Title: Ziggy Marley Supports Music in our Schools

Excerpt: Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) March 26, 2008 -- Little Kids Rock (LKR), a program providing free instruments and instruction for public school students, today announced events in conjunction with national Music in Our Schools Month (MIOSM), presented by The National Association for Music Education every March. The purpose is to raise awareness of the importance of music education for all children - and to remind citizens that all children should have access to music in schools.

Excerpt: During Mr. Marley's 90 minute visit, the Little Kids Rock students will play eight songs which will include cover and student written pieces, a Ziggy Marley song titled, "Love is my religion" and a Bob Marley selection titled, "Three Little Birds." Following the performances there will be a Q&A session between the students and the artist. Ziggy will present an Ovation Celebrity Deluxe guitar to Belvedere Middle School, courtesy of Ovation Guitars, a Fender PA courtesy of Fender musical instruments along with a number of other musical gifts.

Excerpt: Little Kids Rock teaches kids how to play pop, rock, reggae, funk, blues, rap and hip-hop music. LKR students not only perform, but they also compose and record their own music. They have released four full-length CDs as well as music videos featuring student-written originals. To date, the Little Kids Rock program has served more than 15,000 students in California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Washington D.C.

Title: Music has no boundaries

Excerpt: very pop and very commercial but interesting.. truly interesting.. with thoughtful commentary and (on ram fm) rolling south african accents that many might be guilty of (and possibly forgiven for) confusing with other commonwealth inflections..

Title: Ziggy Marley, increasing AIDS/HIV awareness

Excerpt: "I like to involve myself in positive things, so this is something that is important to me," Marley said by phone from Los Angeles.

Excerpt: "It's very simple. I came up with some ideas and got opinions on them. The words say enough and mean enough that I think it was appropriate to keep those words on the forefront, instead of doing something like a drawing. Those words are artistic words. To keep that message out there, I believe, is the most important thing to do. This is a concept; it's an evolution of thoughts, an evolution of consciousness. I put that evolution of my thoughts onto the record, and it became the title of my album, but I don't want "Love Is My Religion" to be identified just as the title of my Grammy-winning album, because it means more than that. It's like a rebirth. Born again has to mean more than going back into the same old way of thinking. Born again means a new way of thinking. Love is my religion is a new way of thinking about that whole spiritual realm and the whole concept of what religion is."

Excerpt: Q: Tell us about the significance of your new film "Africa Unite."
A: "The significance of it is to reignite the consciousness, to reignite the message of African unity; to put it back on the table. It hasn't been on the table for a little while now. Through the celebration that we had for our father in Ethiopia, it was a great opportunity to be in Ethiopia, where the Organization of African Unity was founded by Haile Selassie I. It was a good opportunity to bring that message to the African continent once again and let them understand that we believe it is fundamental in solving the problems of Africa. In Africa, we have several egomaniacal leaders who want to hold on to power, we have AIDS, malaria and more. Until Africa unites, we are not going to solve the problems.
The (film) documents the discussions with different youths from Africa who were there regarding the problems of Africa, and African unity. And then it has musical segments - we did a concert there - the Marley brothers, Angelique Kidjo and different artists. It's a multifaceted film with different angles."

Title: Africa Unites on DVD

Excerpt: In 2005 Bob Marley would have been 60 years old. Since his death in 1981, Marley's music and words have continued to not only entertain, but also inspire people around the globe into becoming politically and socially aware.

Excerpt: "We did this concert not only to commemorate my father's birthday, but to reignite [the concept] of African unity," Ziggy said. "The DVD really celebrates the event, but also speaks with people about the unity of Africa, and it documents the journey."

Excerpt: "We continue to find ways outside of music to get across what we want to get across, whether it's through movies and DVDs or other means," Marley said of Tuff Gong. "Two or three years from now, you'll see even more creative things from us . . . and more films."

Title: Marley seeks united Africa for Black History Month

Excerpt: Marley: We believe that one of the greatest things that can be done in Africa is for Africa to unite. It has been a dream of many of our forefathers and many African leaders in the past—just like the unity of the U.S. and Europe. But for Africa, it is even more important, because the resources in Africa, if put to the right use, can benefit Africa. To do this in Black History Month is a way to shed more light on the issue.

