MIAMI, USA (AFP) — A son of reggae legend Bob Marley, Ky-Mani Marley, has written a new book claiming he was deprived of his father’s fortune for years unlike his half-brothers and half-sisters, sparking a row that could trigger legal action.

Ky-Mani Marley’s Dear Dad hit booksellers’ stands February 6, when the late reggae icon would have turned 65.

It has quickly become a major headache for this 34-year-old son of Marley.

The author, aware of the family squabbling it could unleash, tried to delay its release, and to tweak the content — but he failed.

Now, there is a dispute between Ky-Mani Marley and his editor Farrah Gray, a young businessman of 24, over the veracity of content of the book. Their clash could end up in court, both told media in the United States and Jamaica in recent days.

“The book was not an attack on my family. I love my brothers and sisters more than anyone can know,” Ky-Mani Marley, a Jamaican actor and musician who is a son of Bob Marley and table tennis champ Anita Belnavis, said in a statement on his MySpace page.

The book says on its cover that it contains the “story the Marley family apparently didn’t want you to know”.

Among other themes, the book claims its author was kept from accessing his fathers’ fortune by Marley’s widow Rita. It also claims Rita Marley tried to keep the money for her children with Marley while denying financial support to his children with six other women.

“I did not expect that Dr Gray would have unprofessionally and maliciously twisted my words or use things that were discussed in confidence to create controversy in an attempt to sell a book,” Ky-Mani Marley added.

“During the final edit of the book, I spoke with my sister, Cedella, and I advised Dr Farrah Gray that some changes had to be made and until the changes were made, I was not willing to do any promotion for the book,” the author added.

But the editor was unmoved by what he said was the younger Marley’s backtracking.

“His denials have thrown me and the publishing company under the bus. I didn’t write his book, I published it. This is his story; these are his words and now I have to prove it,” Gray argued.