By Esther Sanchez
On Friday, June 16th at Spotlight 29 Casino, Coachella Valley lovers of reggae music will be blessed with the return of the incomparable Ziggy Marley. As the son of a legend and himself being one of the most successful reggae artists of all time, Marley has spent his entire life in and around music, but he is no one-trick pony. On the contrary, the 8 time Grammy Award winner has kept himself busy by expressing his creativity through a multitude of mediums in recent years and has been finding success at every turn.
CV Weekly: In 2011 you started doing a lot of writing. You recorded a children’s album and wrote the children’s book, ‘I Love You Too.’ What inspired you to focus on kids?
Marley: “I thought about this a lot. I always want to make music that spreads positivity and love and with children, they have very open minds. They are the most open-minded beings and are not yet affected by the negativity of the world and are very receptive to lots of ideas and philosophies. I figured the best way to affect the world is to reach out to the younger generations with positive ideas.”
CV Weekly: Around the same time you were writing the children’s book, you also put out a really cool graphic novel called Marijuana Man. Have you always been into comics, graphic novels, etcetera?
Marley: “It wasn’t new to me. I have always loved the creativity that goes into this art form. I really enjoy reading them and being a part of it all.”
CV Weekly: I just recently learned about your health food company, Ziggy Marley Organics. I enjoyed the motto which was what I assume is a quote from you, ‘I don’t want to put anything into my body that’s not natural, that wasn’t created by nature, because we are a part of nature.’
Marley: “The business part of it is all fine but like everything else I try to do, it is about spreading the message that I want to send. It is the message that goes with the entrepreneurial endeavor that is key. It’s important to me that whatever way I am branching out, be it with Ziggy Marley Organics or Marijuana Man, or whatever the venture may be, that the message is key because it’s not just about making money. It’s about having different ears listening to what we have to say. The multiple endeavors give us a chance to reach a wider audience.”
CV Weekly: You have been in the music business for over 30 years. If you can go back in time and give advice to your younger self about the music business, what would you say?
Marley: “I think I would tell myself to live in the moment more because a lot of it is kinda blurry.”
You can pick up tickets to see Ziggy Marley live in concert at Spotlight29.com or at the Casino box office.
