Title: Interview with Ziggy Marley

Excerpt: His newest album, Wild and Free, due to be released in June 2011, is his most honest and insightful album yet, centering on the idea of looking deep in oneself to provoke personal revolution and a clearer understanding of life. However, the album was originally inspired by a more specific concept – Ziggy’s desire to increase worldwide education on the environmental benefits of the cannabis, especially among younger generations. Despite the new album’s change in direction, Ziggy is still very much focused on this issue, discussing it passionately and in detail at every opportunity.

Excerpt: Z: My first idea for the album was to go with the theme of this plant, the most important plant on the planet, and to write songs about that. But I don’t think it worked out where the album is only about that. I have some songs which refer to that, but the album kind of took on its own direction after a while. We talk about revolutions, we talk about change; we talk about spirituality. I talk about some of the history of my life; I mention my father and my mother. But I’m on kind of a journey of trying to expose more knowledge about the cannabis plant to the people. It’s a shame that the world is not utilizing this natural resource more widely than we are right now, you know?

Excerpt: Z: Someone asked me if I thought doing Marijuanaman or an album like [Wild and Free] would make people think about me differently, because I did a kids album before this. My last album was a children’s album. But I tell them that children should know the truth. This is science, natural science. Children should learn about this plant because it’s natural science. It’s not a chemical process. Kids should learn about this the way they learn about any other plant, what it can be used for, the fabrics, the fuel…children should know these things! Why should we hide these things from children? Yet still when I watch a basketball game on TV that kids watch, I see alcohol advertisements every timeout. You know what I’m saying?

Title: ExploreMusic sits down with Ziggy Marley

Excerpt: Ira Haberman sat down with Ziggy Marley recently to get the low down on his new record Wild and Free. They talked about that, legalizing marijuana, and much more.

Excerpt: Click link above to listen to interview!

Title: Get up, standup

Excerpt: Thirty years after his death, it is still almost impossible to fully engage with Bob Marley's legacy. We're somehow too closeto his music, still baffled by his songs playing everywhere - in varsity residences, coffee shops, movie soundtracks, Rasta flops and more. He remains ubiquitous

Excerpt: Marijuanaman, then, is another shard of Bob Marley's legacy tossed into the pop cultural maw. Indeed, Marley almost singlehandedly brought the idea of marijuana smoking into the mainstream, defending it as a cornerstone of his religious and cultural beliefs. This was only one element of his persona that, all things being equal, should have shut him out of the broader cultural arena. His politics was another. But rather, Marley was embraced. His 1984 album Legend has sold at least 25-million copies, and continues to sell a few hundred thousand a year. When kids are discovering music, they will inevitably make a pit stop at that album. Many stay there for a lifetime.

Excerpt: Now, though, he is Marijuanaman. A character at a safe remove from reality. Thirty years after his death his music means everything and nothing. A rebel tamed. A genre co-opted. Still, it's hard not to thank God for his music.

Title: Kid Rock: The Top 10 Kids' Bands and Albums

Excerpt: 8. The Marley Legacy. Both Ziggy and Bob can count a kids' album in their canon--there's Family Time by Ziggy Marley and B Is for Bob, 12 acoustic re-imaginings of some of Marley's most beloved hits. (Sharing music is one thing; Reverb suggests you wait until Junior gets a bit older to share a family spliff).

Title: OGN Review of Marijuanaman

Excerpt: It’s hard to not scoff at this and roll your eyes when you see a Ziggy Marley comic about a superhero who powers up around those smoking pot to become Marijuanaman. This comic should have collapsed on its face and be forgotten about on the face of it but for some strange reason it actually succeeds somewhat.

Excerpt: In actuality it is full of energy and life and in all probability Mahfood was as high as some of the characters in the book while drawing it. There are some beautiful images all the same within the book. There is a kissing scene near the end that explodes off the page with its colours and vibrancy and the image alone is a marketing opportunity as it wouldn’t look out of place on a T-Shirt at a Ziggy Marley concert.

Excerpt: Books like this tend to be self published or at least published by smaller houses. It is actually quite a coup that the book ended up at Image and able to reach the audience that it did.

Title: Ziggy Marley back with new CD, pot superhero (of course)

Excerpt: After tackling children's music with 2009's acclaimed and Grammy-winning Family Time, thoroughly blunted reggae star Ziggy Marley (yup, the late Bob’s kid) returns to his regularly scheduled career by releasing Wild and Free. Just in time for summer, the disc - co-produced by Marley and Don Was and featuring Rolling Stones bassist Darryl Johnson, actor Woody Harrelson and rapper Heavy D - drops June 14.

Excerpt: Oh we understand, Ziggy, trust us on that one. As for the new album, a variety of themes are paramount, including "changes and revolution" both globally and personally. "Social revolutions and group revolutions are good and we need that," Marley says through his publicist, "but we also need personal revolution, revolution within ourselves that change who we are as people."

