Title: Reggae and World Music Awards

Excerpt: Ky-Mani Marley then collected his Producer's Respect Award, setting the stage for soca artiste Jaydene to open up the performances of the night. It came as little surprise when Dean Fraser and Mutabaruka took home the IRAWMA trophies for Best Instrumentalist and Best Poet next.

Excerpt: Ky-Mani wasn't the only Marley who had a good night. His brothers Stephen and Ziggy Marley also took home trophies. Stephen won the awards for Best CD - Mind Control, as well as Songwriter of the Year, and Ziggy with the Marcus Garvey Humanitarian Award, "for charitable efforts through his URGE organisation". They were however not present at the event.

Title: For Stephen Marley, reggae is still a family affair

Excerpt: "I don't want to be just another artist." Those were words of Stephen Marley.

Excerpt: "My joy and my pain," he said, "this is me.

"It's a page from my book: every page tells a story, but at the same time is a continuation of the page before it or the page to come.

"This is just one page," he continued.

Excerpt: It's been quite a career for someone who has never seemed to take his family lineage for granted.

And, more importantly, wanted nothing more than to be part of "good music, good message, good vibe."

"I want to make a statement," Stephen said, "and continue this legacy, this musical legacy, with my family."

Title: Cedella Marley-Booker to Get Order of Distinction

Excerpt: Prime Minister Bruce Golding, through Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Ken Baugh, this morning (April 28) announced that Cedella Marley-Booker, will be posthumously awarded the Order of Distinction.

Excerpt: Recapturing her accomplishments, the Deputy Prime Minister said Mrs. Booker was always motivated to better herself and to look after her children, 'Though she might have been a victim of tragedy, difficulties and poverty, she was never a victim of boredom as she struggled to always improve herself ', Dr Baugh concluded

Title: Marley Tribute Concert

Excerpt: Performing in Jamaica for the first time in five years, a confident Ziggy Marley cruised through songs from his Grammy winning album, `Love is My Religion` exuding a level of self-assurance that showed he had long since stepped out of his father’s shadow. Although not readily familiar to the audience, lyrically potent songs like `Black Cat` and `Still the Storms` were well received and the cheers grew when he delivered his declaration of independence, `True to Myself` from the 2003 album `Dragonfly.`

Excerpt: `It’s been a while,` he said acknowledging the applause of the crowd. `But I never forget yard and yard never forget I.`

Excerpt: The audience showed a lot of love for the nostalgia and still had much left over later in the show when Ziggy and Stephen took the stage again, this time joined by their younger brothers Ky-mani, Julian and Damian. Opening with `Smile Jamaica`, the brothers took turns singing lead as they made their way through their father’s treasure chest of hits like `Rebel Music`, `Rat Race`, `Exodus`, `War` and of course, the anthem of the occasion, `Africa Unite.

Title: Marley magic at Smile Jamaica

Excerpt: Something magical happens when the Marley boys share a stage.

It was as if Julian, Ziggy, Damion, Stephen and Ky-Mani were channelling various personas of their father Bob, who the world hails as one of its greatest performers, inside the Smile Jamaica Africa Unite concert, held last Saturday on James Bond Beach in Oracabessa, St Mary.

Title: Rita Marley: There from the beginning

Excerpt: All over the world, the Marley name and Rita Marley have become synonymous with reggae music, Rastafari and Jamaica. Rita was born Rita Anderson in Cuba, and raised from an early age in Trench Town.

Excerpt: By the early '70s, Rita and Bob developed the I-Threes, Jamaica's three leading female singers (Rita Marley, Judy Mowatt, Marcia Griffiths), to provide support harmonies for Bob Marley and the Wailers, who had become the first reggae act to gain an international record contract.

Excerpt: On her official website she notes, "Reggae is the heartbeat of a person. It's the people's music. Everywhere you go, you get the same response from both black and white."

