One On One With Sharon Marley: New Music, One Love & Honouring Bob’s Legacy
The Marley name remains a powerful component of Jamaican entertainment and culture the world over, becoming, for many, synonymous with Rastafari teachings of unity, upfulness and black liberation.
For Sharon Marley, the eldest of the Bob and Rita Marley clan, the legacy established by her parents has been a constant guide over the course of her life, illuminating and inspiring her individual path.
Having dedicated much of her recent years to advocacy work, nurturing young talent in Jamaica and serving as curator of the Bob Marley Museum, the mother and philanthropist is re-devoting herself to her musical roots, as she prepares to launch her debut solo album this year.
The first single, ‘Steppah’, sees Marley teaming up with Big Youth, a legendary reggae voice of the 70s’, to pay homage to the classic dance floor days of rocksteady and rub-a-dub, blending the genre’s authentic sound with her own unique style.
“The story behind ‘Steppah’ is a true story, yeah? It’s a true story about love, loss and wanting to be reclaimed,” Marley tells Your Caribbean Guide of the track, released on February 9th. “The song was written by my son Ingemar and the riddim was produced by Leroy Romans and Nicko Rebel. It’s a combination of different creatives- my daughter (Donisha Prendergast) did the video, so it became a family event. Big Youth has been a part of the family for a long time so having him on the track is a blessing,” she adds.
Buried beneath the sultry lyrics and her silky-smooth vocals, Marley is intentional about providing a healing escape for fans, recording the track at 432 Hz for its therapeutic properties.
“I can only follow my parents’ example. They did music from the heart, they did music with a purpose. What the world needs now is love, love and more love. So I figure, what can I do to help the world where it is at right now? I can’t go out there and stop the war or make everybody think peacefully but I can put that frequency in my music so that when you’re listening to it you get that energy. That’s what the love frequency is, it’s consciously recording music with a vision and a hope for the future,” she explains.
Just as her father declared more than forty years ago that “we free the people with music”, she holds firm to the ideology that music can be used as a powerful vehicle for change in a society desperately in need of relief.
“As Bob Marley said, music is going to teach them a lesson. You know, children are a main example, the easiest way to teach a child a lesson is to put it in a song. I think that’s what Bob Marley did during his years here on earth, was to reach people during different stages. The independence in Zimbabwe, the South African plight, it was through music. A lot of these people fought for their freedom with Bob Marley’s music, his music encouraged them to stand up for their rights so music can incite as well as calm, so you use it wisely.”
Bob Marley’s revolutionary bravado is captured in the recently released and highly acclaimed One Love film, which shines a light for a new generation to reflect on the late singer’s movement and message which remained solid even in the face of Jamaica’s shadowy political climate in the 1970s.
“The assassination attempt is what the movie was built around,” Sharon says of the film, referencing the 1976 incident when Bob, Rita, and members of their band were attacked as they prepared for the Smile Jamaica unity concert.
“Quite frankly it’s very traumatizing for me personally and I can speak for my brothers and sisters because we were all there together, to remember that event. Of course, I cried the whole movie, my mother cried the whole time. I think it was depicted accurately and kudos to the actors who played the part. Even The Wailers, I think they did a good job overall,” Sharon says.
The Paramount Pictures film, of which Ziggy Marley is a producer, also provides an intimate look at the bond shared between Bob and Rita, depicted on-screen by British actor Kingsley Ben-Adir and second-generation Jamaican, Lashana Lynch.
For Sharon, Rita’s biological daughter who was later adopted by Marley when the couple wed in 1966, the biopic does an excellent job of highlighting her mother’s indelible contribution to Bob Marley’s legendary status.
“She’s the backbone of our family, she’s been that way probably from before we were born. Ever since she met Bob she was the one who introduced him to Rastafari, she was his constant. Constantly reminding him to move forward on the mission. Constantly there for all the children, all my brothers and sisters even though they’re from different mothers, they were raised by my mother from some time.”
Where the world revered Bob for his star power and era-defining music, to his children, he was first hailed a hero for simply being “daddy”.
“He was a fun dad, very loving father, very competitive too,” she smiles, conjuring up treasured memories.
“He wouldn’t let us win a race if we were having a race he would win it. He would push us to be the best that we could possibly be. Fitness was a big part of our growing up with him, we’d have to get up in the morning and get ready to go run on the beach before going to school.”
With Bob’s passing in 1981 after a four-year battle with cancer, Sharon- who was 16 at the time- recalls that the family had to “hit the road early” to begin the work of preserving his dynamic legacy.
“(I sometimes wonder) what else could he have done if he was here, can you imagine? I want to say there would be more peace on earth, but Jah Jah had a different plan. Boy, he left us a legacy. He left us early… he left us with a lot of work, but he didn’t leave us unprepared,” she affirms.
Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, the sibling band formed in 1979 which comprised Sharon, brothers Ziggy and Stephen and sister Cedella, continued on after Bob’s death until 2002, securing three Grammys for their albums, Fallen Is Babylon, One Bright Day, and Conscious Party. The group is also best remembered for hit singles such as Tumblin’ Down and Tomorrow’s People.
Today, the Marley clan’s primary focus is on passing the baton to their offspring.
“It have a lot of youngsters in our family. It’s their time now to take the mantle from us, even as the generation before them. So I’m sure Bob Marley’s music will live on. We’ve raised them in a way that they know the importance of carrying through this message. We truly believe in living what we’ve learnt over the years and that’s through listening to our patriarch and our matriarch,” Sharon says.
It is in this act of passing on, too, that Sharon has been able to nurture and explore her own growth trajectory as a solo act.
“I think myself a very shy person and being a part of the group was it for me. Being a solo artist right now, I did not expect this. Seeing myself go out there and doing it, I’m very proud of that, that’s a big step for me. I performed at the AGO which is the Art Gallery of Ontario, in Toronto a few weeks ago, solo. Who knew, you know? Everything I am doing now is a gift. It’s nothing that I was planning for.”
As authors of our own story, what is Sharon Marley penning for her legacy?
“Well, I would like my footprint to show determination. (That) I never gave up on myself. Even at this age, I still have a lot of things that I want to do. My mission is to be an example of love, peace, and everything with high integrity. That is what my parents taught me. Being a role model is my purpose, how I live, I live for the next. As my mother’s motto is, the hungry fed, the naked clothed, the homeless provided with shelter. Those are the things that I live for.”
This weekend (March 23rd), Sharon Marley will receive the prestigious Queens of Reggae Island Honorary Ceremony (QORIHC) award for her contribution to Jamaica’s rich entertainment industry.
“I’m looking forward to that, I’m very excited,” she beams.