Title: Aintitcool.com Marijuanaman review

Excerpt: Social activist Ziggy Marley rolled out his creation, Marjiuanaman, on 4-20-11. The character is based on Ziggy's idea, and represents "Hope of the future". The story was written by Joe Casey and inked by Jim Mahfood; however, it is stressed that Marley was involved in every experience of this over-sized Rasta-influenced graphic novella

Excerpt: I geeked out hard to the non-conforming eccentrics of the art, particularly the use of the sound effects paired with the weird gestures and overly expressive facial designs.The designation of blues, greens and black colors splattered with the hot pinks and bright golds make it oh so memorable, so vivid.

Excerpt: It has a good balance of off-the wall campiness while still relaying Ziggy's implicit message of hope and positivity. I totally suggest this read to anyone looking for something unique and atypical from the muscle -induced uber macho comic that is usually birthed into the mainstream.

Title: Bob Marley Exhibit at LA Grammy Museum

Excerpt: Bob Marley's battle with cancer ended in a Miami hospital 30 years ago on Wednesday, bringing to a premature close the life of reggae music's most important standard-bearer.

His son, David "Ziggy" Marley, who was 12 at the time and has gone on to reggae stardom in his own right, considers the anniversary a day for celebration rather than mourning.

Excerpt: Marley was on hand at the Grammy Museum where an exhibit about his father opened on Wednesday and runs through October 2. The Marley family worked closely with the museum's curators, lending memorabilia from its personal collection.

Excerpt: "That was his baby," Marley said. "That was his weapon. That's what he held closest to him onstage, offstage. It's made of wood, it's natural. Some of Bob's sweat, whatever, is in that wood, that guitar."

He recalled that he used to play the guitar himself on stage until he was told it should be placed in the museum.

"I was very sad about that," he said with a laugh. "I wish I could still be jammin' on it."

Title: Ziggy Marley Celebrates Bob Marley's Legacy at Grammy Museum

Excerpt: Ziggy Marley hand-delivered the guitar Tuesday (May 10) to the Grammy Museum to make it a centerpiece in the exhibit "Bob Marley: Messenger" that opened today (May 11), the 30th anniversary of Marley's death.

"That was his weapon," Ziggy Marley told Billboard.com at the downtown Los Angeles museum. "It was one of the most important things to him. To share that with people -- he would have wanted that. He wanted people to be as close to him as possible. He was a not a solitary kind of person."

Excerpt: Ziggy Marley also has a new album, "Wild and Free," being released June 14 on Tuff Gong. While the new album's title track is a smoke-induced tribute to marijuana with Woody Harrelson, Marley exposes a personal side that he has never previously explored. The song "Roads Less Traveled" represents the first time he has ever addressed his father and mother in a song.

"I comfortable with it now," Marley says. "It's truth. I come from a private family. Usually we don't talk about stuff like that, but (it's OK) because it's in the context of a song about me choosing a different routes than my father and family."

Excerpt: The exhibit, Marley says, is "to show him as a man not just as a legend," a word he pronounces with a hint of bitterness. "That shirt that he wore makes more personal and relatable. This is how close you can get, especially for the generation that wasn't around and didn't see him."

Title: Comic Book Review: Marijuanaman

Excerpt: Getting home I opened this book and was immediately struck by Jim Mahfood’s artwork. I really enjoy his underground/graffiti style, but it wasn’t enough to get me through this story in a single sitting. I got about halfway through it before I put it down and moved on. I was a bit cheesed that I’d payed so much for a book that (at first glance) had inconsistent characterization (which was my biggest problem first time through).

Excerpt: Ziggy Marley and Joe Casey have come up with a very interesting and conflicted character. What I mistook for sloppy characterization was actually a character struggling with his power and beliefs, and a universal theme that I think many people can relate to: How do you sync what you believe with how you live?

Excerpt: I’m giving Marijuanaman four baby Hellboys out of five. It’s not a bad book, but it has room to improve…if only I didn’t have to sell my kidney to afford it.

Title: Review: Ziggy at Sunfest

Excerpt: David Nesta “Ziggy” Marley has always been the heir apparent to the Marley throne, he even began sitting in with his father’s band at age ten, but it’s more than that. It’s his voice, the way he carries himself, the way he hops from foot-to-foot doing his Nyabinghi dance, it’s his dreadlocks that touch his calf, his political activism, the way he sings with eyes closed and head tilted back, it’s the spooky similarity in looks, it’s his aura. Ziggy is the one that carries the torch.

Excerpt: Ziggy played roughly half original stuff and half his father’s songs. From his own cannon, “Make Some Music” with Ziggy on a beat up red, gold and green guitar, “Conscious Party,” and a funky “Black Cat” stood out. “People should never fear the government; the government should always fear the people!” cried Marley from the stage as he led the band into “Be Free.”

Excerpt: “I and I say love is my religion” beamed Marley as he segued from his father’s “Is This Love” into his own “Love Is My Religion.”