Excerpt: Marley: It's the substance. The artists that have substance in their music—the music that means more than a fad, music that lasts longer than the time they made it in—are the people that last forever. It has no time in mind, like some particular beat today. My father was not like that. It was done on a different level, a more spiritual level. It's music that will endure, that has substance. That's the reason why he made it, and what he was saying all still exists. It's deep; it's not shallow.

Title: Bring the Love, Forget the Guitar

Excerpt: David "Ziggy" Marley was in town last weekend for a concert at Kualoa Ranch, a wrap-up to his "Love is My Religion" tour. "We try to end in Hawaii, so we can chill," says the reggae star, one of Bob Marley's 13 children.
But he wasn't chilling last Saturday, because midday his entourage remembered he was supposed to do an in-store appearance at Sam Goody's Ala Moana. "They threw me in a van, saying go, go, we're late," says Marley.

Ziggy brought the love. Unfortunately, he forgot his guitar. "It always works out, man. There was a guy with a guitar in line. I borrowed it, and now he has a nice story to tell his family."

Title: "We have a purpose in life"

Excerpt: After spending most of the past two years on the road, Ziggy Marley is ready to do something else.

"I'm winding down the traveling," he said via telephone from Los Angeles earlier this week. "After Hawaii, that's it."

Excerpt: "Our music have meaning," Marley explained. "We have a purpose in life, and it don't depend on the popularity of what we're doing.

"We always could play live, no matter what's happening, no matter if we don't have a record out. That never stop."

Excerpt: "I wasn't always this way," he said. "I've grown to be more open, and the more experiences I have, the more I can relate with other people ... it's important to get out there with other human beings, not just my own group.

"I'm really excited about how I'm approaching the messages I want to get across to the kids. My point of view is missing ... (so) there's a gap that I want to fill there."

Title: Ziggy Marley to re-release 'Love Is My Religion'

Excerpt: Marley told The Gleaner that "this was the first exclusive deal with Target. With the re-release the album will be more accessible to the public. We completely revamped the album, different technical things which make it kind of different. We also added three new tracks which mi really like. Dem lively and energetic. I've never done a more popular cover of my father's song (Jammin'); hopefully that will attract more people to the album".

Excerpt: The re-release of the album is but one of many new projects Marley will be doing for the Christmas and the New Year. Ziggy is also looking to release a live DVD, in early 2008. The DVD was recorded at Los Angeles' Avalon during the 2006 Love Is My Religion world tour.

Excerpt: "In February, there will be no doubt I will be coming home. It's been a long time and I'm excited. I'm coming to do something centred around Africa Unite in February, which is my father's birthday. Mi and mi brothers been talking about doing a Marley brother record. That's the next t'ing we doing together, with a whole tour," he said.

Title: Elemental Tonic for a Wounded World

Excerpt: But there's something wrong with those saying 'I have the right to teach you about God,' because there's too much division. It doesn't work. And the only way we can fix it is to come to an understanding: The way to bring people together or to spirituality is to love them, it's not to condemn or to judge. It's to love. In my greatest dream, I wish that everybody would stop being Christian, Muslim, whatever, and just say, 'You know what, love is my religion.'

Excerpt: Over the years I've learned how I need to approach things. I don't want to beat people over the head with the message. I want to give it to them in a way that they can receive it and come to it on their own, and not get offended or put off by me being over-aggressive.

Excerpt: I've reached a point in my life right now to where I see my father, as my father, yes. But more, I see him as a brother. Just like how I see Miles and Fela. I feel like I'm part of a brotherhood, a fraternity of musicians. Each of us go through that same struggle of artistic freedom that, even when my father was doing his music, there were many criticisms from a lot of people from his culture who thought he was selling out or doing this or that

Title: Ziggy Marley rocks

Excerpt: Love is the message Ziggy Marley wants to send with his album, "Love is My Religion."

"It's not more complicated than that," he said.

A loving and peaceful vibe drifted through the crowd as Marley spread his religion of love in the Bell Memorial Union Auditorium on Thursday. A crowd made up of the young and old swayed together as Marley jammed to his newest songs and some old favorites.

Excerpt: He warns young and up-and-coming musicians who are on the path to create real art and express themselves that creatively is a long road.

