www.pottstownmercury.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19880620&BRD=1674&PAG=461&dept_id=18041&rfi=6

By: Ed Condran, Special to The Mercury

 

It appeared to be just a matter of time until Stephen Marley recorded a solo album. Marley was just 6 years old when he first appeared on a record. He and his big brother, Ziggy, sang on the single "Children Playing on the Streets" 28 years ago.

 

The charismatic son of reggae legend Bob Marley could sing and was a captivating presence while playing guitar and handling backup vocal duties with Ziggy and the Melody Makers.

"People thought I would step out and make something during the '90s," Marley said. "But I had other things to do."

The production side fascinated Marley, who was tabbed as a remixer for the Fugees in 1996. Marley went on to produce Eve, Erykah Badu and Krayzie Bone.

"I got to be creative working on other people's music," Marley said. "That was a really good thing. I got no complaints."

Marley, 34, finally decided to make his initial album, "Mind Control." The disc dropped in 2007.

"It was the right time," Marley said. "I was moved to do it then. I'm in a solo frame of mind."

"Mind Control," which will be showcased tonight at the Theatre of Living Arts, won the Grammy for Best Reggae album.

"It's always good to win a Grammy," Marley said while calling from his Miami home.

Marley should know since he has won five for his production skills. "Awards are nice, but music is what it's all about," Marley said.

What makes Marley's reggae appealing is its diversity. There are pop, R&B and rock elements in his music.

"I like all kinds of music," Marley said. "I take it song by song. I don't like to repeat myself. I look at music like a basket of fruit. I have some oranges, cherries and grapes. There are different flavors there. It's my gift to the audience, just like prior (recording artists) made gifts for their audience."

One of the most effective tunes on the disc is a reggae cover of Ray Charles' "Lonely Avenue."

"I did that because I've been a big fan of Ray Charles since high school," Marley said. "It's me honoring him."

Fortunately, Marley figures he'll be in a solo frame of mind for quite some time. "I want to make another album," Marley said. "I don't know exactly what I'll do yet but I have been listening to Ella Fitzgerald a lot. I'm listening to her since I'm trying to get some soul."

Marley also tips his cap to his lionized father, who sired a brood with uncanny sonic skills.

"We owe so much to my father," Marley said. "He was such a vibes person. He was receptive to everything in music and I think we're like that too."

After making another solo album, Marley would like to make a disc with his family.

"I want to make a brothers album," Marley said. "We're all very close. Damian and Julian helped me with this album. It's always fun working with Ziggy. It would be good to get us all together and see what happens."

 

 

By Matt Friedman on August 9th, 2008

Before I get into the details of the show, I just want to say that if you have not checked out Stephen Marley live, you really are missing out on something special. Seriously, if you like reggae, if you claim to like Bob Marley (and most people do) and you haven't seen him or heard his album Mind Control, I'm not sure why.

Marley played a late show, meaning the doors opened at 11:00pm. For some reason, the TLA double-booked that night.  When I arrived at the TLA at about ten after, the line stretched down two blocks.

As I walked into the foyer, I heard the "hype man" say, "Steee-phen Mahr-lay!"  I was just in time to see the band start playing "Jammin'." The bouncy Caribbean vibes twisted into a jazzier piece, as the two Marley sisters/back-up singer girls danced out across the stage. The flag waver followed.  Finally, Marley appeared and the crowd gave huge applause to his chants of "eww-aye eww-aye-eee-aye!"

Stephen did not wait for the crowd to settle before kicking off "Chase Dem," a song off of last year's Mind Control. The band played an unusually funky version.  In fact, for part of the song, the guitar sounded like it had a wah wah effect. Marley's passion overwhelmed as the song reached its climax. He grasped his face, as he sang "get dem out, get dem out!"

The crowd was in for a treat with the next two songs, which were covers of Stephen's legendary father.  First up, was a surprise, "Duppy Conqueror," a timeless song, but not one of Bob's most famous. I thought that perhaps we might be treated to a slightly different selection of covers, rather than the usual options off of Legend.

A highlight of the evening was when Stephen kicked off not only one of his father's masterpieces, but what most would consider a landmark song, poem and piece of art in "Redemption Song." It quickly turned into an amazing sing-along.  It felt like we were all witnessing something special, a truly magical experience.  The last time through the famous chorus, after "won't you help me sing," Stephen held the mic out and let the crowd continue on its own. "These songs of freedom? It's all I ever have. Redemption songs."

Before joining back in for a final "redemption song" and a huge eruption, Marley took back over and made it a point to emphasize "emancipate yourself form mental slavery," repeating it twice.

The song flowed straight into the next one, "Mind Control." However, it was "Hey Baby," one of the standout tracks off of his album that impressed. I still find it amazing how Stephen handles Mos Def's part, as if it was his own. In fact, later in the night, Marley proved how talented he was and that he could handle Damian's parts as well.

Another highlight of the evening was "No Woman, No Cry." I could have sworn that it was Bob singing up on the stage. I don't think I've ever heard this live and it caught me a bit off guard when I heard the first notes.  It was such a surreal experience to hear one of my favorite present songs, followed by Bob's classic. If someone pinched me and I rolled over to see my wife in bed, I still would have been happy.

It was great to see Stephen having so much fun, teasing the dancer/backup singers during "Three Little Birds" and getting the crowd jumping into a climactic frenzy for "Buffalo Soldier," like it was a hyped up hip hop or punk show.  "Let Her Dance," surprised me. One of the backup singers' vocals at the beginning of the song were chilling, but as the song developed, her voice became stronger. By the time the song reached its apex, I think everyone in the venue had goose bumps.

Finally, the "Officer Jimmy (Interlude)" played, meaning it was time for "Traffic Jam" and "Jr. Gong."  However, Damian didn't come out as expected and the band kicked off "Iron Bars" instead.  It was a great rendition, but the crowd grew a little antsy in anticipation for the younger brother's toasting. Soon, the band did kick off "Traffic Jam," but there was still no sign of Damian. Stephen was left to handle both parts of the duet. Dam ran onto the stage later in the song laughing, as the crowd, raucous with excitement, sang along.