Title: Ziggy releases comic ahead of Wild and Free album

Excerpt: There are many sides to singer, musician, activist, environmentalist and family man, Ziggy Marley. Last month, he showed the world a new side of himself and his creativity with the release of his comic book Marijuanama

Excerpt: "I kinda started learning more about the marijuana plant, and it's basically used for more than smoking. It strikes me as to why society is not utilising it as a natural resource, for its industrial uses, to make clothes, for nutrition among an array of other uses. All we see is the smoking aspect. I'm trying to find a way to expose the idea of its many uses in a way that's not preachy, but in an entertaining way," explained Marley.

Excerpt: "It's about exposing the truth, so that people will stop demonising it and see it for its medical, industrial, energy and other purposes," Marley said.

The plot for Marijuanaman surrounds the main figure or hero who comes from a planet which is severely environmentally damaged, similar, Marley says, to our own reality. "Marijuanaman's people send him out to try find a solution to their problem, and he lands on this other planet in a marijuana field and feels an immediate connection to the plant," Marley explains.

Excerpt: Marley is currently involved in the making of the latest Bob Marley documentary. Titled Marley, the documentary is expected for release in the fall, and is directed by Kevin MacDonald.

"I was involved in it deeply, which is the first I've been involved in one of the documentaries like dis. It's trying to show him (Bob Marley) in a different light, from the people who knew him best," said Marley.

Title: Marijuanaman Review - Weekly Comic Book Review

Excerpt: What’s Good: This is a book that is going to appeal to people on a very person level. The overall story of the book comes very strongly from the Rastafarian religion and the great Bob Marley’s “One Love” mythos that we should commune with nature, love our brothers and sisters and, of course, smoke lots of marijuana to expand our consciousness. Even if you don’t practice that type of creed in your daily life, it is hard to deny a certain attraction to it. I’ve certainly been on vacation and seen those dudes in Jamaica and thought, “Those dudes seem to have a LOT less stress than I do….”

Excerpt: It’s a pretty fun and whacky story and even if you’re kinda a proponent of free markets and industry (like I am), it is always educational to see how some other, more laid back folks may see things.

Excerpt: Conclusion: A real treat. Everyone who enjoys alternative comics and stories should treat themselves to this artistic collaboration between Ziggy Marley, Joe Casey and Jim Mahfood.

Title: Ziggy Marley took break from music to create comic book 

Excerpt: "There is a superhero, from another planet, who comes to Earth actually to find a solution to saving his own planet," explains Marley, son of the late reggae superstar Bob Marley, and a performer Saturday at SunFest . "He discovers this plant, the hemp plant, and it means something to him. It transforms him into a superhero called Marijuanaman. He joins forces with a community who uses hemp as a base for life, as they battle a man who runs an evil pharmaceutical empire, called Cash Money, who wants to monetize the plants."

Excerpt: "There’s a hypocrisy in criminalizing this plant, with all of the good aspects of it, including medicinal and energy and industrial. It’s time to wake up. I think that this planet is in need of a savior plant, and this plant is it, if used wisely. Yet still we deny it and demonize it. It’s time for us to stop. This could be advantageous to us as a planet."

Excerpt: "That’s why I even did a comic book, because I have to find another medium, to find other ways to express myself. It’s not easy to get my videos shown on TV. It’s always a struggle," he continues. "The music is how I express my art. Coming through the Internet has been another way to get my message out and reach people. But I think that in the next few years, the comic book is gonna be my thing, to fight for this oppressed plant, this oppressed life form. That is freedom!"

Title: Ziggy Marley's Comic, Marijuanaman, Makes 4/20 Debut

Excerpt: “It relates to the reality of why the plant is being criminalized and why it’s not being used in all of its facets,” says Marley.

Excerpt: Noting the need to put at ease the minds of skeptical comic fans, while also drawing from the musical legacy of the Marley name, Marijuanaman has woven a complex tapestry of musical references and deep plot lines that have been said should impress both comic geeks and Bob Marley aficionados.

It’s fair to say that the Marijuanaman comic book concept really comes as no surprise, especially when one considers who defined the idea. With that said, the comic should actually be a good read with considerable depth beyond the weed. It’ll probably be one of those books that you need to read a few times over to truly take in.

Title: Marijuanaman launches to much fanfare

Excerpt: Hours ahead of a scheduled signing with Ziggy Marley and the creators of the new graphic novel Marijuanaman, fans were already lined up outside Los Angeles’ leading comic book store Golden Apple, waiting in anticipation for a glimpse at the popular singer and his newly launched graphic novel.

Excerpt: “I just thought it was time,” five-time Grammy winner Ziggy Marley told Bikya Masr as he signed one copy, his signature flowing on the inside cover with ease. “We just gotta keep talking and putting this is a positive light. It’s all about hope,” he added.

Excerpt: Like many of those who joined forces on Wednesday, the battle to make marijuana a mainstream product is important. The back page of the novel delivers important information in an effort to educate the public on the important positive health impacts marijuana can have for a person’s body.

