 Ziggy, everyone was searching for things to do during the pandemic, and we were all spending so much more time with our family. You came up with a creative and great idea. I'm going to put out an album, and I'm going to call it more family time. What was the inspiration for the album? The inspiration was my four-year-old son, Isaiah. He is a playful person, and he took us out of the whole anxiety and the stress of being in quarantine and staying home all the time. He came and said, Google Gaga, and then that's when it started. I think I watched one of your Instagram lives where you were doing a couple of songs, and he was on top of you. You're trying to play the guitar, and he wouldn't let you play. He wanted to play with dad. He didn't care that you were trying to perform. Yeah, man, he's that kid, man. He climbs all over, and he's always active. He's always active. You have said, Ziggy, that the act of writing songs is spiritual for you. Can you take me inside the process of writing the songs for this album? Well, this album, it was very easy to write. I was very inspired. I felt everything just kind of flowed. And that is the spiritual aspect when you don't really have to think too much and write words. When the idea kind of flows, you say, wow, yeah, that can work. I mean, you do go into details and stuff, but for the most part of it, it's really just coming out, and it's joyful and it's happy. So that's the spiritual side of it. I love writing songs for children. It gives me a sense of more freedom, and I can use more imagination. I can write, as I say, a song called Goo Goo Gaga. It works for me. I have that childlike spirit, so it works for me. I like doing that. Kids are on this album. Your dog, Romeo, is on this album, but you had a lot of collaborators. Ben Harper, Tom Morello, Lisa Loeb, Cheryl Crowe, your brother, Steven, Buster Rhymes. How did you convince all of those people to contribute to your album? Well, it wasn't hard still. What happened was when I was doing the songs, and I've known most of the artists for a while, you know, over years, we've played together, and I've, every one of the artists' music I love and respect, I respect them as artists, so that's important to me. But what happened was that while I was doing the song, each song reminded me of the artists. Like, I would do that, I would do it everywhere you go, and I was like, yo, this sound like a Cheryl Crowe song. Let me call Cheryl Crowe. So it was kind of like that way. It wasn't like, I didn't think about it before, but it kind of helped like that. And I prefer, I like that way because it's very naturalized and forced, and everyone was willing and able to do it, and we had to do it remotely because, as we say, we were under quarantine. But it really filled together, I feel like our spirits and hearts were in the songs, and so they came together very, very well, even though we weren't doing it together at the same time. Everywhere you go, that's my favorite song on the album, by the way, so I just want to throw that out there. Ziggy, your passion, your energy, your enthusiasm for music, and quite honestly for life and for helping others, it always has just been a big part of who you are. Has that been the way that you were since you were a kid, since you were a little guy? Have you always been this way? Yeah, as far as I can remember. And we sit around us to grow up, you know what I'm saying? So we grew up in that kind of environment where people were helping each other, and trying to make life better and using music as that tool too, as that bridge. And so, you know, we saw those examples and growing up, as I grew up, I started reading more books and trying to just search in myself and just be self-conscious and aware. And so, you know, it lead me down a path of trying to do good things, trying to treat everybody equally, trying to be a good human being. I mean, that's the bottom line for me. And so that's the best way, that's the way you find true happiness, really. And nothing can take that away. Who you are as a human being, they can't take that away from you, you know? You're 10 years old, you're in the studio with your dad, Bob Marley, reggae icon, reggae legend. You and your siblings actually also performed on the same stage in shows with your dad and before your dad. How much, and I think this is an obvious question, but how much did those early experiences shape who you became and who you are today? Yeah, I mean, all experiences shape who we are, you know what I'm saying? So, those experiences, and the experiences I've been around, my parents as musicians, I'm a father. I was not only a musician, but someone who was on like a mission and had a purpose for the music to do something in the world. So it wasn't just, it wasn't just like, oh, this is my job, you know, it was more than a job. Those examples really kind of set in my mind a purpose, you know, purpose. What is your purpose? It gave me an idea to find a purpose myself. You know what I mean? To find something that is not only beneficial to me, but beneficial to others as well. And so I think those examples are the core of really who I am today, you know? Ziggy, I saw you perform in New York City a couple of years ago on the Rebellion Rises tour, the Pier 17 rooftop. And that night you did coming in from the cold and you did one love. Going into a performance, how do you decide if you're going to do one of your dad's songs? Because the fans love to hear all of your music, but you gave them a little extra treat. You gave them some Bob Marley music, me included. No man, you don't know the fans in love Bob too, you know? And I said, see, you know, the connection that, you know, so his fans are our fans. Our fans, his fans, vice versa. No, my father's music is an integral part of my music and who I am. It's not separate. It's a connection. There's a connection there. And so it's really natural for me to connect it into what I'm doing as part of a bigger message because it's not about my personal songs. It's about a message that's going to the people. So my father's song means a lot to me, means a lot to the people. And so we use that also to get the message out. But then when I'm thinking about which song to do or what to do, I always, like one of my songs might be called Love Is My Religion and then I might do One Love and then I do Top Run. You know, I always find a way to connect the songs in a way that I know, I know it's connected. Maybe people don't get the connection, but that's the way I put it in the set list. So