Julian Marley | |
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![]() Marley in 2018 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Julian Ricardo Marley |
Also known as | Ju Ju Royal |
Born | London, England | 4 June 1975
Genres | Roots reggae |
Occupation(s) |
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Years active | 1993–present |
Labels | Tuff Gong, Ghetto Youth International, Lightyear |
Website | julianmarley |
Julian Ricardo Marley (born 4 June 1975) is a British-Jamaican reggae musician, songwriter, producer and humanitarian. He is the son of reggae music icon Bob Marley, and Lucy Pounder. In 2024, he received a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album for his collaboration album with Antaeus, Colors of Royal (2023). [1]
Julian Marley was born in England. He was interested in music from an early age, having learned to play the keyboard, drums, bass and guitar. Along with his brothers Ziggy Marley and Stephen Marley, he became involved with Ghetto Youth International, a production company, in 1989. Marley released a solo album, Lion in the Morning, in 1996 and embarked on a world tour. He and his brother Damian Marley toured with the Lollapalooza festival in 1997. His second album, A Time and Place, was released in 2003. In 2008, the Jamaican government invited Marley and the Uprising band to represent Jamaica and perform at the Beijing Olympics. [2] His third album, Awake (released in 2009), was nominated for a prestigious Grammy Award in the Best Reggae Album category. In 2011, he participated in Mawazine festival that took place at Rabat, Morocco. In January 2013, he performed a reggae concert in Dhaka, Bangladesh. [3] In August 2013 he performed at the Fêtes de Genève in Geneva, Switzerland. [4]
Marley is the only one of Bob Marley's sons born in the UK. Marley was raised by his mother, Lucy Pounder, in England and was traveling frequently to Jamaica to visit his brothers. Growing up, he was surrounded by a musical atmosphere, which helped him quickly develop and adapt to the musical lifestyle. At an early age, he taught himself how to master the bass, drums, guitar, and keyboards. By the age of five, Marley had recorded his first demo at the Marley family home in Kingston, Jamaica. While growing up, Marley lived between England and Jamaica and eventually he found himself creating a home base in Miami, Florida where the family owned their own studio called The Lions Den. [5] Although Marley was a Jamaican at heart, he is said to credit his British upbringing as a major influence on his music. As Marley reflects: "I feel privileged to be part of the musical roots that my father, Bob Marley, laid in England. I look forward to relate the cultural gifts and musical creations that he has bestowed on me.” [6] In 1993, Marley moved to Jamaica to be closer to his brothers. By making that move, it inspired the Marley Brothers to form their own musical path. They created the group called the Ghetto Youths Crew which was formed by Julian, Stephen, Damian, and Kymani Marley. The project showed to be such a success that the brothers toured the United States for three years. Marley, also known as "Ju Ju" Marley will remain a spiritual soul with a musical visionary that he will embark on an international mission. Marley stated, "I do not plan the next step, I just continue on with Jah Works and somehow things will just come together naturally that way." [7]
In 1996, Marley released his debut album titled Lion in the Morning . That first album helped launch him into the public eye. The album was recorded at Tuff Gong Studios in Kingston, Jamaica. Marley created Lion in the Morning to reflect on his roots and heritage which he is very proud of. The album features a wide range of popular musicians from Owen "Dreddie" Reid, Earl Chinna Smith, Tyron Downie, Stephen Marley, Cedella Marley and Sharon Marley, among others. The record was followed by a successful international tour with The Uprising. Some of the tour stops from his tour were Jamaica’s Sumfest and Sunsplash Show, Marley Magic family performance at Central Park Summer Stage Concert Series in New York, and also territories like Brazil, Japan, and Mexico. Marley also got the opportunity to work with his brother Damian at the Lollapalooza Tour.
During these times he had in Jamaica, he studied a lot of legendary veterans that he looked up to like Aston "Family Man" Barrett, Earl "Wire" Lindo, Tyrone Downie, and Earl Smith all which inspired the song-bird. Marley wrote two un-released songs at this time called "Uprising" [8] and "What They Did Wrong" in response to the accident of his companion which is also the Wailers drummer, Carlton Barrett's, murder outside of his home in Jamaica. Subsequently, he formed a reggae band called The Uprising, which was inspired by his song, made up of young Jamaican musicians. The Uprising and Marleywould go on to open up for his brother Ziggy Marley and his band, The Melody Makers. He also got the chance to perform with the Wailers, which included Carlton Barrett's son who played the drums. Marley contributed to a vast range of musical elements on Lauryn Hill's album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill which became an award-winning album. They recorded the album on Tuff Gong Records in Jamaica while Marley played the guitar on some tracks. During 1999, Marley went back to the studio alongside his brothers Damian and Stephen and started to produce the platinum-selling remix album, Chant Down Babylon , which had various rock and hip-hop artists covering Bob Marley's and The Wailers songs.