Title: Ziggy Marley's Marijuanaman Review - Line of Fire Reviews - Comics Bulletin

Excerpt: Honestly, the book really is awesome. It's pretty much a straight-out, color-saturated, action-packed, mind-altering, insanely kinetic tour de force of pure awesomeness. Leaving aside the whole drug side of the story, there are pages of this book that are pure gorgeous psychedelic bright and colorful beauty. You can stare at these pages forever, just basking in the unadulterated pop-art beauty of them.

Excerpt: This book is filled with scenes like these--scenes that are filled above the rim with art that seems suffused with pure unfiltered and unadulterated joy at the idea of drawing perhaps the wildest comic book of all time.

Excerpt: It's no lie, and I'm not smoking weed, Marijuanaman is an impressively fun book. There's weird shit and psychedelic sex scenes and all kinds of other stuff. It's pretty damn awesome.

Title: Ziggy Marley Letter: Why 4/20 Matters | Billboard.com

Excerpt: As 4/20 is celebrated today, Ziggy Marley, musician and eldest son of reggae pioneer Bob Marley, shares exclusively with Billboard.com what the cannabis-centered holiday means to him. Read his open letter, which sheds light on 4/20's musical tie-in and the advocacy efforts of marijuana legalization

Excerpt: April 20th is not anything much out of the ordinary for most people -- far less significant than say, February 14th (Valentine's Day), January 1st (New Year's Day) or December 25th (Christmas). Yet for some, it is just as memorable.

This April 20th and its surrounding dates will see many activities in celebration of 4/20. From Conventions such as HempCon and NORML to concerts by Snoop Dogg and Cypress Hill, and a comic book release titled "MARIJUANAMAN" by a reggae musician, let the festivities begin!

4/20 is a great date for concerts, akin to alcohol at a baseball game. Some fans that attend 4/20-branded events will, in their own way, take full advantage of what it has to offer. Music promoters are also taking advantage of 4/20 by using the date as a marketing tool. At the least they are assured that people will show up outside the venue hungry... for music.

4/20 is a fitting backdrop for the enjoyment of some good music -- music that carries the vibe of what 4/20 represents. Hmm, let's see, which kind of music? Oh! I got it. Reggae would be a good choice, for sure.

No doubt , 4/20 is a date that will bring out like-minded people to any event that uses its name -- and maybe some who are not so like-minded. So please enjoy responsibly.

For me, 4/20 means more than just a day to relish in the delights of natures oral herbal bliss. It is a day of an idea, of a philosophy that has been planted but is yet to be reaped. A solution for the fix.

A day when the rights of a simple plant life form to exist for the benefit of mankind without persecution and discrimination -- honored and celebrated, even.

What? You thought 4/20 was about you and your rights?

I guess it is, too, but mostly it's about the rights of this peaceful plant. At least that's the 4/20 way of looking at it.

Every 4/20, the world should come to know more and appreciate more the potential of this plant. It is a date of reminder: "I am here for your benefit."

What better way to do that, than through music? Herb and music.

Everyone and everything in this world has rights. Why not the plants and trees that allow us to survive on this planet? Human rights, animal rights -- and now plant rights. Someone once said, "You can't have a green revolution without the greenest plant on the earth."

Happy 4/20,


Ziggy Marley

Title: Ziggy Marley, Joe Casey and Jim Mahfood Grow'Marijuanaman

Excerpt: Marijuanaman, a 40-page hardcover graphic novella devised by reggae star Ziggy Marley. Written by Joe Casey and illustrated beautifully by Jim Mahfood, the story is about a noble alien whose species has THC instead of DNA and his biological reaction to Earth's cannabis plants causes him to transform into the superhero Marijuanaman and fight against an evil pharmaceutical corporation and its hired thug, Cash Money, and make the world aware of what "it's all about" -- which is to say, hemp.

Excerpt: "Marijuanaman represents the hope of the future... the hope that we will utilize all of the power that the universe has given us to save our planet," Marley explained in a press release in support of the graphic novella.

Excerpt: But all snark aside, it's very obvious that Casey and Mahfood, two of indie comics' most innovative creators, really enjoyed their work on Marijuanaman (Mahfood's art is especially alive here). But like most conversations with stoners, the sober person -- in this case, the Marijuanaman reader -- just isn't feeling it.

Title: Meet Marijuanaman! The Cannabis-lovin Super Hero from Ziggy Marley

Excerpt: He’s the hero we deserve, but not the one we need right now. Wait, no, scratch that, Marijuanaman is exactly the hero we need, especially today

Excerpt: Marley was inspired to create Marijuanaman after learning about the usefulness of the plant, besides getting high. Hemp can be used to create papers, plastics and even fuel and is less harmful for the environment than many of the oil-based products we’re using today. It’s a rich resource we’re denying ourselves because it’s linked to the evil weed.

Excerpt: But it’s important to note he doesn’t smoke the plant to gain his powers. Marley explains,

Nobody can say he’s a bad influence because he smokes. He doesn’t smoke. But he still gets his power from marijuana anyway.