"It's a harder road, but if you're a true artist, it's the one you have to take," he said. "It's the road of a rebel, the road of an adventurer, the road of a searcher who might not appreciated at the time."

As for everyone else, "My advice to people is don't ever stop traveling 'cause life is a journey."

Title: Ziggy Marley welcomes students

Excerpt: Marley appeared at the BMU with his nine-member band and mesmerized the audience, delivering his driving reggae rhythms and "Love is My Religion" message

Excerpt: Blending blues, rhythm and blues, hip-hop and reggae, Marley had the crowd in the palm of his hand, showering the audience with his message of love, hope, peace and spirituality, which is the driving force behind his music and the underlying message of his current album.

Excerpt: You certainly didn't need to love reggae to love Ziggy Marley, just an appreciation for great music, performed by an outstanding and multi-talented performer.

Title: Marley spreads his religion of love

Excerpt: "My next work is going to be about the man-made world that we're living in," Marley said in a recent phone interview. "That's what I've been thinking about. It might include some politics. It might include ... oppression, injustice and these things."

Excerpt: "Let's say what religion is," Marley says, explaining the meaning of the album title. "Religion is (an) institutionalized concept of a higher deity, of higher concepts and higher philosophy. I tell people that the true religion of this thing that you're looking for which you call God ... is love."

Title: Ziggy Marley charts his own course

Excerpt: Marley says his struggle is "spiritual," unlike the "physical" striving embodied in the protest anthems that gave hope to the downtrodden and made an international superstar of his late father, who died in 1981.

Excerpt: "The solution for mankind is of a spiritual nature. It is not a political or religious solution. It's the ability to love each other. That's the only solution I see."

Excerpt: "We were talking about changes in Africa," Marley recalls. "We were asking, 'Is it possible for you to change millions of people on the physical level? Or is the mission more to sing music so people can look into themselves?' I was about changing things, but things weren't changing, not at the rate they should."

Excerpt: "They were lessons I learned from my father," says Marley. "He was an entrepreneur. He was a good businessman. He started the Tuff Gong record label and record stores in Jamaica. There were always rumors of him wanting to own his own music, so the idea was always in my subconscious. When I had the opportunity, I did it."

Title: Ziggy Marley Bonnaroo Interview

Excerpt: Ziggy - Well that, I mean, what it is, is a gradual realization of the true concept of spirituality or the true concept of God. You know, because from when I was a young child coming up, we were about God, you know, we went through Christianity. We were still lookin' for the truth. How do I identify myself in terms of that aspect, in terms of this religious aspect, spiritual aspect. . . What is it really? What do I call it? Am I a Christian? Am I a Rasta? What am I? And what is the direction that I should be goin'? So after a while, it just gradually come to me that love is really. . . Love is the answer. Love is the answer to everything that I was questioning.

Excerpt: Ziggy - Yeah, yeah weh. . . You know, we're transmittin' vibrations, ya know. We're communicatin' with more that words and more than music. We're communicatin' with vibrations. So that is a form. . . that is a way of communication from me. So, ya know, puttin' up my hands is very symbolic of just trying to soak up and tryin' to give back healing power, ya know?

Excerpt: Ziggy - I believe in what I'm doing. I know what I'm doing have a purpose. So, there's no detractors or negative energy that could make me even double think what I'm doing or think twice about what I'm doing 'cause I know what I'm doing, ya know?

Title: Rising Sons

Excerpt: These days, the charge is being led by Damian (nicknamed Jr. Gong), 28, Stephen, 35, and Ziggy (né David), 38. At press time, their surname dominates Billboard's Top Reggae Albums chart: No. 1 (for nine consecutive weeks), Stephen's long-awaited solo debut, Mind Control, released March 20; No. 2, Damian's third disc, 2005's Welcome to Jamrock; No. 3, Forever Bob Marley, the latest of countless collections of Marley's pre-Island Records output; and No. 7, Ziggy's second solo CD, 2006's Love Is My Religion. As if that weren't enough, collectively Stephen, Damian, and Ziggy have scored a dozen Grammy wins, something their dad did not live to achieve. (Grammys were not given out for reggae until 1984.)

