With the ebbs and flows of new music, Bob Marley’s legacy and feel-good reggae tracks stand the test of time. In 1945, Jamaica’s most famous recording artist was born. Marley began recording in the early 1960’s. Marley formed and became the lead singer of “the Wailers,” a group he would record with until his death. Marley was known for his reggae and rock roots, singing about political and Jamaican local issues, and spreading awareness and positivity across the globe; in his lifetime, he became famous in the musical and political spheres. Yet, Marley is not alone in his music success – there is more than one recording artist in the family.
Marley had 11 children; his son, Ziggy Marley, went on to record music as well, releasing hits in the mid 2000s which include “True to Myself” and “Love is My Religion”. His daughter Sharon and son Stephen are also recording artists, both produced music outside of their family group, “The Melody Makers.” Marley’s 6th son, Rohan, had 5 children with singer Lauryn Hill, recently resurfacing on TikTok with “Doo Wop (That Thing)” and “Ex-Factor” from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Hill has been sampled and mentioned in tracks by the music giants of today, including Drake and Kanye West. His other sons, Julian, Ky-Mani, and Damian Marley also went on to collaborate with other artists such as Shaggy and Mick Jagger.
The most recent Marley to release a hit is YG Marley, son of Rohan Marley and Lauryn Hill. YG recently released “Praise Jah in the Moonlight” on December 27, 2023 with collaboration from his mother and performed it at some concerts from her recent tour. The track gained traction on TikTok in January, which sampled the song “Crisis” by his grandfather and his accompanists. Despite releasing only one track, YG Marley sits at almost 4 million listeners a month on Spotify today, contributing to new age reggae for generations to come.
The life and successes of his children illuminates how Marley’s legacy lives even today as the world’s top reggae artists. Bob Marley met an early death in 1981 at 36 years old, which led to the cancellation of his U.S. tour announced the year prior. In his lifetime, Marley released 14 albums, with popular tracks including “You Could Be Loved” and “Three Little Birds”, “One Love”, “No Woman No Cry” with the Wailers. If you would like to see more about the Marleys, his life story is depicted in the film “Bob Marley: One Love”, released February 14th, 2024.