The next two songs were tracks off Damian's album Welcome to Jamrock, "All Night" and "Pimpa's Paradise." The latter was incredible. Damian asked everyone light up their lighters or cell phones and, as the brothers kicked off the song, stars shined off the back drop, lit off of a disco ball. This ambiance fit nicely with lines such as, "she rise and she fall like a star." Damian's verses were on point and his voice sounded flawless.

The brothers showcased their new song "The Mission," which is a track now featured on Stephen's MySpace page.  From here, they went straight into "Welcome to Jamrock," a song that everyone knew and everyone loves.  With that, I think most of us thought the show was over, but they still had a few more surprises.  In fact, the next song was "Could You Be Loved." However, it was an extended modern version of the song.  Stephen led for a good three or four minutes, but then Dam took over and he went off, toasting in rapid fire mode.  I believe that they had blended Bob's original with the "Jr. Gong" bonus track on Halfway Tree (I'm not sure the name of the song). Regardless, it was a fabulous rendition and a nice conclusion to the set.

The encore featured three Bob covers. The first, my personal favorite, was "Simmer Down" and featured Stephen doing an incredible rendition of a "young Bob" voice. Sometimes it is almost scary how good he sounds.  Next, was "One Love," kicked up a notch and modernized. Stephen sang, "Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel all…" He stopped and let a large pause hit the crowd, before continued with, "right!"  Heavy basslines grooving with light reggae laced over combined into a final chord.

Finally, it was time for the appropriately timed "Exodus." Stephen's young son Jeremiah took the stage for this one. This was another extended version that allowed Stephen to more or less sing the full version of the original, before Damian took over to do his rendition (bringing in his song "Move!" from Welcome to Jamrock.)

Overall, it was a great and long night. If I had any complaints, and there were not many, it was the same as last time I saw Stephen. With a 21 song set (by my count), I would expect to hear all of the best tracks off his album. Yet, he excluded one of my favorites in "You're Gonna Leave," one of the most beautiful songs from last year and probably one of the prettiest reggae/dub/whatever-you'd-classify-it-as that you'll ever hear.  They also did not perform "Road to Zion," my personal favorite Damian Marley song. This was actually the first track that I heard off "Welcome to Jamrock" and really turned me on to Damian's style.

I also have a major complaint against the TLA. Why double book? I thought I arrived with plenty of time (45 minutes) before the show was supposed to start. However, the line was so long that by the time I walked through the doors, Marley was on stage. In fact, the venue scheduled the show so late that they could not have a proper opener. Instead, I believe there was a DJ to hold the lucky few over until the show started. Next time, let the Marley's have the venue all to themselves—they can certainly hold it down.

Setlist:
01. Jamming
02. Chase Dem
03. Duppy Conqueror
04. Redemption Song
05. Mind Control
06. Hey Baby
07. No Woman, No Cry
08. Lonely Avenue
09. Three Little Birds
10. Buffalo Soldier
11. Let Her Dance
12. Iron Bars
13. Traffic Jam
14. All Night
15. Pimpa's Paradise
16. The Mission
17. Welcome to Jamrock
18. Could You Be Loved
Encore
19. Simmer Down
20. One Love
21. Exodus

 

By: Silvino Edward Diaz
Posted: 9/18/08

Sept. 23 marks the 28th anniversary of Bob Marley's final concert.

Played at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh in 1980, it's when the live recording of the song "Redemption Song" took place.

It's a distinctive highlight in his life. And considering it happened here in our Keystone State, it seems right to pay homage to the man also known as Tuff Gong - Nesta Robert Marley.

Marley is one of the most influential figures of contemporary Western culture. His "Exodus" album was named "Greatest Album of the 20th Century" by Time Magazine.

Some of his most celebrated records, "Get Up, Stand Up" and "No Woman No Cry," were inducted into the Recording Academy's Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and 2005, respectively. And the BBC named his song "One Love" the "Song of the Century."

"One Love" was also recently inducted into the Hall of Fame as a part of the '07 class.

But all accolades aside, he is hard to miss. Marley is an institution, a global brand. When you think reggae, you think Bob Marley.

That's probably due to the fact that Marley's face is plastered on T-shirts, shoes, books, hats, graffiti, skateboards and tourism commercials for the Caribbean.

Fortunately for anyone interested, there's a reality behind all those images, behind all those first impressions and behind those uncalculated guesses.

Beneath all that mess of mass production, there's a core laying at rest in a sort of positive vibration.

And that's the reason why we gather - the music. So let's talk about the music.

Here are four albums and a compilation that best represent Marley along all the stages of his illustrious career as a musician and philanthropist:

"Wailing Wailers" (1965)

This is the first album released by The Wailers - the first of their eight albums together. This is pre-Lee Perry and pre-dreadlock Marley; therefore, it's not signature Marley, - not bad, just different.

Also, if you haven't yet listened to Wailer and Peter Tosh sing alongside Marley, you'll enjoy this production. The arrangement of Wailer's high, Marley's lead and Tosh's low vocals feed each chorus a strong dose of harmony.

"One Love" also makes its debut in this album, though Marley would reinvent it numerous times during his career. Favorite tracks: "Simmer Down," "I'm Gonna Put It On."

"Catch a Fire" (1973)

Marley's Island Records debut, "Catch a Fire" was the Wailers' breakthrough international release.

However, this album, like much of Marley's work, still hosts a stirring political manifesto.

Songs like "Slave Driver" and "Concrete Jungle" continue to reinforce Marley's passion for social commentary.

This is just another testament to Marley's versatility.

Favorite tracks: "Kinky Reggae," "Midnight Ravers," "All Day All Night," "400 Years."

"Exodus" (1977)

In retrospect, Marley's songwriting is healthiest on "Exodus." Six of the 16 tracks included in "Legend" (his most successful compilation) are from this album.

Marley aimed for unconventional compositions; his records sound more like musical rituals foreshadowing Marley's forthcoming socio-political crossfire.

And that's why more of Marley's Rastafarian doctrine reveals itself here.

The title track, which runs for more than seven minutes, mostly on the chant "movement of Jah people," is a journey through the prophecies of the African exodus with a chorus so explosive, you'll think you're crossing the Red Sea with Marley by your side.

Favorite tracks: "Exodus," "Waiting in Vain," "Punky Reggae Party" (on Deluxe Edition).

"Confrontation" (1983)

This is the darkest of his albums. Its name and its cover - a portrait of Marley slaying a dragon - are indications of a militant Marley.

