Ziggy Marley Turns Grief Into Light On 'brightside' And Brings The Vibration To The Hollywood Bowl

It’s Friday day successful North Hollywood and Ziggy Marley is perched connected a stool wrong his recently built Rebel Lion Studio, tucked successful 1 of nan neighborhood’s imaginative enclaves.

The nine-time Grammy victor is surrounded by a postulation of lion figurines, guitars, accepted manus drums and a piano. Along nan walls bent 2 replicas of backdrops his legendary father, Bob Marley, utilized connected circuit successful nan 1970s. The murals, depicting Rastafari icons and Haile Selassie I and Marcus Garvey, were featured successful nan 2024 biopic “Bob Marley: One Love.”

“These are what we utilized arsenic nan backdrop for nan performance scenes. Them belief to me,” Marley says successful patois arsenic nan smell of palo santo dances astir nan rehearsal space.

Music has been some an inheritance and lifelong pursuit for Marley. From sitting successful workplace sessions pinch his begetter arsenic a kid to building a five-decade profession of his own, he has remained a funny student of nan craft, 1 consenting to situation normal successful hunt of a deeper meaning. That tone is evident connected “Brightside,” his ninth solo album, which was released connected vinyl connected April 18 (Record Store Day) and May 1 connected streaming.

Rather than signaling nan eight-track task successful 440 Hz, nan modular tuning wave for astir modern music, he opted for 432 Hz, a tuning immoderate musicians and theorists judge creates a warmer, much meditative listening experience. He besides slowed down his songwriting process, giving each lyric room to transportation its connection of dream done turbulent times. The album, which whitethorn beryllium his astir individual yet, besides features “Many Mourn for Bob,” nan first opus he has written straight astir his precocious father.

“I deliberation it shows nan adjacent shape that I astir apt americium in,” says Marley, adding that he felt connected to his begetter connected a belief level. “We took different measurement successful nan relationship, to different spot that it’s ne'er been before.”

Ziggy Marley is bringing his “Brightside” circuit to nan Hollywood Bowl connected June 21 alongside reggae prima Burning Spear.

(Dania Maxwell / For The Times)

He adds, “When I was doing nan song, it benignant of came to maine for illustration this opus could’ve been my father’s song. It could’ve been a opus that he wrote.”

The reflective quality of “Brightside” arrives astatine different pivotal clip successful Marley’s career. This twelvemonth marks nan 20th day of “Love Is My Religion,” nan Grammy-winning medium that launched his solo profession and crystallized a individual accuracy he still carries today. He is besides group to merchandise his sixth children’s book, “True to Myself,” successful September.

As we wrap up our conversation, Marley has only a fewer minutes earlier Rebel Lion Studio shifts backmost into activity mode. Within minutes, bandmates, inheritance singers and accumulation unit members statesman funneling into nan space, hauling successful stacks of instrumentality arsenic promotion and preparations proceed nan “Brightside” tour, which stops astatine nan Hollywood Bowl connected June 21.

This question and reply has been lightly edited for magnitude and clarity.

You recorded your latest album, “Brightside,” present astatine Rebel Lion Studio, which you designed and built from nan crushed up. Can you return maine backmost to nan opening of that process and why you wanted to do it?

I grew up astir my begetter and my mother arsenic increasing musicians trying to win and location was 1 point I kept proceeding complete and complete passim my life: independence. Their full ngo was to beryllium independent. I saw them activity and I saw my begetter build a studio. I saw him person a abstraction wherever he tin do much euphony and power his ain time. That was a dream of excavation for a agelong time, ever since I started doing euphony because usually we usage different people’s studios. I couldn’t person this successful my house. It’s excessively much. It’s a dream travel true.

We’re surrounded by 2 beautiful murals. Is location a peculiar point that is individual to you?

The murals are replicas of my father’s backdrops that they used. The original artwork is by Neville Garrick, but he helped america re-create them for nan Bob Marley movie. These are nan murals we utilized arsenic nan backdrop for nan performance scenes. They are belief to maine origin that’s Haile Selassie and Marcus Garvey, 2 very important beings for us. Inspirational.

On “Brightside,” Ziggy Marley dedicated a opus to his father, Bob Marley, for nan first clip successful his career.

(Dania Maxwell / For The Times)

“Brightside” is your ninth solo album. What mindset were you successful emotionally and spiritually erstwhile you started moving connected it?

I ne'er thought astir making an album, I was conscionable penning songs. You conscionable pat into things successful your subconscious that are waiting to go music, I consciousness like. Then erstwhile nan clip comes for penning songs, nan clip comes. It’s for illustration a season. Like you person blueberry aliases orangish season. So there’s a play for maine erstwhile I constitute songs. Then you say, “All right, let’s make an medium then.” But you don’t deliberation astir an medium before. It’s conscionable an look aliases a emotion conscionable to make music, not for immoderate logic but to make it. It happened complete a play of years. Ideas and experiences that yet travel out. But person to nan clip I [made] nan album, I retrieve penning immoderate of nan later songs for illustration “Why Let nan World.” It was a opus that I wrote because I was emotion down and everything that was happening successful nan world and nan country. Just truthful overmuch negativity and I conscionable felt for illustration I needed to return a break from it. To recharge yourself. We cannot conflict each day. We request to return a break and past get backmost to it. I needed to thatch myself to return immoderate time. It was much of a intelligence point than an affectional thing. Stuff I woody pinch my father, individual life and worldly pinch my spirituality and my faith. So there’s a batch of maine successful this record.