Excerpt: Rita now lives in Ghana and is called Nana Afua Abodea 1, within the Aqwapim region of Ghana.

Title: A chat with Mama Marley

Excerpt: "Him born before day, you know. Two o' clock in the morning. Every year since his passing, I wake up at that time on his birthday. I just sit up in bed and read my Bible and give thanks to Rastafari for the blessing that I get on that day," she said, a glimmer in her eyes.

Excerpt: "It give me good feeling in my heart to see these people come here from all over the world. Bob did a lot for them, you know. He was a great man in their lives, so they come now, especially on his birthday to show their love for him."

Excerpt: "Of course, I didn't know he was going to be a reggae king, but I knew he was a king from birth. It was a great moment, you know. I remember it clearly. I will never forget it. No mother will forget the birth of any of their children. It is the best time of their lives," she said.

Title: Continent Divided: "Africa Unite"

Excerpt: "I know [my father] would have said, 'It's not about my 60th birthday; it's about the unity of Africa.' This is the more important message.'"

Excerpt: "We had to make sure that this wasn't about the Marleys," Ziggy said. "It had to ... have more meaning. So that's one of the reasons why that [Bongo Tawney] angle is taken. We're kids; this man is coming from the roots of [Rastafari]. This man is the real, real deal from the roots. We have to show that to delve deeper into this journey. ... It's about the deeper journey of the roots of Rastafari, the connection to Ethiopia, the unity of Africa."

Excerpt: MARLEY: The understanding that you can't hide; you can't run away from that fact. The fact that the Rastafarian movement has made Ethiopia a visible entity in the world. We promote Ethiopia all the time — red, gold and green. I think them just coming around, and the fear that they had of the resurgence of love of the monarchy, I think that fear is gone. That's not what we're about; we're not about anything political. Governments fear when they're going to lose power, and because we uphold His Majesty Haile Selassie I, they had a fear of that love coming back for the monarchy and there would be political problems in Ethiopia. But once they realize this isn't a political agenda, then it become more cool. So it's just a better understanding of what the Rastafarian movement is and it's not a threat to any political structure.

Excerpt: "Without a thought, it don't happen. Before man go to the moon, him have to think, "Maybe we can go to the moon." So the whole idea of what we're doing here is trying to reignite the spark, to reignite the consciousness of this concept, so it becomes thoughts, then it becomes words, then it becomes action. This is not a political movement; it's a consciousness movement. And once enough consciousness is raised, then the consciousness pass onto other people until it reach — let's call them the "leaders" — who can make it possible. We need to raise consciousnesses first before we raise the actual action of it.""

Title: Ky-Mani Marley carves his own musical niche

Excerpt: SK: Given your background and your father, there were dozens of avenues down which you could have ventured, was music just impossible to ignore?

KM: No, I wouldn’t say that. It was just my destiny. For quite some time I didn’t pay it any attention. It wasn’t something I sat down and decided music was something I want to do. It was something that happened to me until I reached a point where I thought this is it. Then I became focused on what I want to portray to people as far as how I want to express myself and what I want to express.

Excerpt: SK: Given our current world situation, what kind of artistry do you think your father would be reflecting today?

KM: The same way he’s doing it right now. You know what I mean? Nothing changes except he hasn’t been here for how long and yet still his message is one of the driving forces behind world peace, humanitarian rights and justice. Nothing changes.

Excerpt: KM: To have the last name period, first you have to sit back and recognize him not as a son, but as a man. How much impact he has on the world is amazing. Now to be a part of that is overwhelming. For me, to carry on his legacy and his message, for me the only thing, is I have to do it my way. I don’t think people would appreciate me if came as a spin-off of what my Dad already did. There can only be one Bob Marley and it’s going to take all of his sons, all his children to carry on his legacy, we all to do it in our own way for it to be respected and appreciated. That’s what I’m doing.