"Simmer Down," released in 1965, was a cry for peace to the "rude boys" of Jamaica's Trenchtown slums, while "Buffalo Soldier" and "Blackman Redemption" illustrate and challenge the nature of racial tensions worldwide.

And that sums up Marley at the end of his career - battered by a hungry illness and multiple assassination attempts, perhaps even a little belligerent, who knows?

It's great music still.

Favorite tracks: "Chant Down Babylon," "Blackman Redemption," "Rastaman Live Up!"

"Bob Marley and The Wailers: Trenchtown Rock"

(Anthology '69-'78)

While the compilation "Legend" is the most successful reggae album of all time, it is overplayed, and everyone knows it.

"Legend" may be Marley's magnum opus, but "Trenchtown Rock" is the compilation that captures Marley in his most rustic form.

Most of the album is early reggae - you could hear the rocksteady in the background - and its 51 tracks are all conceptual.

Plus, the album includes older versions of many well-known records like "Sun is Shining" and "Natural Mystic."

Favorite tracks: "Wisdom," "Mr. Chatterbox," "Mr. Brown," "Rainbow Country."

All reggae artists live - and will forever live - under Marley's shadow.

Many believe that it's because he seemingly invented the definitive reggae sound.

Even if you disagree with this statement, he is unquestionably the elder sensei.

Marley found a way to say the deepest of thoughts in the simplest of words; his lyrical compositions are brilliantly minimalistic.

Perhaps that's the meaning of true poetry - universality; simplicity; and, of course, beauty.

We should all get to know him a little better.

© Copyright 2008 The Villanovan

 

http://blog.wired.com/music/2008/08/burning-spear.html

By Eliot Van Buskirk  

 

Reggae artist Burning Spear (a.k.a. Winston Rodney) says his musical career started to take off when he ran into a young Bob Marley in a field in Jamaica. Marley told him to head over to the Studio One recording studio, and the rest is history.

"Bob was traveling with a donkey and all these various plants," explained Burning Spear in a statement. "Bob was young, dreadlocks just start to spring. I was asking Bob how I could get started and where could I go to get that start. He asked me if I know Studio One."

However, after experiencing firsthand the brutality of some recording contracts there, Burning Spear and his wife/manager Sonia Rodney learned the importance of hanging onto his copyrights. Now, the couple either owns or has acquired the entire Burning Spear back catalog with the exception of a few songs, for which EMI says it cannot find the contracts, according to a spokeswoman. They plan on getting those back as well.

"You cannot remain silent while people trample on your rights," wrote the the 63 year old musician on his MySpace page. " For year reggae artist have been going through hell. None 'as any respect for us. Records label continue to collect our publishing, and royalty without paying us, even when agreements are up. Then when I-man manufacture my own CDs and watch as this illegal distribution label start to control all what mines. I decided I would no longer be silent's."

Burning Spear's own label, Burning Music, released his latest album, Jah Is Real, on August 17 (Marcus Garvey's birthday).

 

 

K'NAAN

Like a lot of things that we Americans complain about, Minnesota winters aren't so bad in the view of Somalian hip-hop star K'Naan.

"I remember it being like 40-below or something crazy like that," the rapper and activist recalled of the nine months he spent in the Twin Cities a decade ago, a time he called "pretty monumental in shaping me."

"But winter is really a breeze when you think about those less fortunate than yourself," added K'Naan, who returns Monday to First Avenue for the closing night of the Twin Cities Pan African Festival. "We Somalians compare winter to other scenarios we could be stuck in."

Now based in Toronto -- when he's not recording with the Marleys in Jamaica or Mos Def in Los Angeles -- K'Naan has brought this kind of reality-check perspective to hip-hop.

This guy knows hardship. When he was 11 and living in the Mogadishu neighborhood Wardhiigleey ("River of Blood"), he saw two friends gunned down. At 13, his family fled Somalia on the last commercial flight out as civil war intensified in 1991.

Even now at age 30, with yet more unrest plaguing his homeland, he is haunted by the violence.

With all that in mind, it should have been no surprise when K'Naan mocked 50 Cent and other American thug rappers in "What's Hardcore?," a 2006 track with such lines as: "If I rhymed about home and got descriptive/ I'd make 50 Cent look like Limp Bizkit."

Asked about the controversial song in a phone interview two weeks ago from Los Angeles -- where he was finishing up his second album -- K'Naan did not back down.

"America has places like New Orleans with real struggles, and I respect those struggles," he said. "But I'm talking about Mogadishu. It's a different level.

"That song is me talking to rappers who glorify their 'hood like it's the end of the world. Somalians are happy if we even get to live in their 'hood. Their 'hood is our salvation."

K'Naan (last name: Warsame; his first name fittingly means "traveler") discovered hip-hop when his father moved to New York City to earn money as a cabdriver. He sent home a few rap albums for his son. The biggest was Eric B. & Rakim's 1987 classic "Paid in Full."

"Even though I didn't understand the language, just the fact that I was listening to foreign music gave me a place to dream," he recalled.

Minneapolis rapper M.anifest, himself an immigrant from Ghana, praised K'Naan as "the rare rapper who doesn't exploit -- or more accurately glorify -- his difficult past. His music and words mean a lot to me as an African because it has truth and dignity. And it's extremely funky."

The songs on K'Naan's 2006 debut, "The Dusty Foot Philosopher" -- which won a Juno Award (the Canadian Grammy) for best rap album -- preached peace and smarter reasoning. One of its most telling lines was, "I'd rather be gunned down than dumbed down."

K'Naan promises more of the same on "Troubadour," which he called "more expressive and musical" than "Dusty Foot." Due in September, the album's guests include Mos Def and Blur/Gorillaz singer Damon Albarn. Much of the album was made in Jamaica with Stephen and Damian Marley, with whom he toured last year.

"I used the B-3 Hammond organ that Bob Marley actually used on 'Exodus,'" he said excitedly.

Going back to Minne
The Marley tour was K'Naan's first time back in the Twin Cities, which has the United States' largest Somali immigrant population.

"I'd say I sketched out my first ideas of what I wanted to do musically when I lived there," he said, pointing to "Blues for the Horn" as a song he wrote in that era (1997-98).

At the time, his dreams of being a performer were mostly just fantasy. "I was in the scenario that most Somalian people are living in there, which is just kind of struggling it out," he said.