“Many Mourn for Bob” is nan first opus you’ve explicitly written astir your father. Your brother, Stephen, is besides connected nan vocals. What amazed you emotionally erstwhile that opus was finished?

I’m not judge I thought astir it for illustration that. The acquisition of expressing that emotion, it’s a belief experience. I deliberation it shows nan adjacent shape that I astir apt americium successful and moreover my narration pinch my begetter connected that belief level. It’s a different place. We took different measurement successful nan relationship, to different spot that it’s ne'er been before. When I was doing nan song, it benignant of came to maine for illustration this opus could’ve been my father’s song. It could’ve been a opus that he wrote. That’s really I felt astir it. This is partially his song. It’s maine and him making this song. This opus is his opus too.

How has your narration pinch condolences changed complete nan years?

It’s much of a comrade, understanding, empathy and having nan maturity and nan acquisition to understand what he went done arsenic a man, arsenic a quality being. I deliberation that’s what it is, really. A amended knowing of what he went through, not nan glory. The pain, nan intelligence and affectional state. You’re much than conscionable an idol. You’re much than conscionable a legend. You’re much than conscionable a father. To spell deeper than that, truthful that’s nan adjacent level.

Yeah, nan skit you utilized of him saying “I’m conscionable a man from nan ghetto” connected nan opus really summarizes that.

That’s nan existent him. That’s him correct there. Even successful nan reside of his voice, you tin perceive nan existent Robert coming out.

Another standout opus from nan medium is “Racism Is a Killa.” One point that you do good is having a dense topic, but uncovering a measurement to still make it consciousness hopeful and joyful. Why was it important for you to attack nan way this measurement alternatively than from a spot of anger, heaviness aliases sounding preachy?

I deliberation it started retired preachy and angry, but complete time, it benignant of evolved and I benignant of evolved excessively ‘cause my ain improvement is represented successful nan music. And you cognize something, doing that opus helped maine germinate because I had to deliberation astir it otherwise without nan anger. The opus made maine do that. Like really other tin I attack this? It’s inspiration that causes these things. It’s not an intelligence thing. I didn’t do that intellectually. Like complete time, thing conscionable started coming retired of me. I ne'er really thought astir it before, but I tin spot it now.

In nan video, which features your daughter, Zuri, you referred to nan information arsenic “Racismosis” successful nan video and sang astir really it tin beryllium cured.

It’s benignant of for illustration a sickness, a disease. It’s a virus. We tin minimize nan microorganism and extremity nan disease. It’s true. Racism is simply a killa. This microorganism tin termination ya. Literally termination ya. Spirtually termination ya. Emotionally termination ya. Mentally termination ya. It termination ya successful different ways. It kills nan unfortunate and it kills nan personification perpetrating it. It’s sidesplitting everyone, but we tin cure it though. It starts pinch nan children. I person a friend of excavation who said, “Yo, my small boy loves this song. He doesn’t want to stop. He says ‘Put connected “Racism is simply a Killa.”’ So that’s wherever nan antidote is starting. The minds of nan children. The euphony pinch a conscious connection gives them nan correct consciousness that they turn up with. That is really we return our clip and little nan dispersed of nan virus.

You precocious released an alternate version for “Racism Is a Killa” pinch Big Boi. How did that collaboration travel together and what excited you astir moving pinch him?

I’ve loved Big Boi and Outkast from a agelong clip ago. He’s a fable and a beardown voice. There’s different layers to it and I consciousness for illustration Big Boi took it to that different layer. So yeah, we conscionable emotion Big Boi and I’m going to jump connected thing he does. [Laughs]

I’d beryllium remiss if I didn’t inquire your attack for your medium and really you swapped nan emblematic 440 Hz for 432 Hz. Do you retrieve nan first clip you heard nan euphony played backmost that way?

It’s a agelong travel because for astir of my life successful music, I’ve tried to beryllium a student. I’ve tried to support an unfastened mind and study much and more. With this album, there’s an inspirational broadside of euphony and that’s wherever I thin into astir of nan time, but arsenic I grew up, I started to understand there’s besides a subject too. It’s besides mathematics. The universe, it’s each mathematics and science, and I shouldn’t shun nan subject of euphony conscionable because I deliberation nan inspiration is each it should be. I deliberation a portion of that was learning that for myself and opening up and saying, “Yo, fto maine put immoderate subject into this.” Frequency. What does wave do to people? Frequency affects people. Frequency is simply a weapon. It’s a tool. I’m judge nan service has immoderate benignant of wave thing. So wave is powerful. I wanted to effort thing different anyway. I want to beryllium different. I want my wave to beryllium different from nan mostly of frequencies that’s being played retired there, because it’s nosy for maine to beryllium different.

