Ziggy Marley

But someone asks me, you know, oh, you know, with my father, like, oh, the pressure you ever feel like in competition with him or trying to, I mean, I tell the person, listen, oh, we see this thing, you know, and this is for all of us. We all have a purpose here. The ears, not going to try to be the nose. The eye not going to try to be the tongue. But everything has a purpose. The brain now going to try to be the heart. Everything has a purpose. So I'm just doing my part. I'm not trying to be the brain if I'm the heart. Yeah. I'm the nose. I'm happy being the nose. Yeah. You know what I mean? So just let me be the nose. I'm probably a foot. The record's good. Yeah, nice record. I really like it. Yeah. Yes. What's the name of the record? Brightside. Brightside. Brightside's one of my favorite songs. You know, like, I like Brightside. It's good. Yeah. I like Brightside. He's the hard one that, uh, Javi gave glory. That's the first song on the album because, you know, we'll give glory to God before everything, anything else. I feel like that one's special to me because the spiritual aspect of the whole creation of this album was, it felt something, it felt spiritual to me. It feels very spiritual. To me, you know, yeah, yeah, the creation. So yeah. Yeah. It's a bit interesting because I feel like reggae music at its core, it feels spiritual, you know, and it feels like a spiritual genre. Well, so there's reggae influenced music that I would say is adjacent to reggae. Yeah. But reggae, when you listen to classic reggae music, which I really like, it feels like gospel music, like spiritual music. Yeah. No, it's true. I remember having a converse in Scratch, Lee Perry, who is one of the, you know, all, all, all school, he passed away now, though, but all school music, there's some stuff with my father. He's like a mad scientist, innovator, music, you know, enough echoes and it was like a soundscape of music, you know? But yeah, I was talking to him and he told me, say, you know, we'll talk about my music and my, so the history of the music is, yeah, because what was missing in, when I was talking, like what's missing today, I said the spirit, the magic, that's the magic of the whole thing. It's that spiritual part of it that make it have that magic, like that magical thing, you know? So yeah, I mean, but I think you have to be that type of person for that type of music. Yeah. You can't just do it. No. You have to be that type of person. I mean, yeah. To me, all music is healing in some way. True. Even like angry music, people need to listen to it. They can't express themselves. Yeah. Right. Cause what happens if someone is angry and they can't express themselves? Yeah. They blow up. Yeah. So when there's music to give you an expression for every emotion. True. So even I think different kinds of music could be dismissed as less deep as it is. I try to say, you know? I know what you're saying. Right. And specifically the God, the line to God when you speak to God. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Is through a few ways. Yes. You could pray. Yes. Some people could preach, which is sort of like speaking in their mind on behalf of God because they felt compelled, but then they're singing to God. Right. Right. Which is what people have done since the beginning of time. Yes. Yes. Yes. And it's interesting because it's only some songs you hear and you feel like someone's actually talking to God. Yeah. You know? True. Or they're talking to themselves or because there's a vanity to music as well. Yeah. I come from a different musical background than you. Yeah. Yeah. And you wrestle with that when you start to have a success in music, you wrestle with the vanity of it, which is real. It's human. True. No, no, it is true. But you know, you talk about like, before you were saying, you know, songs that talk to God. My favorite part of the whole Bible is songs of David. It is music. It's songs. It's actually songs. Yeah. So I love that. My name is David too. My name is David. That's my, that's my giving. I didn't know that. Yeah. So, and ever since I was growing up, you know, it's like, you know, we grew up with superstition and stuff like that. You know, my family, you know, and so there's always some kind of, you know, oh, that's special. You know what I mean? Whatever since I've been like that, the summer David, though, I feel a special connection to that. And I always read that. And when you talk about singing to God, you know, that's what he was doing. He was, he was right singing songs to God talking to God through songs. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then we went to where he said the music, you know, different type of music, people need some place to express themselves. Yeah. If they can express anger through music and not through a physical activity, then that's a win. You understand? Instead of, instead of trying to be angry that way, they're angry. They say, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Actually, it is real. Different kind of anger. Yeah. So, yeah, man, it's true, man. It's true, man. Every purpose, music about a purpose. Also, if you think about it, some people never learn how to talk to God. It's a strange thing for some people. And I think music, especially more spiritual music, teaches people how to talk to God, which is important. Whether they realize they're doing it or not. Yeah. I mean, yeah. Funny. Come on. No, come on. Talk to God all the time. Yeah. I think we do. You know what I mean? I talk to him all the time. I think thinking is talking to God. Yeah. Like, it's like, you're like, you're the thing in here. But some people aren't free like that. No, no, no. They've somehow, they've been, I really believe this and people listening, I try to pull things out so that people listening, they get some nutrition out of it because some people have never, they did not grow up with the mental freedom to create. For you, it might be easy or for me, it might be easy because we allowed ourselves. But some people, it's not easy. They're from a young age. They're taught not to actually because it's a waste of time or it's this or it's that. And I actually think creating is expressing and expressing is something like the spiritual language. Yeah. And so music is, to me, the most important resource we have on the planet, one of is music. You have water, you have air, you've got energy, but music is something that I think we don't give the credit to what it means in the world and how it tells the stories of history, how it. So I take it very seriously when I listen to records, when I hear people express themselves, I always try to listen to what they're trying to say, what they're expressing themselves and even music that people could throw away as not important. I still hear artists trying to speak. Express. No, I was going to interview on the guy, I don't know, people ask me that question. Do you really think music can make a thing blah, blah, blah? I mean, it has been. I mean, pop culture, everything, the music, I dictate the whole thing already. Proven. We know that music is powerful. There's no question about it. Music can change. Music is one of the most important things. Imagine the situation we know, imagine if we never have music. Yeah. It'd be bad. Yeah, sometimes. Yeah. You take it for granted how much it every day gives you a moment of relief or respite or understanding the songs teach you. Even if sometimes I'm driving, even if you hear somebody in the car playing it, you might not be playing music, but you hear that. It's something, it's something, you know, it's something. Yeah, whatever. So yeah, my music, powerful, powerful tool. I have a crazy theory. It's not fully developed, but it's, it's, it's always come to me that somehow God created this big, intricate, insane design in this program or operating system or this like, we couldn't even comprehend the complexity of this. And there's languages in it. There's the math. And then there's things that I think are visual, like paint, people who paint and there's music. And there are these like information. I actually do believe there's some divine connection that these things carry information to all of us. I just think that music is a part of some like bigger divine language. Yeah, man. That's the only reason why I do music anyway, for me personally. I mean, if I wasn't writing songs, I don't, I wouldn't be, I mean, I wouldn't be, I wouldn't be doing, I wouldn't be an artist where I'm like just getting songs from people to sing. That's me personally. And that is the reason why, because that is the, that is the divine connection that I, that I see myself having because of the inspiration for write. We write songs, we can write it intellectually and I do have to think about which word, but, but the, the, for me, the foundation of it, the, the, the, the greatest part of it is inspired. Yeah. It's inspired. And then sometime I always, I keep relearning this lesson, patience. Yeah. I keep relearning, every time I make an album, I do it. I keep relearning that damn lesson. Be patient. It's gonna, it's gonna work. Yeah. It's gonna work out. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Chill. Relax. Relax. You know, I can't force it. Yeah. I learn it every time I learn it. It's like, grow, plant, grow. And you're like, yeah, it just grows. It will grow. Yeah. Yeah. No, seriously. So it's like, it's always that, that, I'm always, that spiritual lessons, man. It's in making music, you know? But it's the part, but the impatience is a good thing in the sense of it is the childlike part of us that wants something. Yeah. Yeah. It's good to want something. Yeah. Yeah. And if we lose that, what is life? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. If we don't, if I could just, it's like, I tell my, you have your kids, you're like, ah, calm down. You'll get there. Walk first. Then you can run. Yeah. You know, they get their license, they want to drive. They get there. And you're like, okay, be patient. True. But it's a good thing for us to have a feeling that we want something so bad. Yeah. And then having to wait for it is the practice. Yeah. And then when it does emerge, it's worth it. Yeah. Yeah. It's nice. You know, it's a good feeling. It's a good, good feeling. Yeah. Yeah. Are you happy with this record? Yeah, man. Very happy with it. I mean, what record is this for you? You made a lot of records. Solo, I think I won my ninth solo. But I had some records before with my brothers and