Title: ‘Marijuanaman’: Ziggy Marley looks for a hit in comic-book world

Excerpt: “It relates to the reality of why the plant is being criminalized and why it’s not being used in all of its facets,” said the five-time Grammy-winner and 42-year-old son of the late Bob Marley. “In the early days of American history, this plant was used much more widely, and then it became a demon and a devil.”

Excerpt: “When people think Ziggy Marley and Marijuanaman, they’re like, ‘Oh, OK, we know what that’s about,’” the singer said during a recent interview at his Santa Monica office. “If you look deep, there’s so many things inside the art, it’s really heavy stuff.”

Excerpt: The plot presents an extraterrestrial being whose home world is in desperate need of THC and whose giant bong spaceship crashes on Earth. Taking up (and toking up?) with a green-minded band of freedom-fighters, Marijuanaman begins a mission to save our planet’s weed from destruction by the evil corporation Pharma-Con and its minions, among them robo-biker assassin Cash Money.

Title: Ziggy Marley Visits infoMania // Current

Excerpt: Click link above to see video.

Excerpt: The wait is over for the world's first stoned superhero! Watch Brett sit down with five-time Grammy winner Ziggy Marley to discuss his upcoming graphic novel "Marijuanaman." The title character, whom Ziggy calls "cooler than Superman," comes to Earth from the planet Yelram ("Marley" spelled backward), which has an atmosphere consisting entirely of THC. It only gets trippier from there.

Title: "Marijuana Man" Vs. "Cash Money"

Excerpt: The Grammy Award-winning musician and social activist said he had wanted to do a comic book for many years as a way of reaching a new audience with his ecological message. Marley is a devout activist for hemp, marijuana law reforms, and environmental and human rights. When he read the work of comic book writer Joe Casey last year — especially his writings on fatherhood — Marley, the father of six, reached out to do the project. "I wanted to put a message out in a different type of poetry," said Marley, who won a 2006 Grammy for Love is My Religion.

Excerpt: Marijuana Man is a lush, full-color, oversized hardcover book. Marijuana Man himself looks a bit like a white Jesus, is named Sedona, and hails from the planet Yelram. Instead of DNA, Sedona's genetic code is based on tetrahydracannabinol, or THC, the molecule in marijuana responsible for its euphoria (and anxiety in some users).

Excerpt: On marijuana addiction in reality, Marley cautions against smoking it regularly: "If you find yourself not being productive in life or being positive, that might be a problem. If you find yourself sitting down and smoking every day, that's a problem. Some people really overdo it. Smoking is not something that's good for your body. In past cultures it wasn't an everyday thing. It wasn't a habit."

Excerpt: Marley hopes to release the second and third Marijuana Man books on each subsequent 4/20. "He's a hero eventually children will be able to love," he said. "He's a character that will come to be loved like Spider-Man and Superman."

Title: Up in Smoke With a New Kind of Hero: MARIJUANAMAN

Excerpt: On April 20, 2011, a day known throughout the more marijuana-afficianado world as “420,” a holiday of sorts, a new kind of hero is born as Marijuanaman hits shelves. Created by Grammy Award-winning Reggae musician Ziggy Marley, the characters and story was brought to sequential life by comic veterans Jim Mahfood and Joe Casey. Although a title like Marijuanaman might carry some stereotypical misconceptions, the creators are quick to say it’s not the comic you think it is. Marijuanaman is an extraterrestrial being who comes to Earth to pass along an important message and seek salvation for his own homeworld.

Excerpt: Ziggy’s a hemp activist, so it’s not even about smoking it and getting high; he’s a serious supporter of hemp.

The truth is that hemp is a product that has these amazing and positive applications. There’s obviously been a cover-up and conspiracy over the years from medical and pharmaceutical companies not wanting it to be legal because it’s a natural plant and has all these medical applications. A lot of Marijuanaman carries that kind of message – to me that’s not controversial but just being truthful and presenting facts.

Excerpt: There was never a time where any of us were disagreeing or arguing; it was a pretty pleasant, cool collaborative process. We’re all artist – Ziggy writes songs and makes music, so he understands how organic the creative process is and when you need to kind of step back and allow things to evolve.

Title: Ziggy to Release Wild and Free Album June 14

Excerpt: "I really enjoyed 'Family Time'," Marley tells Billboard.com. "But it was such a specific album for a specific reason, I just consider it in a different league than (2006's Grammy Award-winning) 'Love is My Religion.' So it's been awhile since I've done an album where I can go back to some issues and sing about some things I couldn't address on 'Family Time.' But ('Family Time') was a really good project for me, and necessary at the time."

Excerpt: Marley recorded "Wild and Free" in Los Angeles with producer Don Was and a group of musicians that includes Rolling Stones bassist Darryl Johnson; "He played with Miles Davis, and I wanted to hear Miles stories," Marley says with a laugh. Guests on the album include actor Woody Harrelson on the title track, which was used for California's Proposition 19 campaign to legalize recreational marijuana, Heavy D on "It" and Marley's oldest son, Daniel, on "Changes." Key to the album, however, were the extensive demos that Marley made in his home studio, which he says made it easier to achieve the sound he was looking for on "Wild and Free's" 12 tracks.