Title: Stephen wins best reggae album

Excerpt: Best Reggae Album
Mind Control
Stephen Marley
[Tuff Gong/Ghetto Youths/Universal Republic]

Title: Marley film to debut at Carib

Excerpt: An independent documentary film maker, Black has won critical success with her works such as H-2 Worker, Life and Debt and the yet to be released Africa Unite: A Celebration of Bob Marley's Vision - all of which focus on Jamaica.

Excerpt: Black has also produced and directed music videos for artistes such as Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, Buju Banton, Snow and Anthony B, among others. In 1999, Stephanie Black directed and produced a 30-minute documentary on the making of Chant Down Babylon a Bob Marley tribute album produced by Stephen Marley featuring Lauryn Hill, Busta Rhymes, Erykah Badu, among others.

Excerpt: Black was asked by the Marley family to direct the film: Africa Unite. They gave her creative freedom in its production. A lover of Marley's music, Black was happy to accept. "The whole experience was great," she said. "I was very excited to go to Ethiopia, it was a privilege to be there to see a free concert of 350,000 persons in Meskel Square where a lot of brutality occurred. It was very symbolic," she said.

Title: Marley Brothers First Ever Jamaican Performance

Excerpt: Never before on Jamaica soil, have Ziggy, Stephen, Julian, Ky-Mani and Damian Marley appeared together on a single stage, on a single night. The sheer magnitude of the combined concert event is further enhanced by their participation.

Excerpt: Collaborating for the Smile Jamaica - Africa Unite stage is truly symbolic considering the significance of Smile Jamaica. In December 1976, Bob Marley, headlined the show at the National Heroes Park in Kingston. Despite being attacked the night before, he bravely and defiantly stepped out and said he would only do one song, but ended up working the stage for ninety minutes. Persons described the atmosphere of that show as “buoyant and positive”.

Excerpt: Other performers sharing in the moment include: The Melody Makers (the Marley sisters Cedella and Sharon), the seminal The I Three (Rita Marley, Marcia Griffiths and Judy Mowatt), Black Uhuru, Rasta talents Capleton, Taurrus Riley, Richie Spice, Spragga Benz, Lutan Fyah, Coco Tea and Alborosie, African Queens Etana and Queen Ifrica, musicians Dean Fraser and Ernie Ranglin, new comer Javaughn and sound systems Stone Love and Gully Bank.

Title: Africa Unites On DVD

Excerpt: In celebration of Marley’s life and message, the Bob Marley and the Rita Marley Foundations started an annual concert in 2005 aimed at promoting African unity. The first concert took place over 12 hours in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and attracted more than 300,000 people.

Excerpt: Ziggy Marley, the eldest son of Bob and Rita Marley, together with other members of the Marley clan took part in the performance and film. Ziggy Marley, who himself is a Grammy-winning reggae artist (responsible for the buoyant 1989 hit “Tomorrow People,” along with backup band the Melody Makers), lends narration to the film.

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: Bob Marley and sons take top 3 spots on reggae chart

Excerpt: More than 26 years after his death, Bob Marley continues to sell records, topping Billboard's year-end Top Reggae Albums chart.

Excerpt: Carrying on the family tradition, Marley's sons Stephen and Damian claim the No. 2 and 3 rungs on the year-end reggae albums chart with "Mind Control" (Ghetto Youths/Tuff Gong/Universal Republic/UMRG) and "Welcome to Jam Rock" (Ghetto Youths/Tuff Gong/Universal Republic/UMRG), respectively. The brothers also rank at Nos. 3 and 4 on the Top Reggae Artists year-end chart.

Title: Stephen Marley Scores 2008 Grammy Nomination

Excerpt: Multiple-Grammy winning artist/producer, Stephen Marley (he holds
the Reggae record with five Grammy wins) was nominated, for Best
Reggae Album for his 2007 masterpiece Mind Control.

Excerpt: "Every Grammy I have ever received has been an honor and I'm
grateful to be nominated this year," stated Marley.