it has a meaning. It's not just there for no purpose. Just to hear the Bob Murray song. It's all connected and works together. Your dad would have turned 75 years old this year and to help mark that milestone, you and your family members have produced a picture book that is out now and is available. You curated all of those pictures, some family photos that have never been seen before. What was your motivation for wanting to share that with people? Well, we had all these photos, you know what I'm saying? It was the 75th, so I thought it would be a good way to celebrate. And really what we wanted to do with the book is kind of give people another perspective of our father. You know, he's an icon legend, but he's a real man that worked and had a life outside of the stage art, the political tones or whatever. And so a lot of the pictures to me were meant to show him in his natural habitat, not the stage, in his home setting, he's visiting his home, he's visiting where he was born, even his moments, you know, just outside of the legendary iconic photos. Although we do have a few of those also, but that was a purpose of it to kind of open him up more to the fans in celebration of the 75th, so people can really kind of get the same life in a balanced way. Ziggy, we all know that 2020 has been such a challenging year for all of us. Your dad was all about hope, empowerment, unifying people. What do you think Bob Marley's message would have been to all of us in 2020? Well, listen, the message is still a message, right? Because until the philosophy, I'm saying it now, until the philosophy which owes one race superior and another race inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned, we always have issues. And until humanity find a way to come together more and understand that we're all connected, so what happened over there is going to affect us way over here, whether we like it or not. Just that we're all connected as human beings though, more connected than we ever been. So we have realized we need to work together. So humanity have realized that as a species, and we see it is a possibility, we have the potential to create a more beautiful world with a more beautiful existence with each other. It is not beyond our capabilities. And so we need to really think about these things, think about it, think about it. I don't want to, that would be a mic drop, I can't drop my mic right now, but that was a mic drop right there. Ziggy, I know how much you love soccer, I know Liverpool and Bayern Munich or your teams, but you're living in LA, where the Lakers and the Dodgers just won championships. How closely do you pay attention to the teams in those sports? You pay attention, especially during the playoffs. All the seasons come and watch one or two, but when the playoffs come, yeah, and the World Series and then there'll be a championship. And one of my musicians, he's a real Dodger fan. So I'm already teasing him, yo, the Dodgers, I don't know if they're going to do it this year, they go every year, but... So this year they finally made it, so I had to gag, yo, yeah, Dodgers made it this time, you know, Dodgers, you know. But he got the last laugh on you this time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, cause I was already teasing him about it. And then the Lakers, no, we love the Lakers, man. King James and Ting, you know, we love the team this year, they got a very good run. And very strong, you know, they're a very strong team. Ziggy, if there was someone who didn't know anything about music, he grew up somewhere where they just never heard music and he met you and he said, you interest me, what one song should I listen to that would tell me the most about Ziggy Marley? What song would you tell that man to listen to? Love is my religion, the easiest one. That's my song, you know, that's my statement, that's my statement for my life, right here. You know, if it's only one song, it would be that song I would sing and write. That would be it, you know me. And now the same question, and again, I know just like yourself there would be a lot of choices. What about if that same person said, well, what about your dad? What's the one song I should listen to from Bob Marley? I would be Redemption's song. Redemption's song is a very soulful song and it's Simon's guitar, that one where he sings with a guitar. It's very personal. And so I think you cannot only hear the music, but you can feel the man in that song. You can feel the real human being and the spiritual being in that song. So it would have to be Redemption's song. Ziggy, you made me very happy because on my notes right here, you, I had written down love is my religion or true to myself. And for your dad, I had Redemption's song or three little birds. So I passed the test. I'm taking credit for that. You started something for youth sports activity called Waguant. I have a friend from St. Kitt's named Van Roy Richardson and he told me what Waguant means. It's basically slang for what's going on, right? What's happening? What does Waguant mean to you in terms of getting kids out there and getting them to exercise? Well, it's just like, you know, it's like a call and answer really, because whatever it is, like my boys, you know, we wake up in the morning and I'm like, Waguant. And then the man's like, Waguant is like, let's go. It's the energy. Waguant. Let's say Waguant. And that's when we come down and say, you know, let's go, let's go, let's go. You know, so even using words and sound to energize the energy of, you know, people and kids, they're a good way to get it going. And I mean, being active, especially during this time, when the kids, they weren't going to school. So, I mean, children going through a lot too, not just their adults who realize the depth of the situations, but the kids understand something is not right, something is different, and they're having their own problems with that. And so to get them out and active and busy and just live up the energy. And that's what the album is a part of that too. You know, it helps all of us to better deal with the situation that we're going through. And you keep busy and you keep them busy. I saw the interview with Men's Health and the video interview where your one son was helping you work out. You got the soccer balls in the backyard. You got the basketball hoop. So at Marley headquarters, it sounds like it's pretty busy. Too busy. It's too busy and we got a dog. Oh man, that's even more busy. Diggy, you also have a charity called Urge, Unlimited