Out of the two reggae musicians who performed at James Madison University last week, Ziggy Marley is, hands down, the more well known of the two. The son of reggae legend Bob Marley has won a handful of Grammies and just released his first solo album, "Dragonfly," after splitting from his family band, "The Melody Makers."
Although Ziggy Marley has a big reputation to live up to, so far he seems to be doing pretty well. But frankly, as I sat down with him, I wondered if part or much of his fame wasn't an extension of his father's. Maybe it was the fact that he was following Michael Franti that made him seem a little boring and impersonal--or maybe it was the marijuana. Contrary to Franti, he walked into the room, slumped down into his chair and just stared at us for a couple seconds before speaking.
Cavalier Daily and Press: What is that? (pointing to a necklace around his neck)
Ziggy Marley: Star of David. My name is David. But people just call me Ziggy, ya know?
CD: Does "Ziggy" have an origin?
ZM: A small joint.
CD: A marijuana joint?
ZM: Marijuana, ya.
CD: So, all this time you have been compared to your father. I really don't want to continue that, but it's an important part of who you are. What was it like growing up the son of a legend?
ZM: I don't know. I was born in 1968, right? So he wasn't a legend. I spent a lot of my life without him being a legend. Then he became a legend. I grew up with him being a musician. He was a hard working musician, a well respected musician, ya know? A musician with something to say, which was respected in the community. So he was very well respected in Jamaica before he became a worldwide legend. He was "Bob." In Jamaica, it doesn't matter how big you get. People still see you as who you are from the beginning, ya know what I mean? You go back to your hometown, and you are just "Bob." I'm just "Ziggy." You are no bigger, and you are no better. That's how we do it.
CD: Did you always know you wanted to be a musician?
ZM: I do music because I like sound. And that's the only reason why I do music. If I didn't like sound, there be no reason for me doing this, ya know? I went to school, I wanted to be a doctor, but the biology classes were too much theory. I wanted to get my hands into things, so that didn't go through.
CD: What would you have done if you weren't a musician?
ZM: If I wasn't a musician, I would still be a musician. Being a musician is not about being popular or being on tour. If I wasn't here, I'd be at home at my farm, or at my 9-to-5, and I'd still be a musician. Musician is not a profession. Musician is a part of life.
CD: What was your childhood like?
ZM: What part of it? Puberty or? (laugh) I was born in Trenchtown, in the ghetto. My father and my mother worked real hard and got some money and they moved us out of the ghetto. We moved to a better place ... not a great place but better than we were before. My mother's auntie, she was a strict disciplinarian. School was the most important thing. My mom and dad were always on tour. Our grandaunt really gave us the discipline. We kept going to better schools and got a lot of good discipline ... got a good beating once in a while. When my father got more popular, more people start coming around, ya know? When my dad and mom got shot, I remember being asleep at the house and the police coming and saying "let's go, ya gotta go." But yeah, we went to school, played sports. I started writing songs in my early teenage years, and then our first song was in 1979, with my brothers and sisters. The rest is a mystery.
CD: Your music is very happy, very uniting. What kind of music do you listen you when you are pissed off?
ZM: (laugh) I don't get pissed off. If I get angry, I write a song. I don't listen to music because I'm upset. I listen to music because I feel like it. Sometimes I am interested in hearing what other artists have to say. I like to mix it up. I like Norah Jones, the White Stripes. I like "Hey Ya!"
CD: Outkast?
ZM: Outkast. I checked out Outkast before "Hey Ya!" though. They are unique, and I like that. I like original artists. That interests me.
CD: How has your Rastafarian religion influenced your music, or has it?
ZM: Rasta is not a religion. People try to make it into a religion. It's a way of life. Religion is a ... what is religion? Religion is an organization. Ya know, this is just a way of life. We try to live good, we try to live loving. We try to be good with nature, eat properly, eat natural foods, healthy foods. It's just life. Rasta is my foundation, but I created my own religion. Only I have it. Like becoming a part of a gang, and doing what the gang says. You have to be independent-minded and think for yourself. Don't follow the gang. Religion can be your foundation, but it can't be your limit of your thoughts of God. Don't let religion limit what you can think about God. God is bigger than religion. The most important thing is love.
CD: Reggae has taken a step back from the mainstream. How do you feel about that?
ZM: What is in the mainstream? It comes and goes. But the mainstream is not the best stream. Ya know what I'm saying? There is another stream that goes around the mainstream. A'right. You know you have the main beach where everybody goes to? That's not the best beach. The best beach is the one that nobody knows about.
CD: But don't you think that you could influence more people if you were on that big beach?
ZM: No, on the big beach everybody is having a good time. I gotta go to the other beach where people who know about that beach are gonna come. Because the big beach is all about partying and having fun. The ones who want the other thing go to the other beach and relax, ya know? So the mainstream could never be good to make music. The music would not be true in the mainstream. Jesus was never in the mainstream. Martin Luther King Jr. was never in the mainstream. They were all in the side stream. Just do what you do. And then eventually you'll get to the people on the main street.
CD: How will you know when you are there?
ZM: I may never know, 'cause I may not be here. I'm not here thinking about when I'm going to be successful. It is what I am doing right now. I lived my life according to what I was here to do. And that is an important thing.
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