Five-time Grammy winning artist and reggae icon Ziggy Marley, motivated by the historic occurrence of the World Cup being played in Africa for the first time, took the opportunity to write his current single "Africa Land". The song is an anthem to unity, freedom and new beginnings; well known principles championed by the legendary Marley family. Africa Land falls on the heels of Marley's 2009 Grammy-winning Children's album, Family Time.
For this song, Marley recruited Grammy winning artists, brother Stephen Marley and African mega star Angelique Kidjo. Together they created a catchy, danceable song, which incorporates Dancehall Reggae, as well as African elements. Free Downloads will be available beginning June 7 at www.ziggymarley.com and www.tuffgongworldwide.com.
“The bible says ‘the first shall be last and the last shall be first.’ How fitting that South Africa – the last nation on the homeland to be free – is the launch pad for a global event that will showcase the rise of the African continent,” said Ziggy Marley. “Africa Land is the song which celebrates that dream becoming true.”
Marley plans to release "Africa Land" as an exclusive to African radio, to be followed worldwide as a free download shortly thereafter. Africa Land will be the first single from an upcoming collection of free singles entitled The Wild and Free Singles Marley is to release later this year.
Ziggy Marley's early immersion in music came at age ten when he sat in on recording sessions with his father. Then, as front man to Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers, Marley released eight best-selling albums, generating three Grammys, with such chart-topping hits as Tomorrow People and Tumbling Down. Marley's solo debut, Dragonfly, was released in 2003. His second solo release, Love Is My Religion, won a Grammy for Best Reggae Album to much critical acclaim in 2006. His third solo release, Family Time, scored him a Grammy in a new category: Best Musical Album For Children.
Source: Headline Entertainment
“Dear Dad: Where’s the family in our family, today?”-the story the Marley family apparently doesn't want you to know."is a semi-autobiographical book about Ky-Mani Marley's life released on Amazon.com earlier this week. I say semi as he had help from an outside source, and also because it seems their is bad blood between him and the co-writer Dr. Farrah Gray. I remember when I interviewed Ky-Mani for Caribbean Maco, he spoke of growing up in the ghetto in Florida. Life was not glitz and glamour, he did not even want to sing-at first anyways.
Well like I said the book is out, but he is not happy about what's inside. I think maybe it's a case of Ky-Mani just pouring out his heart (what some people may see as airing out his dirty laundry) and now he doesn't want the rest of the world to see. Maybe some of the information is damaging to his siblings, with whom he has a good relationship now. He issued the following statement about the issue:
I’ve done many things that I am not proud of. I have turned what was largely a destructive lifestyle and turned it into a constructive one. I chose to share my story with the hope that many may be moved to something more positive by the end of the book.
I partnered with a gentleman, Dr Farrah Gray, who I grew to have a great deal of respect for. My journey writing the book was initially very easy and I thought we had built a relationship of respect if nothing else.
During the final edit of the book, I spoke with my sister, Cedella, and I advised Dr Farrah Gray that some changes had to be made and until the changes were made, I was not willing to do any promotion for the book. I could NOT support and promote something that is not 100% mine and that I believe in. Dr Gray apparently thought that by turning something that was written from the heart into something seemingly malicious was going to benefit him in some way.
I did not mean to hurt anyone... The book was only to tell my story, as I know it... What I was led to believe while growing up. The book was not an attack on my family! I love my brothers and sisters more than anyone can know.
I did not expect that Dr Gray would have been unprofessional and malicious in twisting my words or using things that were discussed in confidence to create controversy in an attempt to sell a book.
I did NOT authorize him to make any changes to the cover of my book nor do I condone any of the captions he has written!
At this point I do not know if the content of the book has been altered in any way due to the fact that I have not communicated with Dr Farrah Gray in over a month because he has neither accepted nor returned any of my phone calls.
Damn, son. It's kind of late to unwrite the book. Will let you guys know how this develops.
Congrats to the artists of Caribbean heritage who won big at the 52nd annual Grammy Awards on sunday Jan. 31st 2010.
Rihanna's collaboration with Jay-Z and Kanye West-"Run This Town- won her two Grammys: Best Rap/Sung Collaboration & Best Rap Song.
Here she is heading onstage accompanied by Jules son of Solange Knowles and nephew of Beyonce Knowles.
Maxwell won the Grammy for Best Male R&B Album for BLACKsummersnight and Best Male R&B Song for "Pretty Wings." Take a look at him accepting his award for "Pretty Wings."
Ziggy Marley's Grammy win for his Family Time album, which features noteworthy stars such as Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, and Toots Hibbert, marks his fifth such award.
Ziggy's younger brother Stephen Marley, won his seventh Grammy with his Mind Control-Acoustic. This album is a follow up to this 2007 album Mind Control.
Trinidadian Heather Headley won for Contemporary R&B gospel Album with Audience of One.
Has your child finished the coloring page that came with the album? Ziggy would like to see the results!
Please send him a picture of your child's coloring work!
We'd like to post it on our site gallery AND send special goodies to the winners!
To send to Ziggy:
- After your child has colored in the coloring page included with your album...
- Take a photo or scan of the work!
- Email it to us at colorforziggy@ziggymarley.com, along with your child's first name and age.
When, When, Win?
We will be accepting submissions through August 31st, and prizes will be sent along shortly after.
The Goodies!
When the contest is over, we will be sending special prizes to the winning entries! We will contact the parents of winners for mailing information.
Click HERE for more info like links to winning photos, privacy policy etc.