Excerpt: ''Our father is a very strong role model in our life,'' says Stephen, who oversees Tuff Gong, the label founded by his dad in 1970. ''He gave us so much more than material [things] because they can fade away. It's like him teach me how to fish more than giving me fishes, so that me can fish for me self.''

Excerpt: Being Rastafarian has a lot to do with their standoffishness and unpretentious style (they prefer beads to bling and Adidas to Gucci). Rooted in the belief that Haile Selassie I, Ethiopian emperor from 1930 to 1974, was the messiah, they shun material excess in favor of earthly riches: family, community, and home. And while they're the heirs of an artist who ranked No. 13 on Forbes' 2006 list of Top-Earning Dead Celebrities, Ziggy, Stephen, and Damian still abide by the Rastafarian tenets of humility and modesty. ''We're privileged, but militant,'' says Stephen, who now lives within blocks of Damian and Cedella in Miami. He credits growing up in Jamaica — which remains their home base — with keeping them grounded. ''We had to know how to cook, iron — all of that. Me used to come from school, take off me uniform, go down to the cow pen, and milk them.''

Title: Son of Bob

Excerpt: You won a Grammy Award for this album in America. . .
Yes. This is my fourth Grammy, but my first as a solo artist. The greatest thing about winning it is getting more promotion for the message. It was worth winning it for the statement Love Is My Religion to be mentioned everywhere.

Excerpt: So what's an average day in the life of Ziggy Marley like then. . .?
Haha! Ziggy don't have average days man! But when I'm not touring or working on the music I wake up, go for a run, make some cornmeal porridge, drink lots of water, play some football and watch some TV. I watch a lot of news, I like to keep informed about what's going on. I'll read some magazines, play some music and watch some movies.

Excerpt: Anything else you'd like to say to our readers?
Love. Love is the message. . .

Excerpt: Download PDF of LeftLion Magazine: http://www.leftlion.co.uk/issue17/leftlion_issue_17_web.pdf

Title: Melody Maker

Excerpt: He reveals his influences for the album.

"I would say my father, as well as Fela Kuti and Miles Davis. I'm really into those artists. Their music doesn't follow trends. It's unique and creative and that's what I try to be. I think it's important to try and set yourself apart from other artists and be confident in doing your own thing."

Excerpt: Having interviewed Stephen Marley earlier this year, he described his father as "strict, but also a lot of fun." Does Ziggy corroborate this description of his father?

"Oh yeah. And I think both Stephen and I are like that too - strict, but fun at the same time. Discipline was a big part of our growing up. We were taught the importance of manners and treating people with respect - not just by our parents, but also by our grandaunt, who took care of us when our parents were away. That upbringing has made us who we are today."

Excerpt: "I'm the biggest brother. I've been whooping their asses for many years! They're my little brothers so there is no competition there. I'm very proud of them. Our work is not a work of egos. The Almighty has given me my duty so I'm in competition with nobody. But it seems to be the norm for the media to try and create rivalry between us, so there's nothing new about that."

Title: STARDUST

Excerpt: Marley says: "I like collaborating with musicians more than with singers as I can learn more from the experiences".

Excerpt: Marley plays Rock City on June 26 and brings with him and eight-piece band to capture the full reggae sound. So what should the crowd expect? Marley says: "I want people to come with an open mind, if they don't, they may as well stay home and watch tv. There should be no expectations - I don't even know what I'm going to do yet!"

Title: ZIGGY MARLEY: ONE LOVE

Excerpt: Despite being a devout Rastafarian, it is clear that Ziggy has no faith in organised religion. "Organised religion has nothing to do with God, religion is a political tool which uses the concept of God to gain political motives," Ziggy continues emphatically. "Rastafari is not an organised religion, it is a freedom of thinking," he says in defence of his own beliefs, before concluding: "It is love that is the only way to fully realise the concept and the philosophy of God. The way to God is love and, until people can grasp that, the world will always be in turmoil."

Excerpt: The Marley family remain a tight, cohesive unit, with the majority of releases now coming out on Tuff Gong, most recently Damian and Stephen's albums. "Solo work is in fact a lesson for me, growing up and leaving the pride, experiencing the jungle and becoming a man on my own," Ziggy says in reference to leaving the Melody Makers to focus on his own artistry. "And it helps me to help my family too. Every now and again, somebody has to leave the pride and see what's going on out there and report back," he laughs.

