JULIAN MARLEY AND THE UPRISING - JAMAICA TOURIST ISSUE 15
While the undisputed title ‘King of Reggae’ will forever belong to the great Robert Nesta Marley, who tragically passed away from cancer at the young age of 36, the music icon’s abundance of talent continues to live on in the legend’s brood. Several of the reggae star’s 13 children have followed in Marley’s footsteps, establishing music careers in their own right, including a bright star on the Marley sky named Julian. Affectionately called ‘Ju Ju’, Julian Marley has harvested plenty of praise for delivering his very own variety of authentic roots reggae with soulful vocals and hypnotic beats, infused with a little bit of hip-hop, R & B and dancehall. A musician and songwriter, the release of his third and award winning album ‘Awake’ has gained him accolades to include ‘Best Album of the Year’ at the International Reggae & World Music Awards as well as a coveted 2010 Grammy nomination for ‘Best Reggae Album’.
Born in London to Bajan mother Lucy Pounder in 1974, Julian grew up in a multicultural environment, which exposed him to many different cultures and types of music. “I grew up with musicians around me,” remembers Julian, whose first studio recording was cut at the tender age of 5. Frequently in Jamaica, Julian was brought into the studio for his novice recording session by legendary Tuff Gong engineer ‘Sticko’ Warren Weinburg. Recalls the musician, “I remember singing something like ‘the fire is burning, burning’.” Who knows, maybe that first cassette recorded tune will be incorporated into one of Julian’s hits one day.
Julian remembers his father as a peoples’ person and has a vivid memory of the day he visited the great Bob in London, during his ‘Uprising Tour’ in 1980. Describes the musician, “My dad played at Crystal Palace. I remember being taken backstage and him looking down at me with this big, happy, loving smile.”
A positive person who seems to laugh a lot, Julian sports his father’s long, trademark dreadlocks and resembles his father quite a bit. The young musician underlines his belief that people can not convert to be a Rasta, they are born ‘Rasta’, including himself. He describes the source of his inspiration from the viewpoint of a true follower, stating that he gives thanks and praise to the Almighty. While he believes that his inspiration comes from God, the fact that Ju Ju has been fascinated by drum beats, hip hop and British music genres such as Jungle is certainly reflected in his authentic tunes. The musician names The Police, Michael Jackson and Prince among the artists which have greatly influenced him, but reveals that his IPod is loaded with all different kinds of music including Blues, Jazz, Funk and African tribal sounds, which he claims help him to relax when he is not working. “Sometimes, I just like it quiet and listen to nature,” says the 35 year old.
Joining the line-up of Marley siblings who are successfully carrying on their father’s famous name in the music business, Julian ‘Ju Ju’ Marley has earned glory with his third studio album Awake, which won ‘Best Album of the Year’ at the International Reggae & World Music Awards (IRAMWA) in May and was nominated for ‘Best Reggae Album’ at the 2010 Grammy Awards. Julian follows the line-up of Marley children to take up a music career, starting with Ziggy, Stephen, Cedella and Sharon who first formed the ‘Melody Makers’ in 1986. Stephen’s later venture into a solo career was followed by his younger brothers Ky-Mani and Damian (Jr. Gong), who have both enjoyed enormous success on their own. But although the siblings often collaborate on recordings and shows, each of them has proven that it is not only the Marley name, but the eminent reggae beat that pumps through their veins that has led them to their individual triumphs in the music industry.
The gifted musician who plays guitar, keyboard and drums, writes all his lyrics and music from scratch and has recorded three albums so far: Lion in the Morning (1996), A Time & Place (2003) and his most recent release Awake (2009). Inspired by Ju Ju’s grandmother and Bob Marley’s mother, Cedella Booker Marley, who passed away in 2008, Awake features a set of hypnotic beats and soulful vocals. Incorporating the spiritual, roots-reggae sound that Julian has made his own, the album is infused with street-energy hip-hop, bubbling dancehall plus some smooth R&B. In true Marley style, the album features an outstanding collaboration with Stephen called A Little Too Late and a powerful recording with Jr. Gong called Violence in the Streets. The masterfully crafted lyrics speak about problems with violence, its reasons and societal gaps, which Julian believes to be global. “It’s this violence in the street, my brothers got no time to sleep. Say they can’t find a job, cause they have no credentials…”
Ju Ju remains humble despite his increasing success and stays steadfast in his mission to promote peace and love through music and thereby creating positive change around the world. “As artists, we have to be careful of the lyrics we put out and what we teach,” says Ju Ju, explaining that many teenagers identify themselves with music. “Young people live what they listen to and music with violent lyrics is getting far too much airplay,” he continues, pointing out that miscommunication is the cause of misunderstandings, the source of violence. “My mission is to continue my father’s legacy and keep conscious reggae music alive,” explains the musician.
On invitation by the Jamaican Government, Julian and his band ‘The Uprising’ performed during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, celebrating alongside Jamaica’s gold medal winner Usain Bolt. “It was a great time to be in China. We were privileged to witness Jamaica on the rise and support our athletes with reggae music,” says the musician proudly.