"In Minneapolis, when you see the Somalian community, it's clear the lack of representation in the media. That was the thing I most thought about when I was there. I saw something was missing, so I'd come home and write, which started me down this path."

After he wound up back in Toronto, where his family had settled, K'Naan had his big coming-out. He was invited to perform a spoken-word piece for 1999's United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Instead of focusing on life as a refugee, his piece sharply criticized the U.N.'s policies in Somalia.

"I thought, 'This is the end of my career,'" he recounted with a hard laugh. "I could've just been the good entertainer and everybody would have been happy, but I had to say something. How many kids who came from where I did, the streets of Mogadishu, would ever get that kind of chance?"

One of the biggest stars of African music, Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour, was part of the U.N. commission that year and was so impressed that he invited the 20-year-old to perform on his next album.

K'Naan has carried over his attitude from the U.N. commission into the mainstream hip-hop scene, via further support from the likes of Mos Def, the Roots and Nelly Furtado.

"I could say nothing about the Somalian experience and still live pretty well, make my money," he said. "But I have a true passion for my country and my people, and for justice. That's what keeps me from being quiet."

K'Naan said it's difficult to discuss Somalia's most recent bout of bloodshed (from different factions seeking control), but he did criticize American media for ignoring it. He also stated that he favors withdrawal of Ethiopian troops.

"Somalians are very divided on that issue," he said. "As an artist who wants to speak for all the people, it's hard to say anything or to take a side. Even my mother would like for me to not talk about it."

He paused, then added, "But, of course, I do."

 

 

 

Published: Sept. 1, 2008 at 7:46 PM

 

DEL MAR, Calif., Sept. 1 (UPI) -- An anti-drug activist told an agency overseeing a Del Mar, Calif., fairground she was appalled to see abundant marijuana smoking at a Ziggy Marley concert.

Lisa Silverman, 49, a drug prevention specialist, told the 22nd District Agricultural Association she saw widespread marijuana use during a concert by the reggae star at the Del Mar Fairgrounds in August, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Monday.

"There were very few attendees who were not smoking marijuana," Silverman said.

Board members promised to investigate the matter and one official said the body may consider avoiding music groups that tend to attract pot smokers to their concerts.

"The ball is in their court," Tim Fennell, the fairgrounds' general manager, said of concert attendees. "Don't jeopardize the music you like by doing something improper."

Kenny Weissberg, a veteran San Diego concert promoter, said reggae, hip-hop and classic rock groups tend to attract the most marijuana smokers. He said keeping marijuana away from outdoor venues might not be a realistic goal.

"If people want to get high, they will get high no matter what the regulations are," he said.

 

 

Ever since Kenny Chesney shot the video for "How Forever Feels" in the Virgin Islands 10 years ago, his career has been associated with beach culture, so it's appropriate that for his next video, "Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven," he bopped off to Jamaica.

Even more appropriately, he coaxed Bob Marley's former band, the Wailers, to take part in the shoot, Dial-Global reports.

"They were so generous with us in terms of their time and the stories they'd tell us," Kenny notes.

 

"We sat up one night on the beach, and they shared the whole history of the band, the struggles they had. I got to interview them for something we may do later. Those guys are a huge part of history, whether people realize it or not. The music they had a hand in creating is so universal. It doesn't matter where you go, you can hear the Wailers drifting out of some club or shop or car or boat, and they are so humble for everything they've been a part of."

A lot of the songs Kenny's been a part of are making marks in new ways. A couple of his hits from the "How Forever Feels" era — "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" and "You Had Me From Hello" — were certified gold ringtones by the Recording Industry Association of America last month.

One of his more recent songs, "Don't Blink," is featured on an upcoming compilation, NOW That's What I Call Country. Due Aug. 26, it also features hits by Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Julianne Hough, Jason Michael Carroll and Lady Antebellum.

 

 

www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20080721/news/news1.html

Seventeen-year-old Stefan Tulner of the Netherlands got the wish of his life - to visit Bob Marley's country. Stefan says Marley's music has kept him going in his fight against cancer.

Stefan was vacationing at the Starfish Resort in Trelawny, last week, with his father, Henli, and younger sister Evelin, courtesy of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, SuperClubs and the Jamaica Tourist Board.

Keeping hope alive
"His (Bob Marley's) songs kept me going, especially during my illness and the thrice-weekly visits for chemotherapy. I keep hope alive because of the music," Stefan told The Gleaner.

"Many of my friends are now listening to the music. They didn't at first like it, saying it was too slow, but have now caught on to the power and strength of the music," he added. Stefan says his favourite song is Trench Town Rock.

Another of the teenager's wishes was to be photographed between two palm trees while in Jamaica.

Dealing with the illness
Stefan's father, who radiates a love beyond his six-foot frame, said his son was diagnosed with the illness, "a kind of leukemia cancer", from 2005 and has been out of school for the last year because of it.

He noted that, while the cancer is curable, the family is also mindful of the other face of the illness.

Evelin, who speaks very little English, said that, at first, it was very difficult to accept her brother's illness.

"We were first approached by the Make-A-Wish Foundation two years ago and we were again asked this time. It is the company's policy to help as far as possible and it is always a joy to help people in difficult circumstances," stated Starfish Resort's sales, marketing and public relations manager, Angelia Tulloch.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation is an international body that attempts to grant wishes to terminally ill persons worldwide.

 

 

Bob Marley

 

"Music and herb go together. It's been a long time now I smoke herb from 1960s, when I first start singing." - Bob Marley

Kaya, the name of one of Bob Marley's reggae albums is a Jamaican word for cannabis, hemp, marijuana. The backcover of this album shows a picture of a burning joint (by Neville Garrick). The Japanese edition of Kaya was released with a different backcover, so rabid was the anti-marijuana paranoia there.

Bob Marley has always defended this often maligned herb. He equated condemnation of this natural herb with blasphemy. How could a plant created by God be made illegal by humans? "You mean they can tell God that it's not legal?" he once asked a Canadian journalist. If growing cannabis (marijuana) is to be a crime then by man's laws God who made all plants was a criminal too. Bob was not surprized that people who smoke the weed were persecuted by "Babylon", the ruling system, reminding people: "Them crucify Christ, remember?"