Resources Giving Enlightenment. What is Urge's focus and mission? Urge focuses children. And the mission is really help children in whatever aspect, whatever way we can, whether it be through education, food programs. Sometimes we team up with other charities and organize for them. Sometimes we send dentists to Jamaica to do oral hygiene on the kids. We have a charity here that Hola in LA that will support for after-school projects for kids. And we team up with other projects all over the world when we can. Sometimes charities might ask me to do something personally and I do that too. So we're all trying to help each other out, to help each other out, you know? So that's what we do. I noticed that you were able to do some drive-by, kind of drive-in shows in Anaheim recently. But how much have you missed that connection to your audience? You got it for those performances, but it's been so difficult for artists not being able to perform. Yeah man, I mean, you know, that is a big part of our lives, you know? Doing that. It's like an athlete can play, you know? It's like, you know, you know how to feel like it, you know? So it's like that. It's like, it's a big part and we have to kind of figure out how to deal with it because we're not used to it either. We as artists are not used to, we used to being up here playing and traveling and stuff. So it's a different life, you know? It's a different lifestyle, as I said. Sometimes we get too busy, you know? You had home, the kids, the dog, everything is, you know? So it's all very different for us who used to be on tour playing music in front of people. And you know, the few times I've played with the band, man, it feels so good. I miss just doing that, even if we're not playing with people, just like playing music with the band, I even miss that too. And then when you add the people to that, it just makes it even better. Ziggy, you've won eight Grammy Awards, you've won an Emmy. You're a musician, a producer, an activist, a humanitarian, and you're still a very young man. What's next? What is still on the horizon that you would like to achieve in your life and in your career? Well, I would like to do some more work in Africa for spread a unity message. That's really, that would be, I've always dreamt of that from all the young youth, you know? To see how we can make Africa united, because Africa unity is good for everyone, around the world, around the globe. And so I think that, you know, it was one of my fathers, kind of, not only my fathers, but many, many, many of us from the African diaspora always wanted to see a more unified Africa, thinking that it would really help that continent be beneficial. And as Africa is one of the wealthiest natural resources on the planet, then we don't understand why there's so much suffering, why there's so much war and so much, you know, a negative that's going on. We believe that if Africa was more united, then we wouldn't have so much suffering, you know? So I think that is something I'd like to say something about. I don't know how or when or why or what, you know? But that is the ultimate for me, you know? Well, we all hope that 2021 brings us better times and the ability to work on things like that. I cover baseball for a living, so I mostly interview baseball players. And I've done it long enough now that I've interviewed players whose sons have followed them to become professional baseball players. And you're laughing because you know how much pressure was on those players. The last name of Marley, could you have done anything but music? Was it destined that you would end up in the music industry? No, I'm gonna think so. Because I think, you know, let me say, I think our industry, my industry, my father industry, let's put it, I'm gonna put it another way. The industry is in the industry of being good human beings, like the human industry. Like that's where it started, that's where it's coming from. I could have done anything else, but I would have still have that care, that love, that message in me. It could have been a doctor, it could have been a lawyer, but that wouldn't stop me from trying to do good in the world. To make the world a better place by just who I am. But music just became that tool, that direction that we went into with the skills that we already had, which was being good human beings. And it reflects in the music. It reflects anything we do, reflects who we are as human beings. You do sports, it's reflecting who you are too, the way you do it, how you say it, you know what I'm saying? So that's who it is. That's what I put first, that the foundation of what makes the music, the industry, what makes me go into that industry. It's really because I am inspired to write songs. And I tell people that if I didn't write songs, I wouldn't be singing, because I would cancel myself taking other people's words and just trying to make it be my words, or my feeling. I don't want other candidates. So, you know, it's because I'm inspired to write songs and it is such a spiritual experience, right? And songs, it's a great feeling for me to create words, you know? And it feels nice to me. I love that you use the word spiritual to describe that because it shows how important it is and that you want to sing your own words. But let me ask you this. When I want to relax or chill out, I'm listening to Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Damian Marley. Who do you listen to? Oh, well, today I was listening to Desmond Decker. I was, I was clients, I'm in the studio, so I was, you know, vacuuming and cleaning up my studio. So I put on some Desmond Decker, but it's really old school reggae. It's like old school, the original reggae music. I'm kind of nostalgic that way. I like, I feel a connection to the past more than I do to the music of today. And so I draw back to that music a lot. But like if I'm working out and stuff, you know, I mix it up a lot when I'm working out. Rage against the machine, some toolbox, some drears, everybody rap sometimes. I like listening to classical music sometimes. So I really mix it up. My music tastes very eclectic. But today I was actually listening to Desmond Decker while I was cleaning the studio. Another, another reggae icon. As I wind this up, Ziggy, I wanted to hit you with one phrase. Because going forward, I can always tell people that I was able to say this to a Marley. One phrase would be one love. One love, nice. Love, brother. Thank you. Thanks for your time, Ziggy. We appreciate it. Respect. Thank you very much. Good on, good on.