Excerpt: So, what does it mean to be a member of the Marley family in the 21st Century? "I don't know," Ziggy answers candidly. "I don't look at myself as a Marley, Marley is just a name. I'm a human being before I'm a Marley. For me, regardless of the name, love is my philosophy and love is my religion so if you want to put that as what it means to be a Marley, then it's the love. It means to bring and give people the truth." And that, one imagines, is what the Marley pride were born to do.

Title: Ziggy Marley stirs up zoo crowd

Excerpt: Give Ziggy Marley credit - who else could get so many middle-aged white men shaking their rear ends in such unabashed fashion? That was the case Wednesday night at the Minnesota Zoo, where Marley's upbeat reggae music had a sellout crowd of 1,500 shaking its collective booty for almost two hours.

Excerpt: Marley had the crowd in the palm of his hand anyway, bouncing around and seeming possessed by the music as his body shivered and shook to the beat.

Title: Wish you were {t}here

Excerpt: Temperatures are rising, and Charlottesville got a double bill of warm-weather music on Thursday, June 7 from New Orleans R&B legends the Neville Brothers and from Ziggy Marley, son of Jamaica's favorite son.

Excerpt: If they were looking for the same sort of energetic performance for which Ziggy's father Bob was famous, they were not disappointed. Bounding across the stage shaking his long dreadlocks, Marley performed original hits like "Black Cat" and "Into the Groove," along with plenty of Bob covers like "Roots, Rock, Reggae," "Is This Love," and "Jammin'."

Title: Ziggy Focuses on Self

Excerpt: While Ziggy's style is undeniably reggae, his influences abound. His songs include elements of jazz, blues, R&B and often even a little rock.

"I don't really listen to any one type of music a lot," he says. "I listen to public radio more than anything. But I do put on a lot of Jamaican music, African music and sometimes I'll even put in a little Green Day. I really like the African element in my music because I'm trying to bridge the gap between Africa and what I do. I like music that has a spiritual component, and African music has just that."

Excerpt: "I've been reading a lot of books about writing screenplays, and trying to do some writing," he says. "I also play a lot of video games and I've been working on making my own. I can't tell you what either project is abut now, but know that when something with my name on it comes out, it'll have a purpose and a message - but it'll still be fun."

Excerpt: Ziggy says that his entire career has been about just that: finding the balance between thought provocation and just having a good time. And in case anyone's wondering, Ziggy says to expect a Marley brothers' collaboration sometime in 2010.

Title: Ziggy Marley Debuts on PodShow

Excerpt: Ziggy Marley has released the
single "Into the Groove" from his second solo album Love is My Religion, on
the Podsafe Music Network (PMN), supporting the release with a rare,
in-depth interview with PodShow power couple, Dawn and Drew. With this
release on the PMN, Marley is enabling thousands of podcasters to play the
track on their shows for free, supporting the free licensing of music to
the podcasting community and creating millions of 'spins' with audiences
around the globe.

Excerpt: "Ziggy is a rare combination of musical talent and industry vision,"
said PodShow CEO and Co founder Ron Bloom. "He is one of a new breed of
artists who are blazing a trail and finding innovative ways to reach their
fans and new audiences outside the traditional label system. Producers and
fans love having him on the SHOW!"

Excerpt: "Ziggy's interview with Dawn and Drew adds an extra element to his
music," added Adam Curry, President and Co founder of PodShow. "Releasing
his material to be shared by podcasters with audiences worldwide is a huge
endorsement for our Network. I am very appreciative of Dawn and Drew, as
well as the Marley family for adding their magic to PodShow and the PMN."

Title: Ziggy Marley Musician

Excerpt: ZM) Yeah, that's why music is my religion. It's a higher standard, not just an everyday thing. Sometimes it's easy and sometimes it's not easy. A lot of times songs aren't written and you have to write them, but sometimes they're already written and they just come to you.

Excerpt: ZM) Hey, I don't even know why the world would pull away from love, I don't know why that happened. Love is my religion and that's what we need, to have an awakening of love.

Excerpt: ZM) Yeah, it's like: you don't condemn, I don't convert. It's a calling. And I don't need to worry about converting them. All I need to do is love. If they follow my example of love, then they will reach the place that I am at. This is the way of peace, of no problems, to realize that we won't need to fight wars.