sisters. No, no. Like a record, you know, what I realized with this record is that I'm listening to it as a listener, not as it's my record. Yeah. Like I'm like, I've never been able to, because I don't use a listen to my records. Right. I don't, I don't drive and listen to my records. Oh, you don't? I do. I do for like a month. No, but this is one that I'm driving. This one. I listen to this one in the car. This one specifically, like from I was making it, I was like, oh yeah, you know, can drive and listen to it. So yeah, it feels really good to me. I think, but it is that I went to it very confident about what I wanted and all the lessons I've learned. I felt like I still have more to learn, but I wasn't, I'm in a good place, like with the lessons and the experiences and like I was really in a really good place. And everything was kind of, you talk about divine, everything was kind of just falling into place. Just like, all right, but we had some problem. But guess what? It worked out that it was good. We had a problem because we changed something and now look at the, you know what I mean? So it was, and everybody that worked on the record realized that everything was just like, and next thing we did on the record was we did, I did four 32 Hertz tune the instruments. Yeah, the megahertz. Yeah. So when I tune, usually we're tuning in four 40 Hertz, like when I tune my guitar, the keyboards, they're all in four 40 Hertz tuning. This record, and I've been doing it from, from Shosto, I did in four 32 Hertz. What's that do? So that now, well, I don't know. What it do for me, and what it says on Google, right? And Google says it's like it's more connected to the human frequency. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it is like it's for meditation and like some, it's some good. It says something good. I believe it. Just so you know, I believe it. But I experience it myself because I'm a, it means like a scientist in the music to like me like exploring. Because yeah, I'm always, you know, you talk about the childlike thing. I'm like that. I like, I always want to learn more and I'm always looking for a feeling. And this record is, I'm getting close to it. I'm getting close to that thing that was in my mind. That's in my imagination. Yeah. This is, this is the closest I've been. Still have some way to go. So yeah, that's the four 32 Hertz. I mean, for me, it feels better sing better on it than four 40. And I did live shows and I mean, again, it could be my childlike imagination, but I feel like I have a better connection with the audience in that for some reason. Maybe it's just all in me. It could be just that too. But and I mean, listen, music powerful. The world is the world, the weird world is the world. Maybe we need to change a frequency. Maybe we should just come together and say, all right, every musician, we're changing from fourth, what is everybody the four 32 now, let's try different frequency tuning. Yeah. See what affect the music, see what affect the people. I actually think you're onto something. Yeah. I think that your awareness of frequency is what we know it. We all we actually know it. Whether people want to accept it, it's different. True. We know it. And I think it's, it might take 20 years for people to go for the collective. Yeah. We to go, oh, this is the only frequency or these are the three frequencies actually adhere to what the frequency does because my experience listening to your record and I didn't know this until I read, I listened and then I read the that we got an email and I don't read very well. So I'll check it. But it was interesting because I listened to the record a few times. Yeah. I kept going back to it. Yeah. And it was interesting over the last few days because I was like, I'm talking to Ziggy Marley. I always get a little nervous. But new people, even though I know you a little bit, we lived in the same neighborhood. But and we say hi, whatever. But I knew you were a nice guy. But but you get a little nervous. You're like, oh, yeah, and my process is listening to the music. That's it. I don't read a lot about back stat stuff like that. But I was like, why does this make me feel so calm? And a little mood lifted like my mood goes up every time I listen to it. And then I read the notes and I saw the frequency thing and I was like, oh, it's real because of when I meditate. So I meditate probably like a few times a week. Yeah, maybe. Yeah. Right. And I forget for weeks at a time. But when I'm really in my zone, I meditate not every day, but a few times a week. And I'm like, I'm killing it when I meditate. Yeah, I meditate to frequencies. And it's real. Like, in fact, if you go to bed to frequency, you sleep better. Yeah. So I've been I've been doing that for a few years. Yeah. And it's very real. Yeah. And when I read that, I went, no shit. No wonder I was fucking vibing. Woo! Refreshing wild cherry cola meets smooth cream. The treat you deserve. Pepsi, wild cherry and cream treat yourself. Nobody's the same thing with me too. That's because I kept that's maybe that's why I like listening to it. Because I don't, as I said, I haven't, I don't listen to my records. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, when I'm doing them, yeah, yeah, whatever. But after a while, but this one is like to bet trans I'm just a human being. I'm a human being just like anyone else. So it affects me. Even though I made the song, yeah, yeah, still affecting me. The frequencies to affecting me. You know, you know, it's a real thing. It's a real thing. It's real. Whether people want to accept it or not. Yeah. There's something to it. Yeah. And I'll bet you we find out later. There's even more to it. True. Than we think. True. I'll bet any amount of money might take 20 years. But no, man, I'm not true, man. But it's good for start the conversation. I put it out there for kind of get people questioning or maybe experimenting or trying. Why not? I mean, let's go. I mean, we've been on four four for a long time. And then I spoke to some old guys to all the musicians who said, yeah, we used to do it in 432 back in the day. Really? You know, you're talking about those classic reggae. Yeah. Yeah. Those were the kind of tuning wasn't no big perfect four four. You understand me? So that interesting to me too. That's why I'm gonna say, yeah, because some of them songs feel different, the classics. Yeah. Then, you know, them feel them have a different thing about them. We can't figure it out. Oh, maybe it was a different frequency they were in. That's pretty, you know, leave it to the reggae guys. That's some real. That's crazy, dude. Yeah. That's crazy. That makes sense to me though, because what happens when you listen to reggae music, really good reggae music, there's a bit of like a meta, you almost go into a thoughtful mindful meditation. Yeah. You think so one part spiritual. Yeah. One part good message. So like a positive message is everything. Yeah. And then I do think like songs that are love letters and love messages and peace offerings and there's something about that, the frequency of the content, the message, and then the actual frequency. There's something to it, man. I tell you, when you want to, when I want to, you know, like, I can't explain it, but like, sometimes at home, it's like a morning that air is nice. You open a door, you're sitting there, you're looking out at whatever, often to nothing. And one of the things I go to is reggae music. And it puts you in kind of this really nice trance where you can be thoughtful. Yeah. You let go of some stuff. And because what we worry about today, if we try to remember a year ago on this day, what we were worried about, we couldn't remember. Yeah. And if we let ourselves be bulked down by these problems, these perceived problems we have, we'll get no peace. So in those mindful moments, you find music that helps you get there. And reggae is one of on the short list for us, along with classical music, weirdly. You know, when you mentioned that it remind me of something that, you know, for tell you, like, that was what this writing these songs were for me. I mean, I'd written some songs before I wrote this song that I'm going to tell you about, While at the World. But when I wrote, when While at the World came to me, I was just like, I think I was watching the news. Yeah. I was like, oh, yeah, I catch myself doing that too. Man. What did I do that? I need it. I need it. No, I need it's too much. Why let the world trouble me when I went out and when that came to me, I was like, Oh, those other songs, it connected to me trying to get relief, you know, like just emotional mental break, kind of, from everything that was that's going on. And for deal with some things too, that I had to deal with, you know, like, in the minimum for Bob, that song about my father. And I'm not sure how that song, why I wrote that song, or how it or what happened. Like, I don't think anything happened that I can be like, Oh, yeah, I pointed to that. That's why I wrote like, well, that's the reason why, you know, but when I was writing that song, it kind of feel like I said to myself, again, my imagination, yeah, what about that? My imagination, I'm gonna say, I feel like it's also my father singing this song. So it's not just me. It's like, this is his song. It's like, there was a little, some people call it channeling, channeling them, say whatever, but there was something special. There was something going on that have much to say about that with that, you know, there was something, honestly, there was another one, usually talk about this either. Like, I don't people, you know, it's in my imagination, basically, right? I mean, yeah, no, but it's not. But I'm saying that's why I don't like talk about it because I know the experience. Yeah, somebody might say, what you talking about, bro? You know what I mean? Yeah, but okay, so think about this, that song, many more for Bob, what is my favorite song in the record? I think it's, man, that one hit me. I listened to that 50 times. It's one of those songs. Because I hear exactly what you're saying. On one hand, I hear a love letter to your father. There's only a handful of people, like when I think about your experience as a human being, right, we're all having our own experience. And then we all have a relationship with our father. Whether we do or we physically or spiritually, I had a very interesting relationship with my father. And it was still my relationship with my father. We were estranged for a long time. And then