The album includes a trilogy of sorts ("Officer Jimmy Interlude," "The Traffic Jam," featuring Damian, and "Iron Bars," featuring brother Julian Marley, Mr. "I couldn't tell you the first time I heard him, but I could tell ya what I remember is hearing him and feeling him in pain." Blending modern sounds with classic roots vibes, Mind Control finds Stephen carrying the Marley legacy even further into the future with such samples as the smart piece of the Martina Topley Bird song "Sandpaper Kisses" heard throughout "You're Gonna Leave." A smooth, smart slab of hip-hop featuring a dose of Brooklyn flow courtesy of Mos Def on the album's first single, "Hey Baby," is based on a song Stephen would sing to his children to keep them from being sad while he was on tour with The Melody Makers: "Hey baby/ don't you worry/ even though the road is rocky/ I'll be coming home to you again." The hypnotic "Lonely Avenue," is a sweet, harmony vocal- and organ-soaked take on the Ray Charles classic-done Marley style.
#Mind control stephen marley tabs full#
The softer and sweeter side of Stephen is also on full display in the album. With that song, Stephen says, "It's like me post a bill saying, 'Just say no to politics.'" and Jamaican governments, the vintage, easy-skanking roots reggae of "Chase Dem" rips into the insincere, crooked politicians by shouting "run them away." If the balance of Mind Control sounds wholly created in the 21st Century, "Chase Dem" blasts out of the subwoofers like a long lost jewel from Bob himself. Tapping into the disillusionment triggered by elected leaders in both the U.S.
#Mind control stephen marley tabs free#
"It holds you down, it holds a man down from being wholesome." It's a call to arms for us to take back our lives, free our minds, regain our spiritual souls and think for ourselves: "Don't let them mold your mind/They wanna control mankind/Seems like their only intention is to exploit the Earth." The album's breezy, horn-spiced title track casts a light on a modern day form of slavery, its words conscious, its groove monstrous: "That song is about subliminal slavery, hi-tech slavery, subliminal suppression," says Stephen. "It's a page from my book: Every page tells a story, but at the same time is a continuation of the page before it or the page to come. "My joy and my pain, this is me," Marley says, humbly. Gong" Marley, it's a collection of songs that range from conscious critiques of society ("Mind Control") and politics ("Chase Dem"), to the sweet and open-hearted ("Hey Baby"), to the simple and fun (the sexy, club-rocking, Latin-tinged grinder "Let Her Dance," which features Maya Azucena & Illestr8). It's an album with the grit and flavor to rock old-school Kingston sound systems and slippery, waxed Miami Range Rovers alike.įeaturing cameos from roots-rock star Ben Harper, hip-hop hero Mos Def and younger brother Damian "Jr. Appropriately, Mind Control is all Stephen and a cornucopia of the sounds and styles that he loves: a blend of reggae, rock, R&B, nyabinghi rhythms, flamenco and hip-hop. With his highly anticipated debut album, not only does the sound and soul of Stephen Marley come into vivid focus, but the 34 year-old artist is now inevitably stepping to center stage for the first time in his 27 year career. Over the next decade, the group would follow in their father's footsteps, racking up Grammy awards and bringing conscious songs and one-love rhythms to every corner of the globe. In 1979, he made his official debut when he, Ziggy, Cedella and Sharon-collectively known as The Melody Makers-cut their first single, "Children Playing in the Streets," followed in 1985 by their debut LP, Play the Game Right. As a young boy, he stayed at home-as Ziggy and Cedella entered school-where he would shadow his father, mimic his speech and quickly fall in love with such future reggae anthems as "Lively Up Yourself." At seven, he began learning guitar on a nylon-stringed acoustic. Stephen's production, performance and writing credits recently earned him two Grammys-giving him a total of five: more than any other Marley family member or reggae artist in history.īorn in 1972, the second son of Bob Marley, Stephen was dancing and singing onstage during his father and The Wailers' live shows (alongside older siblings Ziggy and Cedella) by the time he was old enough to walk. A member of the celebrated Marley sibling group The Melody Makers since the age of seven, the Grammy winning producer, singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist has also been the driving creative force behind the music of his brothers. If you think you don't know the music of Stephen Marley, you do-you just don't realize it. Official Biography (courtesy of Stephen Marley)