Julian Marley received two Grammy award nominations.
Marley is a humanitarian and continues to build charitable missions and still contributes to the Ghetto Youths Foundation in the spirit of his father. He enjoys giving back to the youths in various communities whether it is playing with the children at the football fields in London or offering his free time with benefit concerts. In February 2010, Marley and his brother Kymani Marley produced a "Miami for Haiti" benefit show which raised money towards the Haitian relief efforts alongside the Ghetto Youths Foundation by their side.
Marley was 13 years old when he travelled to Israel in 1988. Marley views himself as a very religious man who follows the faiths of Rastafari and Christianity. He was in the country to perform and he states, "it was spiritually uplifting" to be able to see where Christ came from. Many of the Marley family have visited Jerusalem before but this was the first time Marley was invited to perform at the Barby Club in Tel Aviv during his global tour. [9] Marley had no problems at all performing in Israel because he wanted to tackle issues in a different way while during that time there were many boycotts in the country. He states, "It's great to travel all around the world because there is no place that the message of love is not needed." [10] Marley believes and expressed good vibes and intentions. He is always speaking of spreading the message of love through his music. [11] Marley believes the importance to travel the world and spreading love through his religion. While he travelled through Europe, he used his music to be an antidote to some of the hatred and terrorism that has occurred there. [12]
Marley and his brothers officially incorporated Ghetto Youths International Inc. in 2002. The label allowed all the brothers to work closely with each other on musical collaborations. This also allowed them to produce and release various works featuring many artists to include their own material for the Ghetto Youths imprint. It successfully carried on the Marley tradition, which lets music communicate to a global audience. [13] The following year, Marley got the opportunity to unite and perform with all his brothers at the Roots Rock Reggae Festival in the United States. Along with the Marley family they also went to perform at the "Africa Unite" in Ethiopia in 2005, in Ghana in 2006, and Jamaica in 2008. With the invitation of the Jamaican government, The Uprising and Julian Marley performed at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China and celebrated with Usain Bolt, a Gold medal-winner runner from Jamaica.
His fourth album, As I Am, was released on 25 January 2019, [14] and received a nomination for a Grammy Award in the Best Reggae Album category. [15] In 2022, he and Hasidic Hip Hop Artist, Moshe Reuven, released the song 'Say' [16] which was critically acclaimed having been highlighted by places such as, Rolling Stone. [17] [18] [19]
Julian Marley followed in his father's footsteps and is a devout Rastafarian who uses his music to inspire his life and spirituality. Marley had a daughter, born in 2007, who died in 2019 as a result of a brain tumour. [15] He shares his birthday with his nephew Skip Marley.
David Nesta "Ziggy" Marley is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is the son of reggae icon Bob Marley and Rita Marley. He led the family band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers until 2002, with whom he released eight studio albums. After the disbandment, Ziggy launched a successful solo career by having released eight solo studio albums on his own record company, Tuff Gong Worldwide. Ziggy continues his father’s heritage to record and self-release all of his music. Marley is an eight-time Grammy Award winner and a Daytime Emmy Award recipient.
Catch a Fire is the fifth studio album by the reggae band The Wailers, released in April 1973. It was their first album released by Island Records. After finishing a UK tour with Johnny Nash, they had started laying down tracks for JAD Records when a disputed CBS contract with Danny Sims created tensions. The band did not have enough money to return to Jamaica, so their road manager Brent Clarke approached producer Chris Blackwell, who agreed to advance The Wailers money for an album. They instead used this money to pay their fares back home, where they completed the recordings that constitute Catch a Fire. The album has nine songs, two of which were written and composed by Peter Tosh; the remaining seven were by Bob Marley. While Bunny Wailer is not credited as a writer, the group's writing style was a collective process. For the immediate follow-up album, Burnin', also released in 1973, he contributed four songs. After Marley returned with the tapes to London, Blackwell reworked the tracks at Island Studios, with contributions by Muscle Shoals session musician Wayne Perkins, who played guitar on three overdubbed tracks. The album had a limited original release under the name The Wailers in a sleeve depicting a Zippo lighter, designed by graphic artists Rod Dyer and Bob Weiner; subsequent releases had an alternative cover designed by John Bonis, featuring an Esther Anderson portrait of Marley smoking a "spliff", and crediting the band as Bob Marley and the Wailers.