Excerpt: Stephen is the third consecutive Marley (hailing from the great
Marley musical dynasty) to be nominated in the Best Reggae Album
category, with Ziggy Marley taking home the award at the 49th Annual
Grammy Awards for Love Is My Religion, and brother Damian "Jr. Gong"
Marley winning at the 48th Grammys for Welcome To Jamrock.

Title: Marley legacy still jammin'

Excerpt: The success of Jamrock led Stephen, 35, to postpone his first solo album until this spring. The wait has been worth it: Mind Control has spent eight weeks atop Billboard's reggae charts; it peaked at No. 35 on the general album chart.

Excerpt: "Maybe it's God's plan," Stephen says. "We just hope to enlighten the people in many different ways — socially, spiritually, physically."

Excerpt: Their father opened the door," Fox says, "but here's one family that has not taken that pass for granted."

Title: Stephen Marley Is in 'Control'

Excerpt: So, 28 years between debut recording and debut album: Is that a career deferred, or what?

"What can I say?" Stephen says with a laugh from San Diego, a stop on his first headlining tour, one that brings him to the 9:30 club Tuesday, with Damian and possibly other Marleys in tow.

"We are a team and I am the midfielder," Stephen says. "I am the one that sends through the passes so that my teammates can score the goals. That was just the position that was comfortable for me, the position we all flourished best at, when I was in the middle.

"Now it's time for me to go up front."

Excerpt: The gentler side of the Wailers legacy is evoked on Stephen's reading of Ray Charles's "Lonely Avenue," the album's only cover.

"First of all, I'm a big fan of Ray Charles's music," he explains. "And that song, it kind of has a double meaning to me, reminds me of 'Concrete Jungle.' 'My room has got two windows, but the sunlight never comes through' reminds me of 'No sun will shine in my day today.' A lot of people see that kind of situation in their own lives -- they have windows in their lives, but the sun doesn't shine for them. It had a double meaning to me, more than just singing about a woman, it had a life meaning."

Title: Stephen Marley Talks Mind Control, Family, Jail

Excerpt: Pitchfork: Or being in jail? You have those three songs on the album that are inspired by your experience of being put in a Tallahassee jail for marijuana possession. What was that like?

SM: Well, it was an experience still. I mean, it wasn't a great bad experience. It was an inconvenience. It wasn't justified, where they put us for this plant that we had. It wasn't justified, because I was behind bars with people that cut people's throats. And at the same time, I can go out to any bar on any given day and have as many shots of Jack Daniels and be as drunk as I want to be. So it didn't feel right, and it made me very curious as to why, really, do they fight this plant so much when it has so many different uses, you know?

Excerpt: Pitchfork: How do you avoid them? It seems like every family has problems.

SM: We're spiritual. Our father is our greatest mentor, and what he stands for-- it would be a total dishonor for us to be a squabbling family. To be a family that can enhance the lessons, the things that my father stood for, the things that he taught well, and we as his seeds-- it's a good pressure. It's good standards. So that is how we approach life. We don't really have the time. We grow up without a father. I have no time for quarrelling with my brothers. I love them. I appreciate everything.

Title: Stephen Marley comes from reggae royalty

Excerpt: What's something people would be surprised to learn about your father? I don't know really. My dad loved ice cream. I don't know if that matters.

Excerpt: If you could control people's minds, would you? Um, yes! Because I would put positive things in their thoughts and in their minds. Such as? Just love, first of all. Love for mankind, you know. That would be the biggest thing. If we cannot find love, we can't find nothing.

Title: African Film Festival - Africa Unite

Excerpt: Series: The 14th New York African Film Festival [Apr. 4 - 12 2007]
Director: Stephanie Black, Country: Ethiopia, Release: 2007

Excerpt: The "Africa Unite" concert was performed in front of more than 350,000 people, gathered in the historic Meskel Square of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to celebrate what would have been Bob Marley's 60th birthday. The 12-hour concert, featuring a host of internationally acclaimed artists, is interwoven throughout this film, illuminating the global influence of a man who defined his own aim as "spreading the message of unity and equality, to end the needless suffering of mankind."