Excerpt: "The problem with using live musicians before was it was hard for them to come in and capture what I needed," he explains. "So the whole process of doing the pre-production on my own -- putting on bass parts, putting on drum parts -- was to avoid putting that amount of pressure on a musician coming into the studio to try to figure out what Ziggy wants, or what Ziggy's sound is or what Ziggy likes. So I'd give them the sound. I'd give them a lot of the parts and they could interpret it or play it properly. I wanted it to be very organic and not over-thought or over-processed."

Excerpt: Marley has several concert dates booked already this year, but he says that the real push for "Wild and Free" will likely come later this year and in 2012. "I don't think I'm going to get enough time this year to really explore this album live," Marley notes, "so I'm looking for next year for it to be really about this album. I'll probably play this album more extensively live next year than this year, so it's looking like it's gonna be a two-year plan of touring with this one."

Title: Ziggy Marley: Me siento privilegiado por la invitación de Shakira

Excerpt: Con relación a las canciones que interpretará, indicó que hará un repaso por toda su carrera e incluirá canciones de su padre, la leyenda del reggae Bob Marley, de quien afirmó que “está siempre presente en mi música y en mi espíritu. Sé que es una gran responsabilidad, pero también un orgullo seguir su legado. Él y yo nos comunicamos espiritualmente cada día”.

Excerpt: El cantante también se dio un tiempo para defender la marihuana pues “muchas personas piensan que solo está hecha para fumarse y no es así pues tiene muchísimos otros beneficios que no entienden porque no los conocen”.

Title: Ziggy Marley ya está en Lima

Excerpt: Ziggy Marley, el primogénito de la leyenda del reggae Bob Marley, dijo que llevar el apellido Marley no le representa ninguna carga pesada y, por el contrario, trata de celebrar su legado cada vez que ofrece un concierto o interpreta sus canciones.

Excerpt: “Mi padre está siempre presente en mi música y en mi espíritu. Sé que es una gran responsabilidad, pero también un orgullo seguir su legado. Él y yo nos comunicamos espiritualmente cada día” aseveró.

Excerpt: Ziggy señaló, asimismo, que se siente muy bien de poder cantarle a todos los peruanos, después que en el año 2006, por razones que hasta ahora dice desconocer, su presentación en un local de Barranco se canceló. “Me siento bien en Perú porque aquí hay muchas buenas vibras, así que mañana en el concierto devolveré esas buenas vibraciones a todo el público peruano” finalizó.

Title: Ziggy Marley at Hempcon

Excerpt: Jamaican musician Ziggy Marley is spending some “Family Time” with Angelenos this weekend. In anticipation to the April 20 release of his first ever comic book series, “Marijuanaman”, Ziggy Marley will be performing at the 3-day Hempcon event held at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Excerpt: “Marijuanaman” from Image Comics is the character conceived by Ziggy Marley, written by Man of Action Studios, Joe Casey and illustrated by Jim Mahfood. The novel tells the tale of a noble extraterrestrial champion who has arrived on Earth to deliver an important message, and at the same time save his own planet. "Marijuanaman represents the hope of the future... the hope that we will utilize all of the power that the universe has given us to save our planet," Marley explains.

Title: Ziggy Marley en La Trastienda - REGGAE en PELAGATOS

Excerpt: Ziggy llega por segunda vez a la Argentina ( La enterior habia sido en el festival de la cerveza en Ferro año 2006) en el marco de la gira “Pop Festival” que encabeza Shakira y de paso, el jamaiquino realizo esta presentación personal en Buenos Aires, cosa que los amantes del género agradecieron agotando las localidades.
Pasadas la 21 hs y con el local repleto, sale al escenario Ziggy y su banda, que merece un párrafo aparte por lo virtuosa y el background que lleva en sus espaldas.

Excerpt: La banda compuesta desde la base con un veterano y gran Carlton “Santa” Davis que ha tocado con Peter Tosh, con Bob Marley en los discos “Uprising” y “Chant Down Babylon” con Burning Spear, Big Youth, ha sido baterista de la Roots Radics y unos de los principales músicos de sesión de jamaica en los 70 en el famosísimo Studio 1, me cansaría de enumerar con quien colaboro Carlton pero es un dato importante y a la hora de ejecutar su instrumento uno entiende su currícula.
Los demás músicos de impecable labor son Paul “Pablo” Stennet en el bajo ( se llevaba a las mil maravillas con “Santa”, Ian “Beezy” Coleman en Guitarras, Tracy Hazzard en coros podía hacer acordar a una I Threes, Takeshi Akimoto en guitarra, Micheal Hyde en teclados y Angel Roche en percusión todos con desarrollando tareas superlativas en la ejecución solo falto una sesión de brasses.