The Maytals, known from 1972 to 2020 as Toots and the Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group, one of the best known ska and rocksteady vocal groups. The Maytals were formed in the early 1960s and were key figures in popularizing reggae music.
Bob Marley and the Wailers were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer.
Stephen Robert Nesta Marley is a Jamaican-American musician. The son of Bob Marley, Marley is an eight-time Grammy Award winner, three times as a solo artist, twice as a producer of younger brother Damian Marley's Halfway Tree and Welcome to Jamrock albums, and a further three times as a member of his older brother Ziggy Marley's group Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers.
Damian Robert Nesta "Jr. Gong" Marley is a Jamaican DJ, singer, lyricist and rapper. He is the recipient of four Grammy Awards.
"Redemption Song" is a song by Jamaican singer Bob Marley. It is the final track on Bob Marley and the Wailers' twelfth album, Uprising, produced by Chris Blackwell and released by Island Records. The song is considered one of Marley's greatest works. Some key lyrics derived from a speech given by the Pan-Africanist orator Marcus Garvey titled "The Work That Has Been Done", which Marley publicly recited as early as July 1979 during his appearance at the Amandla Festival.
Joseph Benjamin Higgs was a reggae musician from Jamaica. In the late 1950s and 1960s he was part of the duo Higgs and Wilson together with Roy Wilson. He was a popular artist in Jamaica for four decades and is also known for his work tutoring younger musicians including Bob Marley and the Wailers and Jimmy Cliff.
Ky-Mani Marley is a Jamaican reggae musician. In 2001, he received a Grammy nomination for his album Many More Roads. He is the only child of reggae musician Bob Marley with Anita Belnavis, a Jamaican table tennis champion.
Sidilla Editha "Cedella" Booker was a Jamaican singer and writer. She was the mother of reggae musician Bob Marley.
Earl Wilberforce "Wire" Lindo, sometimes referred to as Wya, was a Jamaican reggae musician. He was a member of Bob Marley and the Wailers and collaborated with numerous reggae artists including Burning Spear.
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers were a Jamaican-American reggae family group whose line-up consisted of the children of musicians, Bob Marley and Rita Marley, which includes lead singer Ziggy Marley with Sharon Marley, Cedella Marley, and Stephen Marley. Formed in 1979 in Brooklyn, New York, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers members began their musical endeavours in their pre-teens under the name the Melody Makers.
"One Love" is a ska song by Bob Marley's original group The Wailers from their 1965 debut studio album The Wailing Wailers. It was rerecorded as part of the 1970 medley "All in One", which contained reggae reworkings of their early ska songs. This was released as a single and is also included on the compilation African Herbsman under the name "All in One".
Robert Nesta Marley was a Jamaican reggae singer, guitarist, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of the genre, his music fused elements of reggae, ska, and rocksteady, and he was renowned for his distinctive vocal and songwriting style. Marley's contribution to music irrefutably increased the visibility of Jamaican music worldwide, and made him a global figure in popular culture. Over the course of his career, Marley became known as a Rastafarian icon, and he infused his music with a sense of spirituality. He is also considered a global symbol of Jamaican music and culture and identity, and was controversial in his outspoken support for democratic social reforms. He also supported legalisation of cannabis, and advocated for Pan-Africanism. In 1976, Marley survived an assassination attempt in his home, which was thought to be politically motivated.
Andrew Tosh is a Jamaican reggae singer and the son of Peter Tosh. He is the nephew of reggae singer Bunny Wailer, also an original member of the Wailers. Andrew has a strong vocal resemblance to his late father and like his father, rides the unicycle.
Neville O'Riley Livingston, known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he is considered one of the longtime standard-bearers of reggae music. He was also known as Jah B, Bunny O'Riley, and Bunny Livingston.
Winston Hubert McIntosh, OM, professionally known as Peter Tosh, was a Jamaican reggae musician. Along with Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, he was one of the core members of the band the Wailers (1963–1976), after which he established himself as a successful solo artist and a promoter of Rastafari. He was murdered in 1987 during a home invasion.
Welcome to Jamrock is the third studio album by Jamaican reggae/dancehall artist Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley. The album was released on September 12, 2005, in the United Kingdom, and one day later in the United States.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Bob Marley:
Aston Barrett Jr. is a Jamaican multi-instrumentalist and producer. He is the drummer and leader of the band The Wailers since 2016.