Post by kaya on May 25, 2008 23:59:10 GMT -5
Marley's new tunes for Harmony
By JOHN BECK
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 6:41 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 11:21 a.m.
Reggae musican Damian Marley
It’s been three years since Damian Marley totally blindsided mainstream America with the unapologetic reggae street salvo “Welcome to Jamrock.”
Those in the know could smell it coming.
Those weaned on mainstream radio got hit with it.
Blasting from Kingston’s Trenchtown, the title song sums up in five lines the Wild West mentality that fuels Jamaican violence:
“Come on let’s face it/A ghetto education’s basic/And most of the youths dem waste it/And when dem waste it, that’s when dem take the guns replace it/Then dem don’t stand a chance at all.”
The ratcheting beat, which Marley punches up with classic Jamaican toasting rhymes, was drummed up by his older brother/producer Stephen Marley. And the closing line echoes like a bullhorn: “Out in the streets, they call it murder.”
Since then, the son of Bob, christened “Jr. Gong” after his iconic father, has released only a handful of new songs. “One Loaf of Bread” goes out to the poor and disenfranchised. “The Mission” is a spiritual follow-up to “Jamrock.”
Along with “Real Friend,” it’s a new triad of tracks you’ll hear when Marley headlines the Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa on June 7.
The new record will drop “hopefully early next year,” he says.
We caught up with Jr. Gong by phone during rehearsals at the family compound in the Jamaican outback crossroads of Nine Miles, where his father was born:
Q: What was on your mind when you were cooking up “The Mission”?
A: I was thinking about youths and you need to say something positive or conscious toward them, but they need to be able to relate to it. They need a contribution in terms of helping them focus on their goals. These are hard-core people, so you have to communicate on their terms.
Q: With “Welcome to Jamrock” three years ago, you were dealing with extreme poverty and political struggle in Jamaica. How is it today?
A: Overall, the culture of Jamaica has become very violent. We have a lot of nations who have as much poverty as we have here, like take for instance Ethiopia, but they’re not as violent as Jamaica.
It was something that was spawned through politics. But now it’s not really political at all, it’s grown into something else. It’s about trying to get youths to be ambitious and take their destiny into their own hands. You can’t always wait for something to jump out of the sky. We have to make our own way ourselves.
Q: Has that message been effective?
A: Yes. I think it’s opened more communication. Even from where I’m coming from — I didn’t grow up underprivileged. So for somebody in my position to be speaking about this, kind of sparks the interest and opens up other conversations. For example, people get in touch with me and tell me they’re now doing charitable work because they were inspired by songs that they listened to.
Q: Can it be a fine line between preaching and informing? You spread the gospel, but you don’t want to beat people over the head with it?
A: Definitely. To tell you the truth, that’s why I’m really not trying to preach as much as have conversations. And maybe some of the topics might be on the preachy side. I still have a lot of songs that are not political in nature and much lighter.
Q: Like when I flip on the radio and suddenly I hear you chiming in on a Mariah Carey song. How did that come to be?
A: I guess someone in her camp thought it would add good flavor to have a reggae artist on the track. When they reached out to me, I gave thanks to be a part of it. She’s really big.
Q: Did you ever think maybe this is an odd fit?
A: Not really. More and more, maybe a little bit — after when I hear you say that and other people say something similar. But really, we are reggae musicians and we don’t get a lot of mainstream opportunities, so we have to take them when they come.
Q: How do you and your brother Stephen play off each other in the studio?
A: It’s the same way we play off each other in a soccer game or like when you play dominoes. It’s that kind of thing that’s been coming long before music. It comes from blood. It’s your brother who’s always been there. Music is just another thing that we do together. It’s nice to have a big brother who can lend expertise to what you’re doing.
SOURCE:THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
By JOHN BECK
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 6:41 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, May 25, 2008 at 11:21 a.m.
Reggae musican Damian Marley
It’s been three years since Damian Marley totally blindsided mainstream America with the unapologetic reggae street salvo “Welcome to Jamrock.”
Those in the know could smell it coming.
Those weaned on mainstream radio got hit with it.
Blasting from Kingston’s Trenchtown, the title song sums up in five lines the Wild West mentality that fuels Jamaican violence:
“Come on let’s face it/A ghetto education’s basic/And most of the youths dem waste it/And when dem waste it, that’s when dem take the guns replace it/Then dem don’t stand a chance at all.”
The ratcheting beat, which Marley punches up with classic Jamaican toasting rhymes, was drummed up by his older brother/producer Stephen Marley. And the closing line echoes like a bullhorn: “Out in the streets, they call it murder.”
Since then, the son of Bob, christened “Jr. Gong” after his iconic father, has released only a handful of new songs. “One Loaf of Bread” goes out to the poor and disenfranchised. “The Mission” is a spiritual follow-up to “Jamrock.”
Along with “Real Friend,” it’s a new triad of tracks you’ll hear when Marley headlines the Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa on June 7.
The new record will drop “hopefully early next year,” he says.
We caught up with Jr. Gong by phone during rehearsals at the family compound in the Jamaican outback crossroads of Nine Miles, where his father was born:
Q: What was on your mind when you were cooking up “The Mission”?
A: I was thinking about youths and you need to say something positive or conscious toward them, but they need to be able to relate to it. They need a contribution in terms of helping them focus on their goals. These are hard-core people, so you have to communicate on their terms.
Q: With “Welcome to Jamrock” three years ago, you were dealing with extreme poverty and political struggle in Jamaica. How is it today?
A: Overall, the culture of Jamaica has become very violent. We have a lot of nations who have as much poverty as we have here, like take for instance Ethiopia, but they’re not as violent as Jamaica.
It was something that was spawned through politics. But now it’s not really political at all, it’s grown into something else. It’s about trying to get youths to be ambitious and take their destiny into their own hands. You can’t always wait for something to jump out of the sky. We have to make our own way ourselves.
Q: Has that message been effective?
A: Yes. I think it’s opened more communication. Even from where I’m coming from — I didn’t grow up underprivileged. So for somebody in my position to be speaking about this, kind of sparks the interest and opens up other conversations. For example, people get in touch with me and tell me they’re now doing charitable work because they were inspired by songs that they listened to.
Q: Can it be a fine line between preaching and informing? You spread the gospel, but you don’t want to beat people over the head with it?
A: Definitely. To tell you the truth, that’s why I’m really not trying to preach as much as have conversations. And maybe some of the topics might be on the preachy side. I still have a lot of songs that are not political in nature and much lighter.
Q: Like when I flip on the radio and suddenly I hear you chiming in on a Mariah Carey song. How did that come to be?
A: I guess someone in her camp thought it would add good flavor to have a reggae artist on the track. When they reached out to me, I gave thanks to be a part of it. She’s really big.
Q: Did you ever think maybe this is an odd fit?
A: Not really. More and more, maybe a little bit — after when I hear you say that and other people say something similar. But really, we are reggae musicians and we don’t get a lot of mainstream opportunities, so we have to take them when they come.
Q: How do you and your brother Stephen play off each other in the studio?
A: It’s the same way we play off each other in a soccer game or like when you play dominoes. It’s that kind of thing that’s been coming long before music. It comes from blood. It’s your brother who’s always been there. Music is just another thing that we do together. It’s nice to have a big brother who can lend expertise to what you’re doing.
SOURCE:THE PRESS DEMOCRAT