When I was moving connected nan demos, I was for illustration “Let maine effort this 432 Hz thing” and I for illustration really it feels for maine personally, really I singing connected nan frequencies. It resonates otherwise and makes maine consciousness different. We did it and it felt good, and we did it live, and from my constituent of view, I felt a different power pinch nan assemblage too. So each of those experiments led maine to nan last conclusion to say, “Yeah, fto maine do nan grounds successful 432.” It’s really bully vibes, which nan world needs a different frequency. We tin usage it.

This twelvemonth marks nan 20th day of “Love Is My Religion,” your first solo Grammy-winning album. When you deliberation backmost to that era of your life, who was Ziggy backmost then?

A batch was changing because I moved to L.A. during that time.

You sewage joined astir that clip too, right?

Yeah. I don’t really conflict change. I conscionable effort to navigate them and fig them retired origin sometimes alteration is hard. There was a batch of alteration surviving here, moving around, trying to find a place, music, but past it’s for illustration we are continuously updating ourselves. I’m continually updating. You cognize really you update your OS. I’m updating my OS. My operating strategy is being updated passim my acquisition successful life. There’s ever thing other retired location for maine to germinate to. So during that play of my life, “Love Is My Religion” came to maine erstwhile personification asked me, “What belief are you?” And I conscionable said “Love is my religion.” I ne'er thought astir it before, ne'er contemplated it, ne'er moreover thought of those words together earlier successful my life, and they conscionable came retired to maine that day. So nan medium represents a clip successful my life erstwhile I realized there’s a belief awakening that I had. “Love Is My Religion” is simply a belief awakening. That’s my thing. That’s who I am. That’s why it’s a milestone.

“If you deliberation you’re going to alteration this world pinch euphony and you’re trying to nonstop a connection retired there, you person to speak to children,” Ziggy Marley says.

(Dania Maxwell / For The Times)

You’re kicking disconnected nan “Brightside” circuit this month, which includes a extremity astatine nan Hollywood Bowl. What are you astir excited astir erstwhile it comes to bringing this medium to group for nan first clip live?

I’m excited astir playing nan music. I deliberation it’s astir nan music. These caller songs, they vibrate very highly for maine and I’m excited astir experiencing and expressing that. And besides benignant of not doing it for nan audience. I don’t want to do it for nan audience. I want nan assemblage to acquisition what I’m experiencing, what I’m expressing. I want them to consciousness me. I don’t want them to beryllium for illustration “Hey look astatine me.” [Laughs] There’s still connectivity going on, but I want them to consciousness nan songs nan existent way. That’s what I’m excited astir for group to consciousness it nan measurement that I consciousness it.

You moreover posted nan lyrics and told fans to get to practicing, truthful they tin really understand nan message.

Yeah. Just reference them for me, I really for illustration nan penning I did connected this. I besides took immoderate clip pinch this too. I was saying to personification that I developed a deeper narration pinch nan lyrics and nan words than I did before. My narration pinch nan words present are very mature. I consciousness bully astir it. That’s why I want group to cognize nan words because words are very important. Words are very important. If you cognize nan words you get a deeper knowing of what I’m talking astir and what I’m feeling.

After astir 50 years of making music, Ziggy Marley built his ain workplace successful North Hollywood called Rebel Lion Studio. He plans to move it into a multipurpose imaginative space.

(Dania Maxwell / For The Times)

Look connected nan agleam broadside is simply a building that group opportunity often, but what do those words mean to you correct now?

Sometimes we tin get successful a spot [where] we can’t spot nan different broadside of things because we’re truthful caught up successful that 1 place. Like nan cliché, there’s 2 sides to a story, ya know? The beingness is ever yin and yang, but there’s ever different broadside of things. But I consciousness for illustration nan measurement we are being programmed successful a measurement done media and everything, it’s for illustration there’s only 1 side. Everything is for illustration this, there’s thing other going connected complete location that we request to see, we only request to spot this. This is each that’s going connected successful nan world. There’s thing good, there’s thing nice, there’s nary bully people, there’s nary love. So it’s a realization too. A realization that there’s nan different side. Never get to that spot wherever we deliberation it’s conscionable that broadside unsocial because we get truthful overmuch of it. It’s a reminder, I think, for america for illustration “Come connected guys.” The point astir it too, sometimes you tin consciousness for illustration — moreover for maine — immoderate group say, “Hey look connected nan agleam side,” immoderate group find that for illustration “Why are you happy? Why you truthful chirpy?” [Laughs]

That’s true.

I’m proud that I’m connected nan agleam side. I’m surviving connected nan agleam side, I don’t care. You don’t for illustration maine because I’m surviving connected nan agleam side? You want maine to beryllium for illustration you, you want maine conscionable unrecorded connected nan acheronian broadside pinch you, right? So it’s for illustration a proudness of being affirmative and having that outlook successful life, and not emotion for illustration you person to [fall to] adjacent pressure. More positivity successful life, not conscionable nan negativity. I’m assured successful that too. So it’s benignant of for illustration that too, you know, for illustration being proud, lifting up that broadside of me. Yeah, I’m happy to beryllium surviving connected nan agleam side.