Title: Bob Marley's Sons to Hold Concert

Excerpt: KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) - Four sons of Bob Marley will hold a concert promoting peace to commemorate the 62nd anniversary of the musician's birth, a family spokesman said Tuesday.

Excerpt: The concert shares the name of a 1976 show staged by the government of former socialist Prime Minister Michael Manley to promote harmony between politically aligned gangs, and it will feature Stephen Marley and his brothers Ky-Mani, Damian and Julian, Hamilton said.

Excerpt: Hamilton said Ziggy Marley, the most famous of the legendary musician's children, was not able to attend and rarely visits Jamaica.

Title: Stephen Marley

Excerpt: Mind Control "has more magic than 'great songs,'" says Stephen mischievously. "But it has a little magic in it, still." And perhaps more than anything that's the secret to this Marley's auspicious solo debut: the magic created when diverse roots combine in an artist's singular musical vision--when a blistering electric guitar solo slides into a bluesy harmonica riff and Stephen's wails let me out, let me out/I'm an angry lion on "Iron Bars", a collaboration with brother Julian and longtime friend the rapper Mr Cheeks--the only guest artists on the album. With the release of Got Music? that lion is out--and he's roaring.

Title: Stephen Marley in spotlight with debut album

Excerpt: But with the March 20 release of his long-awaited debut album "Mind Control" (Tuff Gong/Universal Republic), the spotlight will shine on Stephen's talents as an emotive singer, diversified songwriter and accomplished instrumentalist while solidifying his reputation as an innovative, genre-blurring producer.

Stephen handily navigates through the album's myriad moods. He is the forlorn romantic on the haunting ballad "You're Gonna Leave," the anguished bluesman on "Iron Bars" and the consummate roots reggae revolutionary decrying political corruption on "Chase Dem."

Title: Stephen Marley Ready for the Spotlight

Excerpt: Every step towards Damian's new manner of fame, Stephen was there. Stephen, the second son of Bob and Rita Marley, produced that song and much of Damian's work over the past decade. Stephen saw how people were coming to Damian's concerts, not at the chance of hearing a Bob Marley cover song performed by his son, but to hear Damian's work.

"We don't want to separate ourselves from our father," Stephen says, "but I saw that."

And it soon may be Stephen's turn to experience it. The 34-year-old will release his debut solo album, "Mind Control," on March 20.

Excerpt: "It's mental slavery," Stephen says. "The system cannot put chains on us anymore because we will rebel. We came a long way since chains and shackles so they can't do that anymore but they will try to control us mental; how to think and how to live and how to speak."

"Mind Control" is the first chapter in Stephen's book, he says. "It’s the beginning. It's not the whole story because I have much more things to say." The eclectic album features appearances by Mos Def, Ben Harper and Damian.

Title: Music a means, a message

Excerpt: He has an eclectic mix of influences such as his family, Shabba Ranks, Supercat, Tiger, Ninja Man, Third World, Snoop Dogg, Nat King Cole and more, so Junior Gong produces music that has long been hard to classify. "It's dancehall and reggae. I've noticed over the past couple years people trying to separate the two of them. Originally dancehall was a place. Is the same culture. You hardly have any artiste that stay on one riddim . In terms of even that artiste yuh more know for dancehall in general them still have songs on one drop riddims. It's Jamaican culture in general. I don't try to classify or separate," he said.

Excerpt: Naysayers claim that Damian has reached so far because of his name, but he says "at the end of the day you not going to listen to rubbish and people buy the album and love it. I don't think Marley is gonna win yuh over in people's CD decks. It might win yuh an interview and a picture here or there, but the response that yuh get when yuh go on-stage and hear cars passing and playing that, Marley doesn't win yuh dat, music wins yuh da. That's the prize more than anything else."