Title: Ziggy Marley: "Es un orgullo seguir con el mensaje de Bob"

Excerpt: -Ya que nombraste otros artistas, ¿cómo es tu relación con Shakira y con el resto de la grilla?
-A Shakira la conocí hace unos años en Miami, donde ella viene triunfando hace mucho. Cuando me convocaron a formar parte acepté su invitación sin dudarlo. Es una artista importante, sobre todo por lo que genera en la gente. A Calle 13 no los conozco, me han dicho que tengo que escucharlos y prestarle atención a las letras, así que primero voy a tener que mejorar mi español (risas). Seguramente el jueves (por hoy) será una excelente oportunidad, todavía no he tenido el tiempo. En cuanto a inclusión de un grupo local (como se sabe, en Córdoba será La Barra), me parece una gran idea. Tampoco tengo ningún complejo con el nombre del festival: no importa si es reggae o pop, lo fundamental es que los espectadores pasen un buen momento y el mensaje llegue.

Excerpt: “Family time es un disco que hicimos con el objetivo de repecutir en el público infantil”, cuenta el músico. “Fue una gran experiencia, porque grabé con mi madre Rita, mis hermanos y mis hijos; resultó un poco como volver a la época de los Melody Makers. Fueron semanas de una intensa fraternidad. Luego realizamos muchos conciertos sólo para chicos y fue muy emocionante. Me parece fundamental inspirar a los niños desde temprana edad, esa es una de mis misiones”.

Excerpt: -El disco está disponible para descargar gratis en tu página web. ¿Cómo te llevás con las nuevas tecnologías y las redes sociales?
-Internet es una puerta para todo, siempre y cuando se utilice correctamente. Todo bien con las descargas, tal vez habría que regular algunas cuestiones. Ahora mismo estoy intentando comunicarme más con los fans por las redes sociales, utilizar esos medios para conocer problemáticas del mundo, para hacer mis trabajos sociales con organizaciones de la infancia. Me cuesta, pero me estoy animando un poco más.

Excerpt: Bob en la memoria
En pocos meses (11 de mayo) se cumplen 30 años de la desaparición física de Bob Marley, una fecha que seguramente no pasará desapercibida para Ziggy y su familia. ¿El legado es una mochila muy pesada de llevar? Ziggy: “Para nada, nosotros celebramos el legado de mi padre cuando hacemos conciertos, canciones. El está siempre presente. Es una responsabilidad, pero también un orgullo continuar con su mensaje. Para este aniversario vamos a armar una nueva exhibición con una gran muestra sobre Bob que arrancará en el Museo de los Grammys de Los Angeles y luego recorrerá todo el mundo. Es una fecha importante y hay que conmemorarla”.

Title: Ziggy Marley, Jim Mahfood and Joe Casey Livin' The High Life

Excerpt: The comics world welcomes Ziggy Marley and his new Image Comics original graphic novel, Marijuanaman. The five-time Grammy winner and Reggae star is collaborating with notable underground illustrator and Live Artist Jim Mahfood and longtime comic scribe Joe Casey. Marley came up with the concept of the character who is an alien who has landed on Earth to “deliver an important message and at the same time save his own planet.”

Excerpt: Marley, is currently working on a new album entitled Wild and Free, which will be released alongside the graphic novel. He is a prominent environmentalist and social activist whose Reggae jams echo the ever-changing vibe of the world.

Excerpt: Marley attempts to encapsulate the series by saying, “Marijuanaman represents the hope of the future… the hope that we will utilize all of the power that the universe has given us to save our planet.” In other words, don’t sleep on Marijuanaman; it promises to be deep as much as it is dope.

Title: Ziggy Marley and Don Was in studio

Excerpt: Five-time Grammy winner Ziggy Marley is recording a new album with producer Don Was at Ocean Way in Hollywood. The album will be released this summer on the Tuff Gong Worldwide label.

Excerpt: Joining Ziggy in the renowned Bill Putnam-designed Studio B are drummer Carlton "Santa" Davis (Jimmy Cliff, Burning Spear), percussionist Rock M. Deadrick (Ben Harper, Tracy Chapman), visitor / rap artist Heavy D., keyboardist James Poyser (The Roots) and bassist Darryl Jones (Rolling Stones, Miles Davis, Sting).

Title: Examiner.com review of Marijuana Man

Excerpt: Marijuanaman: Ziggy Marley doesn’t pull any punches with the name of his new creation. It’s a mystery what this book will be about, but with the creative team of Joe Casey and Jim Mahfood this book could prove to be crazy fun.

Title: Touting Green Revolution, Ziggy Marley Campaigns For Pot Legalization

Excerpt: Reggae star Ziggy Marley entered the election fray with a new song this week. But unlike most musicians, who focus on bland turnout appeals or conventional candidate endorsements, Marley is calling for pot legalization.

