Damion 'Jr Gong' Marley on Wednesday night brought to Tuff Gong Productions two Grammy Awards for the work Welcome to Jamrock.

Had there been a reggae Grammy awards as early as, say, 1976, when Exodus was released, then surely the reggae king would have had his name (and that of his band, The Wailers) added to the archives. But the introduction of the category came a few years too late for him to actively compete for the top honour.

As it is, the closest the Gong came to a Grammy award was a nod for the DVD release, Rebel Music: The Bob Marley Story as Best Long Form Video in 2002.

But what Bob missed in the Grammys has arguably more than been made up for by his progeny, who now - with Damian 'Jr Gong' Marley's double success on Wednesday night have a combined six statuettes - three to Jr Gong, who previously took the Reggae album award for his 2001 disc, Half Way Tree, and three for his siblings' collective, The Melody Makers, who were tapped for Fallen is Babylon (1997), One Bright Day(1989) and Conscious Party (1988).

The younger Marley's succes is in fact, a family effort, as the Welcome to Jamrock album features writing, instrumental, production and vocal credits from brother Stephen. As Jr Gong himself pointed out at the Kingston album launch, "Is not just me that make the album. We're taking the baton from the elders who made rebel music."

John Legend expressed a wish to work with Damion 'Jr Gong' Marley.

And that reference to 'rebel music' is but one of several that cue his famous father. The album includes a cover of Bob's Pimpa's Paradise Move, which borrows from the aforementioned Exodus, and a separate song titled Confrontation (which opens the disc), echoing a late Bob Marley and the Wailers album title.

But far from being anchored to the past, Marley - as the Grammy committee recognised - has steadily moved the roots reggae into the present with his own personal sensibilities, as much informed by classic dancehall toasting from the likes of Eek-A-Mouse, Super Cat and the more up-to-the minute rhymes of Bounti Killa (Eek-A mouse and Bounti are featured on Khaki Suit).

This mix, and Marley's video-friendly visage no doubt helped propel the single and album beyond the relatively narrow commercial confines of reggae and into the wider R&B and even rock demographics, an achievement that was his late father's fondest musical wish. The confirmation - in the form of the Best Alternative/Urban Performance. Grammy should provide a springboard for the music as it seeks to conquer further ground, and the interest on the part of American R&B artistes is there. After his performance at the recent Air Jamaica Jazz and Blues Festival, newcomer John Legend expressed a desire to work with Jr Gong, and he returned to the stage to duet with Shaggy (a Grammy winner for Boombastic) on Dennis Brown's Revolution.

It is a little early to tell if the wins will boost the album's chart and commercial fortunes, but it should no doubt create higher expectations for the Rastafarian singer's next project and also place co-executive producer Stephen in even greater demand. It was Stephen who had executive produced the Chant Down Babylon project, which posthumously merged Bob Marley's vocals with several leading hip-hop and R&B figures on interpretations of some of his classics.

All told, the Grammy adds some welcome extra burnish to the Marley name. The public consciousness is still largely focused on Bob, but the younger generation are engineering a shift.

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