Title: Ziggy in Savannah

Excerpt: Stephen, Bob's 34-year-old second son, recently released his first solo album, "Mind Control.'' We asked him to evaluate the stylings and personalities of each of his music-making siblings. Who's the most business-oriented? The most spiritual?

Excerpt: But first, let Stephen tell you who gets the best ganja: "I do. I am the distributor. Everyone brings it to me. They know that Damian's going to get a piece, Ky-Mani's going to get a piece. Not that they would hog it. But they gravitate to me because that's me, the general. If you play soccer, I am the midfielder.''

Excerpt: Visit the article for: "an introduction to the musical Marley family in Stephen's words".

Title: Reggae Drifter

Excerpt: Which of your father's messages do you think is most relevant in today's time?

Get up, stand up, definitely. Stand up for your rights; don't give up the fight. Because a lot of basic rights are being taken away because of this policy of fear. And you have to fight back.

Excerpt: What excites you in your spare time?

Right now, the sunshine excites me. And the wind is blowing, and that excites me too. I'm excited by simple things, by nature. I don't jump up and down for buzzes and shit like that.

Excerpt: How old are you now?

Umm, 250. Me count everything, past life, future life, and the right now life!

Title: Making music with Ziggy Marley

Excerpt: Ziggy Marley jams with Santa Rosa Charter School students, from left, Tyler Haas, 11; Bailey Margarite-Lowell, 11; and Jenna Sheppard, 12, who Tuesday were taking part in Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit program that provides guitars and instruction to children.

Title: Ziggy talks

Excerpt: "Seek love," he said in a May 3 phone interview with the Santa Maria Times.

"If you're seeking spirituality, if you're seeking God, or even if you don't believe in God," he said. "Love is the answer to the problems. It's very simple."

Excerpt: Marley believes his natural instinct toward love and peace has evolved over time, "because of my spiritual search," he explained.

"I'm searching for the truth all of the time," he said. "I have to know for myself."

He believes that by opening his mind to new ideas, he gains knowledge, which eventually leads to the truth.

"Let me look and see," he said. "Just enough to let the truth come in."

Title: Bob Marley's oldest son is on a different mission

Excerpt: Marley says his struggle is "spiritual," unlike the "physical" striving embodied in the protest anthems that gave hope to the downtrodden and made an international superstar of his late father, who died in 1981.

"That generation that had that fight made a good fight," says the 38-year-old singer-songwriter and keyboardist, who as a child often sang and danced with his father on stage. "But that time for physical struggle is now changing into a spiritual struggle. That is where I am.

"The solution for mankind is of a spiritual nature. It is not a political or religious solution. It's the ability to love each other. That's the only solution I see."

Excerpt: "When it came out, it was like it completed the album," he says. "It kind of put its arms around the other songs and gave them a big hug, like `We are one. We are all together here.'"

On it, Marley sings, "I don't condemn, I don't convert ... I don't want to fight," sentiments that might make more militant reggae fans blanche, especially coming from Bob Marley's son.

Excerpt: Though purists may carp about Marley's attitude toward his father's legacy, he draws inspiration from dad in a way that may surprise them - Marley recorded and produced "Love is My Religion" independently, and negotiated an exclusive yearlong distribution deal with Target.

"They were lessons I learned from my father," says Marley. "He was an entrepreneur. He was a good businessman. He started the Tuff Gong record label and record stores in Jamaica. There were always rumors of him wanting to own his own music, so the idea was always in my subconscious. When I had the opportunity, I did it."

Title: Where's the love?

Excerpt: The affable and deeply spiritual son of Bob — the father of Jamaican reggae — was, at one point in his life, considering a profession in the medical world.

"I wanted to be a doctor, so I studied a lot of biology," Marley said. But it was when his mother, Rita, and father brought him and his siblings into the studio in 1979 that his focus changed.

Excerpt: "Music is a powerful tool and reggae is very strongly related to the vibrations within human beings as they connect with the vibrations within the Earth," Marley said.