2009 was an exciting and eventful year for the young Marley. In addition to the release of his Awake album, Julian performed in Guinea, Africa and embarked on his extensive Awake tour, which began in North America and flourished with major Caribbean and European runs in 2010. ‘Ju Ju’ is currently on the 2010 Raggamuffin tour, gracing the world’s stages alongside an all-star reggae line-up that includes Shaggy, Sean Kingston, Steel Pulse, Sly & Robbie, Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill. The Raggamuffin 2010 tour will be visiting Australia, New Zealand and South America.
Follow tour dates on www.myspace.com/royalmarley and www.ghettoyouths.com. Who knows, maybe some good reggae music will come to your town very soon!
Born in London to Bajan mother Lucy Pounder in 1974, Julian grew up in a multicultural environment, which exposed him to many different cultures and types of music. “I grew up with musicians around me,” remembers Julian, whose first studio recording was cut at the tender age of 5. Frequently in Jamaica, Julian was brought into the studio for his novice recording session by legendary Tuff Gong engineer ‘Sticko’ Warren Weinburg. Recalls the musician, “I remember singing something like ‘the fire is burning, burning’.” Who knows, maybe that first cassette recorded tune will be incorporated into one of Julian’s hits one day.
Julian remembers his father as a peoples’ person and has a vivid memory of the day he visited the great Bob in London, during his ‘Uprising Tour’ in 1980. Describes the musician, “My dad played at Crystal Palace. I remember being taken backstage and him looking down at me with this big, happy, loving smile.”
A positive person who seems to laugh a lot, Julian sports his father’s long, trademark dreadlocks and resembles his father quite a bit. The young musician underlines his belief that people can not convert to be a Rasta, they are born ‘Rasta’, including himself. He describes the source of his inspiration from the viewpoint of a true follower, stating that he gives thanks and praise to the Almighty. While he believes that his inspiration comes from God, the fact that Ju Ju has been fascinated by drum beats, hip hop and British music genres such as Jungle is certainly reflected in his authentic tunes. The musician names The Police, Michael Jackson and Prince among the artists which have greatly influenced him, but reveals that his IPod is loaded with all different kinds of music including Blues, Jazz, Funk and African tribal sounds, which he claims help him to relax when he is not working. “Sometimes, I just like it quiet and listen to nature,” says the 35 year old.
Joining the line-up of Marley siblings who are successfully carrying on their father’s famous name in the music business, Julian ‘Ju Ju’ Marley has earned glory with his third studio album Awake, which won ‘Best Album of the Year’ at the International Reggae & World Music Awards (IRAMWA) in May and was nominated for ‘Best Reggae Album’ at the 2010 Grammy Awards. Julian follows the line-up of Marley children to take up a music career, starting with Ziggy, Stephen, Cedella and Sharon who first formed the ‘Melody Makers’ in 1986. Stephen’s later venture into a solo career was followed by his younger brothers Ky-Mani and Damian (Jr. Gong), who have both enjoyed enormous success on their own. But although the siblings often collaborate on recordings and shows, each of them has proven that it is not only the Marley name, but the eminent reggae beat that pumps through their veins that has led them to their individual triumphs in the music industry.
The gifted musician who plays guitar, keyboard and drums, writes all his lyrics and music from scratch and has recorded three albums so far: Lion in the Morning (1996), A Time & Place (2003) and his most recent release Awake (2009). Inspired by Ju Ju’s grandmother and Bob Marley’s mother, Cedella Booker Marley, who passed away in 2008, Awake features a set of hypnotic beats and soulful vocals. Incorporating the spiritual, roots-reggae sound that Julian has made his own, the album is infused with street-energy hip-hop, bubbling dancehall plus some smooth R&B. In true Marley style, the album features an outstanding collaboration with Stephen called A Little Too Late and a powerful recording with Jr. Gong called Violence in the Streets. The masterfully crafted lyrics speak about problems with violence, its reasons and societal gaps, which Julian believes to be global. “It’s this violence in the street, my brothers got no time to sleep. Say they can’t find a job, cause they have no credentials…”
Ju Ju remains humble despite his increasing success and stays steadfast in his mission to promote peace and love through music and thereby creating positive change around the world. “As artists, we have to be careful of the lyrics we put out and what we teach,” says Ju Ju, explaining that many teenagers identify themselves with music. “Young people live what they listen to and music with violent lyrics is getting far too much airplay,” he continues, pointing out that miscommunication is the cause of misunderstandings, the source of violence. “My mission is to continue my father’s legacy and keep conscious reggae music alive,” explains the musician.
On invitation by the Jamaican Government, Julian and his band ‘The Uprising’ performed during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, celebrating alongside Jamaica’s gold medal winner Usain Bolt. “It was a great time to be in China. We were privileged to witness Jamaica on the rise and support our athletes with reggae music,” says the musician proudly.
2009 was an exciting and eventful year for the young Marley. In addition to the release of his Awake album, Julian performed in Guinea, Africa and embarked on his extensive Awake tour, which began in North America and flourished with major Caribbean and European runs in 2010. ‘Ju Ju’ is currently on the 2010 Raggamuffin tour, gracing the world’s stages alongside an all-star reggae line-up that includes Shaggy, Sean Kingston, Steel Pulse, Sly & Robbie, Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill. The Raggamuffin 2010 tour will be visiting Australia, New Zealand and South America.
Follow tour dates on www.myspace.com/royalmarley and www.ghettoyouths.com. Who knows, maybe some good reggae music will come to your town very soon!
.JPG)
