new lyrics, sticks to the theme of music as violation of the law. Jr. Gong, who once again shows his Kamoze-love on this track, has the best line: “Tell someone I say call the police / Big 45 is going to release”…playing on the dual meaning of “45″—a record or a gun.

Neither of these examples show any evidence of a Kamoze comeback, but it’s nice to hear the Hotstepper getting the respect he deserves…even if it’s 20 years overdue.

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