Excerpt: Trying to spread a message of hope, love and peace in this day and age through reggae is something that Ziggy finds difficult, he said many people are "jaded" by the political systems. His music is not about social or political change so much as it is about the human condition, when he sings in "Still the Storms," "vengeance is no glory, hate is no pay, truth is my call and peace is my way."

Excerpt: "There can be no political solution" to the problems of hate in this world today that will be permanent without love, Marley said. "If we don't find a way to love each other, social change will never last."

Title: Ziggy Marley

Excerpt: He says he's not into marijuana despite the culture associated with reggae music: "Smoking herb is a spiritual thing, a cultural thing. So it's not something that should be taken so lightly. It is not something we do for fun. It's something that the youth should not get too caught up in because that is not the answer."

Excerpt: He says: "I don't make music because I want to make my own name, to strike out (on my own). I'm inspired to write songs and I sing them. That's what I do. So I don't worry and think about, 'I have to make a name for myself.' That's not the most important thing."

Excerpt: Audio interview: http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200704/r135485_457427.mp3

Title: Ziggy doesn't mind living in his famous father's shadow

Excerpt: The Marleys, of course, knew from an early age that their father was different.

"There was always something interesting happening in those years, with the people coming around and being in the studio, music playing, going to Zimbabwe for the independence celebration," Marley said. "The best way to put the time I spent with my father when he was here physically is that I was a sponge, soaking up all the things that were happening."

Excerpt: "Stephen and Damian use more hip-hop and dance vibes," said Ziggy, whose singing voice, like Stephen's, sounds much like his father's. "I kind of go for more of a real instrument, more organic sound."

Validation, Marley said, comes from his father, whom he occasionally communicates with through his dreams.

"He gives me the stamp of approval that what I'm doing is right —acknowledging the work that I'm doing."

Title: Married life less stressful, says Ziggy

Excerpt: "I've been around, I've done the other tings so me nuh miss nutten," he said in his typical blend of English and Jamaican dialect, patois. "I've done dat already inna me younger days."
Matrimony has grounded him, in a good way, he says.
"Married life, it kinda balancing and settling. Less stress, yuh nuh haffi lie and dem ting de," he added with a wide grin.
Some of that balance and maturity is evident in the Grammy Award-winning album whose promotional tour took him to China.

Excerpt: The title and first lines of the song, Ziggy has said, spilled from his lips when a Catholic lady asked the dreadlocked singer what religion he practises.

Title: Ziggy retreats from Target

Excerpt: "Right now, we in the process of speaking with different companies to distribute it on a wider basis," he told the Observer.
"We still a work out the deal; we have a few interested parties. But the Target ting, it was a adventure," he added with a smile.
Just not one he wants to repeat.

Excerpt: "I wouldn't do it again because it limited the exposure to only people who went to Target, yuh nuh. So, I mean, I learn a lesson," he admitted.
Not only had he learned a valuable lesson, he said, but he had also made history.
"It was the first time that had been done in the history a music, so it play a part in history," he said, "but I wouldn't do it that way again."

Title: Ziggy Marley was here

Excerpt: Like his father, Ziggy has imbued his works with reflective lyrics, writing about slavery, spirituality and other subjects in his latest release.

Excerpt: How important is it for you to write songs that have not-so-typical messages? See, I don't sit and think about writing; I don't say, 'I need to write a song that's gonna be a message.' It's stuff that comes to me, you know what I mean? It's inspired work. I guess it is important, wherever that is coming from, that it comes through me. I don't think about it too much.

Title: Ziggy Marley: Music and ministration

Excerpt: "Love is the ultimate expression of spirituality. People everywhere look for God in different ideologies and call Him by different names. Yet I believe the only way to God is through true love."

Excerpt: Ziggy is that kind of person: Deep.

Excerpt: "I do but not because people expect or want me to. I sing his songs because when I do, I feel a connection between us. My dad has taught us a lot; about discipline, hard work and love. I have been a son of Bob Marley for a long time now and will always be so proudly."

Title: Night of Reggae

Excerpt: Grammy Award-winning artist Ziggy Marley ignited the reggae flame at Beijing's Star Live House on Monday night. Reggae's favorite son began his performance with the classic, Shalom Salaam.

Excerpt: Hundreds of fans, mostly expats in Beijing, packed the hall and swayed to Ziggy's rhythm. Ziggy will wrap up his first China tour at the Shanghai Yun Feng Theater tonight.