One of Marley's greatest hits, "I Shot the Sheriff" (which was made popular by Eric Clapton), describes the fate of a marijuana grower hunted by a fanatical law enforcement officer:

Sheriff John Brown always hate I,
for what, I never know.
Everytime I plant a seed,
he said, kill it before it grow.
He said, kill them before they grow.

Bob Marley was familiar with the issues. This first musical superstar from the Third World went to jail for marijuana, as did all three founding members of the Wailers. He smoked a lot of grass. Some people who know only about his untimely death and that he smoked marijuana would think that this might be evidence for the harmfulness of this plant.

Few people know that the cancer that lead to Marley's death was a brain tumor that started out on his foot. It was first noticed when a football (soccer) injury refused to heal. Bob was playing football for hours a day. Maybe we should ban soccer? ;-) For religious reasons Bob refused to have his toe amputated and the cancer spread to other parts of his body. It is amazing that at his young age he survived more than two years with his cancer. It might have been because of his strict diet, the unorthodox medical treatment he received by Dr. Issel in Bavaria, or it might have been the cancer reducing effects of THC, the main active substance in marijuana (see a US government study that showed fewer cancers in THC-treated animals).

Let me assure you that I don't think smoking 10 fat joints a day is particularly good for you, plus it's illegal. But whether someone uses marijuana moderatly (as most of its users do) or whether they use it more intensively, by far the greatest risk associated with it today is to do with the fact that it's illegal and not with any immediate harm from the drug itself.

When people are caught they go to jail, get kicked out school, lose their jobs, etc. not because the drug makes them do bad things to others (it doesn't) but because drugs laws that were drawn up many years ago by ill-informed and prejudiced politicians brand them as evil criminals, as bad as people who hurt or rob someone. An otherwise law-abiding person who hurts no one is considered as bad as a rapist in the eyes of the police and the courts only because he might grow or possess a natural plant that was grown legally for thousands of years. This doesn't make sense.

One in four Americans, one in five Germans and one in fifty Japanese is a criminal by virtue of having smoked cannabis. The law is not working and it is doing more damage than it can ever prevent. It should be changed.

When you ever find yourself in a position where the forces of reason and the forces of habit and convention collide you will find that reason usually loses out. Most people will hold arguments for maintaining the status quo up to a much lower standard of proof than they require of anyone challenging the status quo. A long time ago marijuana could be banned because most people thought the law would not hurt any of their friends. But now that the law has been around for many years and large numbers of people get hurt by its enforcement, it is still difficult to convince enough people that it was a mistake.

All the original reasons given for the ban have been exposed as lies. Nobody any longer belives that marijuana (cannabis) turns ordinary people into bloodthirsty lunatics. We know that most of its users do not move on to harder drugs. It is safer than many freely sold medicines and even some foods, let alone the legal drugs alcohol and tobacco that kill more people every week than all dangerous illegal drugs do in a whole year. We need a drug policy that's more than a list of banned substances and penalties. The only drugs policy that will work relies on information and compassion for our fellow human beings.

By popularizing reggae music and its marijuana-celebrating lyrics, Bob Marley has prompted many people to question what they have been told, to take a fresh look at the evidence. Bob used music to reach and teach, to spread the message of liberty. Whether you may come to the same conclusions as Bob did or not, have the courage to take a fresh look at beliefs that people take for granted. Read the information that's out there. Study the arguments. Be bold enough to judge for yourself.

Source: joewein.de
__________________
420 Magazine
Creating Cannabis Awareness Since 1993

 

 

The late Timothy White wrote this review of Marley's double live album from 1978, for Rolling Stone (issue 281), Dec. 28, 1978…

Jamaicans have a marvelously vivid word–blueswee–to describe those who are wily and hard to pin down: i.e., the Bob Marleys of the world. In native folklore, these qualities of cunning are personified by Anancy, a legendary figure whose name comes from the Twi anànse, meaning spider. The Anancy stories, derived from the Ashanti and brought to Jamaica in the 1600s on slave ships from the Gold Coast, are fables wherein the small, weak spider man befuddles and outwits a host of adversaries, among them Brer Monkey, Brer Tiger and even Brer Death. Relying on his guile (and a mystical faculty to alter his appearance at will), brave Brer Anancy illustrates the ability of the downtrodden to overcome the mighty–an inspirational bit of symbolism for the thralldom in slavery days.

Like the blueswee spider man, reggae, as played by Bob Marley and the Wailers, is both a wellspring of homespun adages and a canny cultural tool with great facility for adaptation and innovation. Tracing the Wailers' growth from the falsetto vocals and languid R&B/jazz-tinged shuffle of their seminal ska era in the early Sixties, on through the percolating soul of rock steady, the raw, late-Sixties stutter beat of reggae, to the rise of the dub-wise march cadences (dubs are sledgehammer rhythm tracks) popularly referred to as rockers and militant, the band's evolution is so dramatic that one realizes the music has never lingered in any stylistic camp for more than two years. In fact, the Wailers are the only group to have thrived during these many phases, producing reggae as desperate as the souls who fill Jamaica's troubled hills, savannas and ghetto streets. Still, it's surprising to find Marley, on the live Babylon by Bus, turning a new musical corner with an altogether buoyant sound that's religious in its life-affirming Rastafarian underpinnings and universal in its romantic longing.

For a multitude of Jamaicans, Bob Marley is Anancy incarnate, a sagacious shantytown hero whose concerts evince the fearsome ballet of a black widow spider and boast a musical artifice shrewd enough to sidestep Brer Death himself. Indeed, Marley narrowly escaped assassination in December 1976 while rehearsing for an outdoor Smile Jamaica festival in Kingston. But he went on as scheduled, opening the tense, nighttime program with "War," a 1968 speech by the late Haile Selassie that the singer had set to a loping tempo. At evening's end, Marley opened his shirt to show his bullet wounds and then parroted the two-pistoled fast draw of a frontier gunslinger, his dread-locked head thrown back in triumphant laughter.

