It would be unfair to address any
work on the Marley’s without acknowledging the history and mystery of
Rastafarianism. It originated in the heart of Africa, in the land of Ethiopia.
Here came about the religion that redefined the outlook and approach of how
life would be lived in Christian Africa and the West Indies. Through this came
about an indigenous expression of worship and energy called the Reggae music
movement. It was entrenched into the Rastafarian culture and the way the people
saw life.
It was true in every way to what
the culture represents. Embodying the spirit of freedom, reflection,
forgiveness, mercy and peace. A whole lot of the percussive rhythm in reggae
comes from West Indian folk music meshed with popular American genres of the
60’s – Jazz and R&B.
The world got introduced to music
magicians like Baju Bantu, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and the one, Bob Marley. A
movement had begun and the world was listening. These players and singers
brought about emotions that were unheard of in music till date. Something that serenaded
the soul and comforted the ears. Never was angst and passion delivered in such
a mellifluous and, to be honest, relaxing way.
Lyrics, for the first time,
evinced basal emotions of mankind without the element of sour taste sadness.
Yet the genre was not limited to just one expressing relaxed and breezy beats,
it held essence of peace and freedom; creating in those that heard it, a mighty
fervour to reach out and grab hold of it.
So here’s where I come in with Bob...Bob
Marley popularized this genre like no other. He left a legacy in music that
will, in all certainty, will be unscalable till kingdom come. With songs like
Three little birds, No woman No Cry, Exodus, Sun is shining etc he sold to the
world a new message. It just said; be at ease wherever you are and whatever you’re
in the middle of.
He had 8 children in his short
and solid lifetime. He had without a doubt created little images of himself,
not just physically, but also musically. His children Damian, Ziggy, Stephen, Julian
and Ky-Mani worked their own rhythms into their learning’s of reggae. It
definitely is defining of how the genre is perceived today. Let’s look at each
of these talented folks a little briefly so as to soak in the cool they create:
Damian Marley:
Affectionately called ‘Junior
gong’ because he represents his father’s style so much in the early days. He
has undoubtedly been the more successful commercially of the lot. With major
mainstream hits like Welcome to Jamrock and
the Distant relatives album with Nas.
His style is one of throwing Jamaican Patois (English-African Creole spoken in
the West Indies) drenched lyrics. His music definitely gives reggae that punch
each time it shoots out of a speaker. Songs like Strong will continue and
Jamrock are testimony to the same. Damian is indeed the ‘punk’ element in the
reggae world today.
Ziggy Marley:
Ziggy was the first to make the musical
break He and the Melody makers, that included his brother Stephen were
important in forging reggae into the 90’s media, ensuring the genre stays alive
and young. Breathing life into the Bob Marley legacy, Ziggy gave several
classic reggae hits in his own respect like : Love is my religion, Tommorows people, Power to move ya. Here’s a
great number called Look who’s dancing.
Stephen Marley:
Here’s the soul master of the
lot. Stephen has never been about the cool appeal that reggae is smothered
with. He wears the colours with a message to deliver, giving voice to greater
lyrical themes. To savour the best of Stephen give these a shot: Made in
Africa, No Cigarette Smoking, Jah Army, Mind Control, Inna Di Red, Chase dem. You
can almost smell the faded tall grass below the setting sun as the lions walk
past the landscape on the bosoms of Africa
Julian Marley:
There’s not much known about
Julian other than that he was raised in England, separate from the Marley clan.
HE dropped 3 great albums from the 90’s till now, with Awake being the most defining of them all. Julian is the most
casual of the mentioned brothers in the post musically. His approach harks back
to storytelling and laid-backness of unkempt reggae. One listen to Boom Draw
and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. Great songs from the Awake album include: A little too late, Rosehall, Violence in the
streets, Just in time. (PS: Google him, I think he looks a lot like John Turturro to me some how o_o)
Ky-Mani Marley:
Now this one is a definite
outlier, who has broken relatively free from complete immersion into
reggae-dom. Ky-Mani’s music currently defined as hip hop embellished reggae, a
little more skewed to hip hop either ways. His best two works include the
albums- Many More Roads and Radio. With Radio, we clearly see the shifting style of Ky-Mani to the realm of
Hip hop, exploring beats of the streets into reggae delivery. The result was a
great album that confuses purists and delights savor-ist. His commendable
singles include: Heart of a lion, Hailie I, Ska-Ba-Dar, The March, Hustler, I’m
Back.
The point of this post? Like the
other genres I’ve spoken about in Musical Breakdown, I honestly feel that
reggae is drastically under-recognized by today’s music world. I ran into the
style two years ago and doubtlessly, it changed as well as added a lot of
angles through which I appreciated music.
I was wondering since long as to
how to honour the reggae genre and its artists. I couldn’t decide on whether to
keep it separate or mesh the two for the longest time. Finally, I realized I
couldn’t just leave a genre and it masters different in this case, as it’s a
more specific post. Marley’s have been the greatest influence on reggae. Here
to the blood and brothers that defines the genre for me today.
(Dubstep infused reggae, a new angle to the genre indeed)
I feel that the Marley’s are
closest to what one must start listening to in order to savour this delightful genre
in the 2010’s. It deserves your earnest attention, press play once and you’ll
be taken by rivers of red, yellow and green, into a world of music you haven’t seen
ever before. It yearns for Jah and calls for heaven in every other lore its
masters write.
Reggae has a philosophy, you
know? It's not just entertainment. There's an idea behind it, a way of life
behind the music, which is a positive way of life, which is a progressive way
of life for better people
– Ziggy Marley
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