Ky-Mani Marley to perform at Mawch Out show Saturday
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Propped over his seat with eyes closed, Ky-Mani Marley nods approvingly at his band’s rock-infused take on Redemption Song, his father’s acoustic classic.
The burly singer was rehearsing Thursday at Big Yard Studio in Kingston for the Mawch Out show Saturday at Pearly Beach in Ocho Rios.
It will be a rare Jamaican appearance for Marley who last performed here in February during celebrations to mark the 70th birthday of his father, reggae legend Bob Marley.
The 39-year-old said he would not mind doing more shows in Jamaica outside the ‘February season’ when there are multiple events commemorating the Marley legacy.
“We’d like to change that, after all this is my home an’ you’d love to show your talent more. Hopefully, with this new album we’ll get more shows,” he said.
Marley has kept busy this year, performing to sold-out venues in Chile and Europe, especially France, as he promotes Maestro, his sixth album which was released in June.
The South American country is one of his most receptive bases. Since he first went there in the late 1990s with Lauryn Hill, Marley has established a large following in that growing reggae market, touring for as long as a month.
Released through Universal Music, Maestro is Marley’s first album since 2007 and the first for his Konfrontation Muzic label. It contains 11 tracks, all of which he wrote.
He also produced several of them including Rasmantic and The Chant. There are a few collaborations such as Keepers Of The Light with his brother Damian ‘Junior Gong’ Marley and We Are, done with Jewish-American rapper Matisyahu and German singer Gentleman.
“We tried to fuse sounds to keep things interesting…a little hip hop, some soft-rock guitars. But wi still kept the identity,” he said.
Born in Falmouth, Trelawny, Ky-Mani Marley moved to South Florida in his youth with his mother, Anita Belnavis, a former Jamaica table tennis champion.
His first album, Like Father Like Son, was released in 1996. Radio, his previous set, came out in 2007.
Ky-Mani Marley is part of the Welcome to Jamrock Cruise which starts November 30 in Miami, Florida.
Howard Campbell