That was a mythic Marley performance, the spindly singer/songwriter embodying the defiant rudeboys, righteous Rastamen and duppy (evil spirit) conquerors with which he peoples his most ominous compositions. As in the Smile Jamaica show, the highly charged rendition of "War" on Babylon by Bus (now paired with the contrasting "No More Trouble") no longer possesses any of the gloomy solemnity of the version unveiled on Rastaman Vibration (1976), Rather, its tone is one of humble admonishment, fired by an uplifting, rock-oriented fabric of hard guitar, rich organ swells and brisk percussion. It seems, for the time being, that Marley's terrifying brush with fate has helped him exorcise most of his personal demons and caused him to shift his thematic focus from mayhem and apocalypse to the many faces of love and the continuity of life.

Despite the sternness of the material, Rastaman Vibration was Bob Marley's first attempt at joining the immediacy of reggae's volatile social and religious commentary with the visceral release of a unique brand of rockin' soul. On succeeding Wailers albums (Exodus, Kaya), he eschewed the grim dictums of classics like "Concrete Jungle," "Burnin' and Lootin'," "No Woman, No Cry" and "Johnny Was" (in which a ghetto mother weeps for a son killed by a stray bullet) in favor of such songs of hope, affection and fulfillments as "Jamming," "Is This Love" and "Exodus." These last three are given especially joyous treatment on the new double set, Marley's most fully realized record since its polar opposite, 1974's chilling Natty Dread.

As a rule, most reggae programs (with the exception of Toots and the Maytals' untamed soul revue) have little of the hedonistic abandon of the standard rock & roll show, if only because the numbing authority of the former's drunken tick-tock beat instills a kind of mass hypnosis. Since the overwhelming majority of reggae's exponents are devout Rastas, the proceedings build with a reverent unhurriedness that combines the self-absorption of a backwoods Pentecostal service with the chantalong intensity of ritualistic Rastafarian Grounation meetings. The Wailers' previous in-concert LP, Live! (1975), documented this obsessive approach, the band making music so steadfastly angry that the listener was almost afraid to be in a room by himself with it.

A far happier version of "Lively Up Yourself" is the only Live! selection that appears on Babylon by Bus, where it becomes a dervish-like ode to earthy bliss. Of the current album's thirteen tracks, all but two were cut during Marley's June 1978 dates at the Pavillon in Paris. The exceptions, "Stir It Up" (from the London show that produced Live!) and "Rat Race" (recorded in 1976 in the Hammersmith Odeum), contain an air of exhilaration that would reemerge full-blown in the Paris performances.

From the raucous invocation of Selassie's divinity that kicks off "Positive Vibration" on side one to the unabashed good cheer of side four's wrap-up rendition of "Jamming," we hear a new side of Bob Marley–fanciful, lovelorn, vulnerable–that's as riveting as any of his sulfurous early tirades. After the preceding Kaya (until now, his only disc with a cover that shows him smiling), Marley took a lot of critical heat from those who felt that by crooning anthems to the spiritual and temporal raptures of Jah (God), ganja, brotherhood and womankind, he'd betrayed his "roots" rage. (As if anger were a more creditable emotion than joy!) From a technical standpoint, both Kaya and Babylon by Bus surpass any of the Wailers' previous efforts and demonstrate a degree of sophistication that was either unavailable or unattainable in the simple one- and four-track Kingston studios where the group did its real roots recording.

Mindful that ska, rock steady and reggae were once emulations of American R&B, soul and rock & roll, I can accept Marley's fascination with Seventies funk and rock idioms. Why shouldn't he and the Wailers continue to grow and expand?

Babylon by Bus offers a fine sampling of material from the group's Seventies repertoire, ranging from the wrathful "Rebel Music" and "Rat Race" to such sultty dance tunes as "Stir It Up." Yet each number is now infused with a sprightly clarity and tenderness that redoubles the emotional impact. Bob Marley's vocals are his most expressive–and least pompous–ever. It's thrilling and often deeply moving to hear the mutually exultant dialogue he establishes with his Parisian audience: a testament to the global appeal of his positive vision.

 

Jamaican guitarist Junior Marvin breaks new ground with spare, stinging leads, and his wisecracking interplay with Tyrone Downey's carnivalesque keyboards on "Lively Up Yourself" is a disarming delight. Even "Kinky Reggae," the haughty sexist cant on 1973's Catch a Fire, becomes a shade more palatable here because Marley's self-mocking singing and the I-Threes' coy backing refrain dismantle the song's macho malarkey.
And there's an improved arrangement of "Punky Reggae Party," an addlepated paean to the British New Wave released last year in Jamaica (and in England as an import) on Marley's Tuff Gong label. The original might well be the Wailers' worst single, eclipsing such memorable ska indiscretions as their cover versions of "A Teenager in Love," "What's New Pussycat?" "Hava Nagila" and a bizarre 1965 Christmas release called "Sound the Trumpet." Marley knows that the words to "Punky Reggae Party" are throwaways, but recognizes the tune's funky danceability. Working with the premier reggae rhythm section of Aston and Carlton Barrett (bass and drums, respectively), he cooks up a pogo sizzler.

Purists will observe–quite correctly–that the overall direction of Babylon by Bus is much too rock-oriented to be called reggae. But before they make disdainful comparisons between, say, ex-Wailer guitarist Peter Tosh's acclaimed "roots" reggae lead on Catch a Fire's "Concrete Jungle" and outsider Junior Marvin's spacious blues noodling on the new record, they should know that the guitar player on the earlier LP wasn't Tosh but an uncredited Wayne Perkins.

Babylon by Bus reverberates with an awesome faith in the power of love in all its difficult and rewarding forms. It's a statement that Bob Marley and the Wailers have been building up to for some time, and it explodes here with a humanity and an urgency as potent as any of the band's previous darker calls to arms. For sheer emotional impact, Marley's strongest song on Live! was a stark, accusatory "Them Belly Full (but We Hungry)," while the most affecting track on the current album is "Is This Love," whose jubilant message of ardor is every bit as stirring as that of its predecessor.

Bob Marley helped invent reggae and now, with stunning effectiveness, he's managed to reinvent it. After a long, uneven period of experimentation, the wily spider man has transcended the genre's limitations and, in the process, established himself as one of the most exciting rock innovators of the late Seventies. Let the word go forth: Babylon by Bus is a work of captivating originality, easily the most intelligent party album in years. And–I can't resist it–Ol' Blue Swee is back. 

 

 

Say Uncle(cityweekend.com.cn)

 

 

As the city's first (and only) Caribbean eatery, our expectations for Uncle Mike's were high.

