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.
Big congratulations to the Marley brothers Ziggy and Stephen who each won a Grammy at tonight's award show- Ziggy for Best Children's Album and Stephen for Best Reggae Album!
Marley Brothers (L-R) Ky-Mani, Julian, Ziggy, Damian and Stephen.
Photo source
This is the fourth time in the last five years that a Marley has won the award. Last year there were no Marleys nominated and Burning Spear won the Best Reggae nod.
Interestingly, their father Bob has never won a Grammy. In 2001 he got a lifetime achievement award and this year, his 1973 album "Catch a Fire," was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Ghetto Youth’s International, organizers of the annual Bob Marley concert Smile Jamaica, have announced that the 2010 staging of the celebration of the King of Reggae’s birth would have to be called off, due to numerous circumstances.
Smile Jamaica spokesperson Norman Bryan, said yesterday that while the organisation was looking forward to staging the concert after “there are some extenuating circumstances that just cannot be ignored, and there’s no way we could proceed with the concert bearing them in mind.”
He added that the Marley family will still be celebrating Bob’s birthday and honouring his legacy in private.
Bryan also said that the Ghetto Youth’s International would be redoubling its efforts to make a 2011 staging possible.
“Ghetto Youths International will continue spreading the message of the Hon. Robert Nesta Marley, and we will be definitely putting our heads together to make 2011 the year Smile Jamaica returns from its hiatus.”
Smile Jamaica saw its historic birth in December of 1976, when it was held at the National Heroes Park in Kingston. The event took place a mere two days after gunmen almost ended Bob Marley’s life, and he was recuperating in the Blue Mountains. It was there that Marley magic reigned supreme yet again, as an injured Bob agreed to perform one song for the 80,000-strong throng of patrons. That one song turned into a magical 90 minute performance with Marley and the Wailers.
Big up to People Productions for conceptualizing and putting togther these two shows, which I am sure will be awesome!
Snoop, born Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr., has reportedly been `laying down several tracks with members of the Marley family in his home studio in L.A. and is really intent on releasing an all reggae album,` according to 24hourhiphop.com.
And Snoop Dogg, Slightly Stoopid and Stephen Marley are teaming up for this summer`s Blazed and Confused tour.
The month-long trek will kick off on July 10 in Primm, Nevada, and head across the country to Denver, Portland, Salt Lake City and Atlanta before wrapping in Boston on August 8.
`The tour will attract all of the people who love to blaze and shed light on the confused,` Marley told Billboard.com recently. `Think a Lollapalooza kind of vibe. You get a whole kind of people that are on the same plane -- that`s what it`s about.`
`Snoop has always had respect for our culture and our father and the family,` says Marley. `And likewise, in those days when it was mostly gangster rap, he was all about the chronic` - slang for marijuana -- `which to us was a good way of taking it away from shooting guns. Snoop was one of the rappers that we would listen to because he was promoting herb.`
Pre-sale tickets for Blazed and Confused start at $20 and are available at slightlystoopid.frontgatetickets.com.
The 16th Annual Bob Marley Movement of Jah People Caribbean Festival presented by 103.5 The Beat and Rum Bum,takes place at Bayfront Park in Miami on Saturday Feb. 28th. The festival will this year honor Cedella Marley Booker Marley's Mother. She passed away last year.
Scheduled to take part are: Stephen “Ragga” Marley * Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley * Julian Marley * Ky-mani Marley *
With Performances By:
Buju Banton * Capleton * Sizzla * Collie Buddz * Tessanne* Jahfe * Jean P Jam * Finley Quaye and more!
Hosted by Princess and Lance’O
DJ Sounds by Gully Bank, and Jah Stream
To date, the Bob Marley Movement of Jah People has collected more than two million cans of food for distribution to the less fortunate. This year, the non-profit group Farm Share will collect the cans from the festival and distribute them to those in need.
Bayfront Park
301 Biscayne Blvd.
Downtown Miami, FL
Saturday, February 28th, 2009
Gates Open at 1PM
Plus four (4) cans of food or equivalent monetary donation (brought to the festival)
Concert Hotline: (305) 740-7344
Scheduled for a March 10th release, Re:Generation features a technology-inspired collaboration between Grammy winners Stephen and Damian Marley and American Jazz icon Nat King Cole.
The album, which has Coles daughter Natalie as executive producer,is scheduled for a March 10th release. The hopes are that it will introduce a whole new generation of listeners to his music.
Distributed by Capitol/EMI, the album will feature artistes from various genres.
Damiean "Jr Gong" Marley
In addition to the Marleys, who cover Calypso Blues, the line-up includes American neo-soul sensation, Amp Fiddler, rap superstar Nas, hip-hop singers Cee-Lo and will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, as well as Latin jazz superstar Bebel Gilberto.
By the way, this use of digital technology is not entirely new to the Marleys. Remember the 1999 album Chant Down Babylon with 12 remixed Bob Marley songs featuring R&B( Erykah Badu), Hip-hop (:Lauryn Hill, Busta Rhymes) and even rock artists (Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith)?
Nat King Cole
Nat King Cole did have a previous digital album: Unforgettable which featured the remixed duet between Cole and his daughter Natalie.
The album sold seven million copies in the
Cancer deaths
Both Bob Marley and Nat King Cole succumbed to cancer at the height of their popularity.
Marley died in May 11, 1981 of melanoma as a result of an injury to his right big toe, sustained while playing football. He was 36.
Cole died of lung cancer on February 15, 1965 at age 45. It was rumoured that he was a chain smoker who consumed up to three packs of cigarettes per day, as he believed it gave him his soothing sound.
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
....his new album that is ..oooh get yo mind out the gutter!
Mind Control Acoustic is an acoustic version of his Grammy Award-winning album Mind Control. It features 8 songs from the original album and a bonus track in "The Mission" feat. his brother Damian "Junior Gong" Marley.
The album has been getting rave reviews. Go to www.myspace.com/stephenmarley to listen to snippets from the album.
photo source
Preview all the songs at amazon.com!and at Itunes.com
Track listing
1) Chase Dem, featuring Capleton
2) Iron Bars, featuring Julian Marley and Spragga Benz
3) Lonely Avenue
4) Mind Control
5) You're Gonna Leave
6) The
7) The Traffic Jam, featuring Damian 'Junior Gong' Marley
8) Fed Up