Title: Reggae's favorite son in concert

Excerpt: Reggae's favorite son, four-time Grammy winner, Ziggy Marley, will make his Chinese mainland debut in Beijing and Shanghai next week. The one-night-only Shanghai concert will be next Tuesday at the Yunfeng Theater in the center of the city.

Excerpt: "I am very curious about China as a great nation in the history of Earth," said the Grammy winner in an earlier interview. "I would love to visit the Shaolin Temple - I want to study some Chinese martial arts. I want to experience some of the culture."

Excerpt: "Love" is exactly the message Marley wants to deliver to China and his fans here, since "what more can you ask for? What more can you give?" he asked.

Title: Ziggy Marley back in Australia

Excerpt: For the first time in more than 10 years the Jamaican-born artist will bring his soulful tunes to Australia next month, when he takes to the stage at the East Coast Blues and Roots Festival.

"I am looking forward to spreading my message of love and peace all over the world," the 38-year-old told AAP from his home in California.

Excerpt: Australian fans are likely to witness Ziggy Marley, the eldest of the Marley clan, playing his father's songs when he takes to the stage.

"My father's stuff is my stuff too. When I do my stuff I mix his stuff into mine and have no problem with that," he said.

"I mix it all together and create one big positive experience."

Title: Ziggy Marley Shines Like The Sun

Excerpt: We gotta realize, the pop charts or the Billboard charts realize that we're touching people it don't matter because the music is forever. Our music is not the music that is going to come in bum rush nothing. We are for the long run. We are here forever.

Excerpt: Some other things are like shooting stars, they shoot bright for a second and then pfft. We are like the sun shining, we shine forever. We'd rather be like the sun, then a shooting star that gets bright and then after a while it disappears you know.

Title: One-On-One with Grammy Winner Ziggy Marley

Excerpt: "The other times I was part of a big record company. This time I own my own record company. I own my own music, it's 100-percent mine, so that make it kind of special," Marley, the eldest son of Rita Marley and late reggae legend, Robert Nesta Marley, told HBN in a recent one-on-one interview in the aftermath of his coveted win.

Excerpt: The album itself delivers a "message of freedom, freedom to love."

"Really, freedom to open up one's self to love, to give love and to be loved," Marley stated empathically. "Love is not some sort of weakness you know, love is strength."

And the singer acknowledged that oftentimes, "We as human beings, we get tight and closed, so we trying fi open up people's mind and dem consciousness and dem heart without feeling stupid."

Excerpt: Looking ahead, the talented musician and songwriter said it will not be business as usual. "I want to try and expose more Caribbean music through this label but I want to do it in a way where it has significance for history, for the future generations," he revealed to HBN

And he hopes his music will contribute to keeping track of the history of the Caribbean and its people. "I don't think we keep good history, we don't teach history to our children enough. Music is one way we can do that for future generations," added Marley, formerly of Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers.

Title: Ziggy Marley - musician, messenger

Excerpt: More than a musician, Ziggy Marley is a messenger, delivering love to the youth across the world. Carrying on his father's universal message of peace, love and empowerment, Marley won over the Grammys at the 49th ceremony in Los Angeles, nabbing his fourth win in the Best Reggae Album category for Love is My Religion.

Excerpt: Marley, who was in the studio during the ceremony, described the album as "a burning in him that needed to be released".

"Di future album is a follow up to this. You'll see a likkle more ... mi face gonna more frowned. Two faced on the next album, let's put it dat way. I tink it might be more stern, sometimes children need more discipline. Dis one is about love, the concept of love, if dem learn di message, dem gonna haffi feel it."

Excerpt: For Marley, winning the Grammy is an acknowledgement that self-reliance is worth it. "Dere was no big company behind it. Mi feel good to achieve it cause there was no big help behind it. Mi like the concept, Marcus Garvey concept, we being dependent on ourselves," he commented.

"Entrepreneurs owning di music, that was one of my father's dream so we haffi live up to dat. We hope di sales pick up but it's about di message. That's why I do di music. We still haffi do di hard work, like right now we ready to go China. But we can't depend on selling records, but if that's what we're willing to do to get the message out, that's my ministry," he claimed.