Everything seems right on the surface: the chairs are green, alternating Bob Marley and Jamaican tourism posters line the walls, and smooth reggae rhythms play in the background.

 

It wouldn't be much of a Jamaican restaurant, though, without decent jerk chicken and thankfully theirs is tender, juicy and perfectly spiced.

The jerk can be ordered individually (20 yuan) or as a set meal (23 yuan) served with steamed vegetables, chicken soup and a delightful side of coconut-infused red beans and rice.

 

Uncle Mike's signature Jamaican patties, flakey samosa-like pastries filled with curried meat and / or vegetables (8-10 yuan) are also worth ordering.

 

The saffron flavored Reggae rice (5 yuan) and sweet potato chips (8 yuan) were less inspiring, but good enough to order as sides.

Their non-alcoholic ginger beer (7 yuan) is a popular choice, but is perhaps too strong for some palates.

 

 The location, in a Pudong mall's food court, is far from ideal, but the food is so outstanding and the prices are so conspicuously inexpensive that it would still be worth visiting at twice the distance.

Uncle Mike's Jamaican Patties Restaurant
Add: 2/F, 601 Zhangyang Lu
Tel: 021-5137-9848

 

 

 

-Reggae King Bob Marley was a musician known for his skills on the football pitch, did he start a trend or is there a correlation between Reggae Music and Football?

Fort de France, Martinique: Many people are surprised to hear Bob Marley was a fanatic soccer player and fan. That doesn't seem to fit their image of world's most legendary reggae star: The lazy reggae beats, the dreadlock Rastafari easy going attitude, the political activism. But Bob Marley simply loved kicking a ball, about every single day when on tour or in the recording studio. He also loved watching soccer on TV.

"I love music before I love football. If I love football first, maybe that a bit dangerous, because the football very violent. If a man tackle you hard, it brings feelings o' war!" – Bob Marley

But it isn't just in Jamaica that Reggae and Football go hand in hand. At the Digicel Caribbean Championships' Group E games in Martinique, French Dancehall / Reggae artistes Sael and Pleen Pyroman were seen participating in the tournament festivities.

A footballer since the age of eight, 30-year-old Sael is an exciting young singer from Martinique whose debut Sael & Friends has burst onto the international reggae scene with a splash that has sent out ripples like few other French-language reggae releases have done. Sael also played professionally for the Martinique league side Codst. Sael explains the correlation between Music and Football: "To sing you need to be in good physical condition. Football helps you free your mind and is a good way to express yourself, just like music."

Fellow French Dancehall artiste, 33-year-old Pleen Pyroman, played for the Martinique National youth team until the age of 16 and has been in the music business for 20 years. Pleen gives another reason Football helps him with his music: "Football is a way to release stress. You can take out your frustrations on the ball. After playing I feel relaxed and have a clear mind to work on my music."

Sael, who names Bob Marley, Garnet Silk and Jah Cure as his musical inspirations, has high hopes for Martinique for the Digicel Caribbean Championships: "Martinique will easily get to the second round. Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad are the only countries I feel may stop us from winning at the finals.

Pleen also commented on the tournament: "The Digicel Championships is a way of exchanging with other Caribbean people, just like music is. It gives us solidarity with our Caribbean neighbours."

So is there a correlation between Reggae Music and Football? Well just note: Bob Marley was buried with his guitar and a soccer ball.

For DCC match pictures and further information visit www.digicelfootball.com

 

 

Reggae music finds new support through sponsorship

Published 09.09.08  By Grant Britt

 

Take a jigger of reggae. Pour in a shot of Rastafari. Shake well. Stand back and wait for the explosion.

Rastas and reggae have been a volatile cocktail since the 1970s when Bob Marley, who didn't invent either, popularized both. Last year, up-and-coming reggae Rastaman Tarrus Riley added a new element to the mix -- cranberry juice. Riley was chosen by cranberry juice giant Ocean Spray in June to be the face of their campaign in Jamaica -- on the bottle, in print and on TV -- for the next two years.

"It's a health drink, it's positive and it represent what my music represents: the healthy lifestyle, refreshing, a good thing," Riley says by phone from New York City.

But this is not just about an artist endorsing a product. Beyond what it does for his own musical profile, the implications are huge, signifying the beginning of a new era for both Rastafarains and reggae.

"Once upon a time Rasta man in Jamaica ... had to go through great tribulation," Riley says. "Once upon a time Rasta couldn't be on TV, have to hide in the hills."

Riley is referring to the bloody battles that erupted in the early '60s when some Rastafarians, often persecuted for their pro-marijuana stance and their demands for an end to social and political injustice, forsook their nonviolent vows, engaging in shoot-outs with British troops in the slums of Kingston.

Even after Marley popularized the religion through his music, the sect was still often negatively portrayed as a bunch of anti-social, long-haired, dope-smoking dissidents. "So to see a Rasta man on the teeve advertise Ocean Spray, this big, bushy face is a big thing," says Riley, who sports long dreadlocks and a full beard.

Though Riley is relative newcomer the reggae charts, he's been in the business since he was 14, doing what he describes as "DJ-ing on the reggae rhythms." He was encouraged by his father Jimmy, who had hits as a member of the Sensations and the Uniques in the '60s and solo hits in the '70s and '80s with covers of Curtis Mayfield's "My Woman's Love," Hall and Oates' "Everytime You go Away," as well as his own composition, "Love & Devotion."

Tarrus' debut, Challenges, was well-received, but his sophomore effort, 2006's Parables, made him a star with his original song, "She's Royal," which spent three weeks topping Jamaica's charts, winning Best Reggae song at Jamaica's 2007 Reggae Music Academy Awards.

Sounding like a young Jimmy Cliff ("I never sing like trying to imitate anyone, but Jimmy Cliff is definitely a big influence," he says), Riley extols the virtues of his Nubian queen: "What a natural beauty/ No need no makeup to be a cutie/ She's a queen, So supreme/ She's royal/ And, I want her in my life." Riley says he wrote the song because he feels some women lack self esteem from conditioning during slavery. "It's music for everyone, and it's music to make people feel good driving in their car or when you're with your special someone," the singer says.

He also had a hit covering John Legend's "Stay with You." "Could almost never get me to sing another's song cause me write so much music, but I try it and it work," Riley says. "We made that song popular in a lot of places."