Ziggy Marley's entrance on the Billboard Reggae charts has caused some rearranging of other songs on the chart! Family Time (Tuff Gong) entered at the number one spot, replacing Easy All Stars, Easy Stars Lonely Hearts Band, sending it to the number two position formerly held by deejay Buju Banton, with his just-released Rasta Got Soul. Banton, who made his debut at number two, peaked in that position and now sits at number 3.
Marley's album also muscled its way onto the Billboard Top 200 chart, on which it made its debut at #149 and also secured the #20 slot on the Top Independent Albums chart.
As the name suggests, Family Time has the family as its central theme and was produced by Don Was. It features members of the Marley family including Rita, Cedella and his daughter Judah.
Heavyweights on Family Time include Paul Simon, Jack Johnson and Willie Nelson as well as actress Jamie Lee Curtis who narrates two stories.
Ziggy is quoted in an interview as saying the record "represents my daily family life and is inspired by my three-year-old daughter Judah and baby Gideon. It was a joy to make and opened up new avenues in my creativity."
Family Time was released on May 5 by Tuff Gong Worldwide.
The Top five artistes on the Billboard Reggae Album Chart are Ziggy Marley, Easy All Stars, Buju Banton, UB 40 and Mavado.
Ziggy Marley is catering to the kiddies, check out this article from Billboard.com:
Ziggy with wife Orly and their children three-year-old daughter Judah and baby Gideon,2 at the 1st Annual T.J. Martell Family Day held at The Los Angeles Zoo on March 29, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.
Photo source
Children's music is dominating Ziggy Marley's melody making these days -- both for himself and on behalf of his father, Bob Marley..
Marley is prepping for the May 5 release of "Family Time," an album of what he refers to as "family music" that includes originals as well as covers of Woody Guthrie's "This Train" and the Jamaican children's standard "Hold Em Joe," along with two spoken-word pieces by actress Jamie Lee Curtis. Other guests include Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Jack Johnson and Toots Hibbert along with his mother Rita Marley and sister Cedella Marley. His three-year-old daughter Judah, who Marley calls his "muse" on the album, appears on the title track.
He'll follow that with the June release of a set of Bob Marley song's, revised and remastered with a children's audience in mind.
"I never really thought about doing music for children before," Marley, who's donating proceeds from "Family Time" to the Chepstowe Basic School in Port Antonio, Jamaica, tells Billboard.com. "I kind of realized why I'm being led into this world of family/children's music is because we have to speak to the children now. The children have the open-mindedness. They're going to grow up and make the world a better place, so it's them we have to have some kind of discussion with.
"So this is what this record is about, really, is the beginning of a discussion with children and families to make the future a better place for...the 'world' family. But it starts with our own families."
Marley hopes to continue that dialogue with the Bob Marley album, for which he took the original masters of eight classic songs and revised the instrumentation and arrangements, even using some of his father's alternate vocal tracks."It's a very different vibe," says Ziggy, "but still real Bob. It's not like fake Bob. It's still the real Bob...It's Bob singing and I'm playing, like an acoustic session almost. Anything I did on this record is soulful and musical. There's no gimmicks. I'm keeping true to the spirit of my father, to the spirit of his music."
Marley, who left the sibling group the Melody makers to go solo in 2002, will be on the road this spring and summer with 311 but hopes to "double up" and play special children's and family shows during the course of the tour. He also predicts a reunion of the Melody makers in the near future, though he adds that "I'm not sure when or what yet.
Source
From Yahoo News!!!!
The Obama administration has invited 30,000 people to watch the Black Eyed Peas frontwoman, reggae star Ziggy Marley and children's favorites SteveSongs and Imagination Movers perform Monday on a new stage facing the White House. Chefs Art Smith, Spike Mendelsohn and Jose Andres plan to show guests how to cook healthful foods. And Education Secretary Arne Duncan will join actors James Cromwell and Josh Duhamel to read to the kids.
It's certain to be a busy day at the White House, with as many as 10,000 more guests than usual attending the Egg Roll. Visitors from 45 states got tickets by logging onto the White House's Web site. The White House planned to broadcast the events from the South Lawn through the Internet.
Also on hand to read to students: soccer stars Julie Foudy, Devon McTavish and Ben Olsen; basketball players Renee Brown and Dawn Staley; and football players Derrick Dockery and Shaun Suisham.
Basketball players Marissa Coleman, Nikki Blue, Etan Thomas and Swin Cash will play with students; soccer players Brianna Scurry and Abby Wambach also plan to lead games.
The DC Youth Orchestra, Greenbelt SITY Stars and other local student groups are also scheduled to perform
Sounds like a treat!
Stephen Marley was to join his brother Ziggy and fellow Jamaican Shaggy at the Rotorua Raggamuffin Festival in New Zealand on Feb. 7th. According to the shows official site, due to a leg injury he will no longer perform. Fans can look forward to performances from the other acts:Eddy Grant, Ali Campbell of UB40 fame, Arrested Development, Inner Circle, Kora,Unity Pacific, Three Houses Down
Tuff Gong Worldwide will drop a compilation set entitled Ziggy Marley in Jamaica on July 16th. The disc will feature 16 of the Grammy-winning singer's favourite reggae songs including Mr Chatterbox, a song by The Wailers, produced by Bunny Lee. Legalize It, by Peter Tosh, another original member of The Wailers. You Can Get It If You Really Want by Jimmy Cliff, and Delroy Wilson's Better Must Come . Ziggy Marley also contributes one of his own songs Make Some Music