Excerpt: That's not just tour bus talk, either. As news junkies and potheads already know, the California ballot includes a referendum on legalizing marijuana, Prop 19. Marley's new tune, "A Fire Burns for Freedom," can be downloaded for free from his homepage, and the grammy-winning star turned up on MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan show to explain the campaign

Title: Review: Ziggy Marley in Santa Barbara

Excerpt: The first venue was on the UCSB Campus at Campbell Hall, an intimate setting of 900 attendees. The children had painted faces and danced around in front of the stage, sometimes talking to Ziggy in between songs.

Excerpt: Ziggy’s family shows are acoustic. He performed with lead guitar player, Takeshi, Santa and Rock on percussion and backing singer Tracey. He opened with “I Love You Too”, from his Grammy winning “Family Time” CD. Most of the show was material from this CD including “This Train”, which was his second song. When he performed “ Ziggy Says” (which is a play on Simon Says…the children’s game), Tracey came to the front to lead the children and their families through the game. The whole audience joined in as Ziggy played the song faster and faster.

Title: Melody Maker  | Culture Magazine

Excerpt: Ziggy has his own stable of hits like “True to Myself,” “Drive,” “People Get Ready” and the crossover smash “Tomorrow People.” Outside music, the famed reggae star voiced one of Martin Scorsese’s jellyfish thugs in 2004’s Shark Tale, and his new comic book Marijuanaman hits stores next year on April 20. Ziggy chats with CULTURE about his comic book superhero, his latest singles and the power of cannabis—but we start with memories of his father . . .

Excerpt: Q: What is something about your father that you better understand as an adult?
A: It’s the man himself, the human being. As I grow older, there are different times where I realize I feel more camaraderie with what Bob went through. The truth is shining out from behind the image or the legend. I am more in contact with the spirit and the human side than the legend side. I understand more through my own experiences and feelings, and in a very inspirational way. After he passed, you see your father different, more a man. Then you have more experiences—going on my own, separating from the group—that helped me to see more of the human side to who he was.

Excerpt: Q: What are aspects of the human side that you now better understand?
A: There is love, there is solidarity and there is weakness. I don’t want to delve on the weaknesses; that is very personal. The love is a thing we notice. In terms of his love for my mother, it was very sincere and deep beyond a physical relationship. I look at what they went through together and how that connection stayed strong. For example, I remember when they both got shot [before Smile Jamaica]. My mom got shot in the head the same time they shot my father. Other people were not injured or physically affected, but they did not show up for the concert. My mother did, and she had a bullet in her head. They had so much love, deeper than the image. That is one of the things I remember that I thought I should mention.

Excerpt: Q: You had success both in a group and as a solo artist. How are the experiences different?
A: I can’t explain it . . . because they are two different and two necessary things in my life. Both happened naturally and organically. [The Melody Makers] is a family, so it’s not like we broke up. We still have that thing. As a solo artist, you are the only head that is responsible for what you are doing, no one else. You also learn different things. Being in a group teaches you certain things; being solo teaches you other things—standing on your own feet, being out of the comfortable zone that is a group, that is a family, that is familiarity. That helps you to grow more. Each experience has great aspects to it and nothing negative.

Title: Ziggy interview: Shows in Santa Barbara

Excerpt: SBI: You’re playing two shows up here. For you, how do they differ?

ZM: The first show is for the kids, so we do a lot of the stuff off of the [Family Time] album. I like it, though. I’ve been doing them pretty regularly; I did one at the Skirball Center in New York at NYU in the morning. Parents brought their kids, and we had a good time. It’s fun. I do an acoustic set, not the full-band stuff, so it’s a little different that way.

Excerpt: SBI: What prompted the decision to do a kids’ album after the success of Love Is My Religion?

ZM: I’ve been dipping into this kids thing for all of my career, really, from doing stuff with Sesame Street back in the day to doing the theme song for Arthur. … For most of my life, I’ve felt that I’m guided into things that I should do; it just happens in some weird way. That’s what it was with this album. I felt like there was something pushing me to do an album for kids. My daughter was three years old, and I had just had another child, my son—he was six or seven months old—so everything was right there for me to do it; the kids give me good inspiration. The way I rationalize it is that if what I say about my music is true, then I must have a way to speak to children. If I want to make a change in the world, who better to start with than children, you know?

Excerpt: SBI: I read that you recently played in South Africa during the World Cup.

ZM: Yeah, we played a couple of shows. Originally, I was trying to see if someone could get me to go there to do a show, so two of my agents were trying to get promoters interested in doing shows there, and I thought it would be easy. It wasn’t easy, but we kind of decided, well, we don’t care, we’re going to go and do a show there anyway; we’re going to do it ourselves and find some people there to help us do it, find a venue, whatever. So we went there and we started planning. … But the whole premise of the trip was to experience Africa in the historic moment that the World Cup was there. I tried to bring my father’s spirit to be a part of it. That’s what the shows were about, really. It was about him being a part of this experience because he—we both, all of us—love football and love Africa. His music played a big part in the struggles in Africa, so I thought I could be his avatar in a way at this great, historic moment in time. We rode Ducati motorcycles, and we filmed it with the guy who did the Ewan McGregor [project] Long Way Down.