Reggae seems to be making a comeback, edging out dancehall as Jamaica's favorite export once again. "In America right now, one of the biggest songs is a reggae song," Riley affirms. "There's an artist called Jazmine Sullivan ["Need U Bad"] and she work with Missy Elliot on reggae song, so reggae's definitely a hot topic again."

Riley's already at work on a third album he'll start recording after his current tour. But before he delivers his next recorded product, he has a message he wants to get out to his fans.

"Let them know I'm really thankful of the support I get because there are so many singers in the world and so many people doing music, but it's a mission for me and I don't take it for granted, understand me? I'm very appreciative of the love," the singer says. "We're just making music for people, mon, it's all good."

 

 

There is an expose of sorts on Lauryn Hill in the most recent issue of People magazine. Lauryn refused to comment to them, but there are quotes from others who know or knew her at some point in time. The article starts off talking about how she lives in suburban New Jersey with her five children.

Former Fugees group member Pras Michel, is still stuck on Lauryn asking people to call her Miss Hill. He says, "When she said, 'it's Ms. Hill,' I said Excuse me? She also told me she was gonna have people call her "empress."

Wyclef complained that when the Fugees reunited for a brief tour in 2005 he'd be onstage for 45-50 minutes before Lauryn would come out and join him.

Music engineer Gordon Williams described Lauryn as super intelligent and funny. He says that she was someone who had celebrities like Prince, Denzel Washington, and Russell Crow starstruck by her mere presence. Williams believes that the height of Lauryn's success too a toll on her. He says, "She didn't have a minute in the day when there wasn't something going on. She wanted to be a regular person. She tried to accommodate everybody all the time."

An unnamed source says that an association she began in the late 1990's with a spiritual advisor "made everything go crazy. She said his preaching made her feel like everything she did in her career was bad."

The article states that long time acquaintances of Ms. Hill claim that though she seems troubled and greets them with blank stares, there are still rare glimpses of the old Lauryn Hill.

Gordon Williams who last saw Lauryn in 2005 during a studio session says, "When she started rapping, she smiled and laughed. I was like, 'that's L-Boogie', but she wanted people to call her Ms. Hill." Shortly after that session Williams was told that Ms. Hill no longer needed his services. He went on to say, "Now she has this whole other persona and everyone is on pins and needles around her."

Lauryn is currently residing with her mother Valerie in a home Lauryn bought her parents years ago. Along with the two of them, Lauryn's children are there as well. They are 11 year old Zion, 9 year old Selah, 6 year old Joshua, 5 year old John. There is also a 7 month old baby girl that is yet unnamed.
 
According to Rohan Marley, father of all 5 children, "We want a name that means Glory of the Ark; for now we call her baby Marley."

Rohan, who was more than happy to speak to People about Lauryn says that there is nothing wrong with her. He says that Wyclef and Pras are hypocrites because they will call the label and tell them Lauryn is crazy, but then call Rohan to have him call Lauryn for them.

Lauryn and Rohan are neither married nor living together, but in Rohan's own words they are "spiritually together." He says that Lauryn is focused on raising the children. He says, "She loves suburban life, being with her children, seeing them grow and instilling our teachings of righteousness into them."

According to Rohan, Selah is a gymnast, Joshua does karate, John loves school, and Zion plays guitar and bass. Rohan says that Lauryn "is beautiful and looks 17 years old. He claims that she does "what regular people do: She cooks, she shops, goes to restaurants, regular things...She became more in tune with the earth, but down and depressed? "No."

Rohan explains her constant lateness to shows as Lauryn being a perfectionist and only wanting to look her best for the audience.

Columbia records, who still has Lauryn under contract describes her as being on "hiatus."
 
Rohan says she is always composing songs. He says, "She writes music in the bathroom, on toilet paper, on walls. She writes it in the mirror if the mirror smokes up. She writes constantly. This woman does not sleep."

The article ends with a nice quote from Pras, who has spent the better part of the last few years disparaging Lauryn. He says, "Lauryn's real love and joy besides her kids, is her music. It's the best healing process for her. If she can come out of whatever she's in and say 'I'm back', she'd be better than the rest of them right now. That girl has something that can move mountains."

 

 

ETANA IS A RASTA.

But she doesn't have dreadlocks, is dressed like Billie Holiday on the cover of her debut CD, "The Strong One" (VP Records), and sings in a voice that's equally influenced by the last 20 years of American R&B (Jill Scott, India.Arie, Lauryn Hill) as it is the past 40 years of Jamaican music (Sizzla, Marcia Griffiths, Bob Marley).

She'll be one of two women headlining the Reggae Summerfest, which features Beres Hammond, Ky-Mani Marley, I-Wayne, Turbulence, Chuck Fender, Fire Star, Prestige, Ruth, New Kingston Band, The Iternals, Mr. Tex, Strykers Posse, S.T.O.R.M., Yawd Lynk, Passion Band, Image Band and Iration. (Check our Sound Bets blog for a series of video previews for many of the artists.)

But she's also one of the few women in reggae — period — let alone one singing cultural, political and original roots-reggae songs rather than chanting sex-saturated dancehall tunes. Not that she didn't go through that phase.
"The people that I was working with told me that the first song that I wrote — about a person getting rich, then losing everything and living on the roadside — said they couldn't make money off of that song," Etana said. "So I started writing raunchier lyrics, about sex and stuff, trying to fit in."

But when a five-year-old girl sang one of Etana's sexually charged tunes in front of her, it changed everything.
"It was embarrassing for me," Etana said. "I knew that was not my goal, not my intention. That's when I decided to write songs and do it the way that I do it."

Born Shauna McKenzie, she spent much of her pre-teen years in August Town, a rough suburb east of Kingston. Her family migrated to the U.S. in 1992 when Etana was 9, and she eventually went to college to be a nurse. But she soon dropped out and returned to Jamaica to pursue music, all while becoming a Rasta, which freaked out her Christian mother.

"I had a long perm going down to my shoulders," Etana said. "And when I [starting becoming Rasta] — I bald off my hair completely. My mother thought I was completely crazy. When I moved back to Jamaica, she double thought I was crazy."

But Etana's sonic mix of elegance and earthiness have paid off in the form of hit singles "Wrong Address," "Roots" and "Don't Forget" — and a slot in one of the biggest reggae festivals D.C.'s ever hosted.