we got back together. It wasn't either of our choice, really, but it was, but it was, it was a strange, I can't make sense of it always. But we got to, I got a very short period of time with them before he left this world. And it had an influence on me. That's my only relationship with my father. Right. And so there's songs, I wrote songs because I needed to say things to him I couldn't say. Never had the chance. We never had the time. We never had the physical. Right, right, but then I learned that that is actually still a language and he still hears me somewhere. Like, I feel him. I feel he visits me. And usually when he visits me, it's with music. Because I remember when I was a kid, I have very few memories, but what I remember of him when he was, when I was, the few memories I have when he was around was music. He played music. And so I would hear the records he would play. And they were key songs. Right. And your dad's music being some of it. So there's key songs. And then there's like a Stevie Wonder song. And then I hear those songs sometimes in weird key moments in my life where it feels like he's tapping me on the shoulder. Like, nah, keep going. You're good. You're good. And I imagine if, if I had gotten to have a relationship with him growing up, like I have with my son, where he comes to me when he has a question, or maybe he needs something, or I can see he needs support. And I go, Hey, you're good. Keep going. Right, right, right, right, right, right. So I do think that if music is a spiritual language, you know, the way we talk to God, wouldn't it also be true that when people cross over and they go to, you know, we all have our own idea of heaven and the afterlife, wouldn't they still communicate with us in and around music? And then so you have a very unique situation, right? Because your dad did music. And as a father, you know this, your children are your, whether you can express it to them or not, some dads can, some dads don't have the words for it. They're your treasures. And they're your greatest pride. They're going to carry on your name. They're going to carry on your idea of you. So wouldn't they be the most important souls on the planet to you? So to me, there's this connection that fathers have with their children, whether they know it or not, whether any, so here we are, because I've been thinking about this a lot, because my dad's visited me a lot. And I know it's him sometimes when that song comes on in that moment where I'm thinking, where I'm experiencing this and it's the perfect song. Yeah, that's my dad. He's tapping me on the shoulder. You're right where you need to be. Keep going. I'm proud of you. Whatever I love you means in all the different ways, right? Because he couldn't tell me he loved me on earth. So I have to believe that he tells me through music. And so when I think about what you just said is crazy, I get goosebumps because if there were anyone on this planet that your dad was going to communicate with in any which way spiritually, it would be his children. And then it would be through music. Yeah, because we all do music. Yeah. So there's something really like I can't articulate it. Yeah. But I do think you have to give it its place and credit because it's right. Right. I hear you. I hear you. It's fucking cool. And it's true too. It's not yet. And that song is one of the greatest love letters I've ever heard from a son to a father. And I said this to my brother. I was talking to him. I was like, there's this song many more and for Bob, if my son wrote that for me, I would be I would be proud, touched. I feel loved. And that's only a song that a son could write for a father. So it's beautiful. I was really, I really love that song. It's a great song. Nice one. Yeah, you should be proud of that one. Yeah, no one there. But you know, I'm gonna say it's like, you know, when I hear you talk and it's like, you have really, you have really have an open mind for those connections. You have to have an open mind. Oh, only way. That's the, you're mine. So that, that is a thing that is the real, that's what my other people are. You know, you have to be open. You can't close after no possibility of what you can do that. I'll sound crazy. Cause some people think I'm crazy. But no, that's the connection when you have that open mind and all of that stuff can come in. You know, you can't get that stuff, you know, but if, yeah, that's cool. Yeah, that's the right way. Yeah, it's really cool. And I just think it's beautiful, man. And I think it's important. It's cool, man. You're right. How many kids you got? How much kids do we have? Um, four, five, six, seven? Seven kids. Seven kids. That's a lot of kids. Yeah, some of them, some of them, I was really young. Yeah. And get some of them old and all the men, but and then I have two just went to college. Oh, wow. And then I have two at home now. Yeah. The youngest one is nine. Yeah. I wanted seven kids. Well, I, I did, I did shoot all the, why seven? Cause of the number seven, seven. So my mom had seven kids in her family. And I remember growing up with a lot of uncles and aunts and it was a nice number. It's funny. Seven's a lucky number though. Lucky seven. Yeah. But I just think having a lot of kids, man, it's growing up where I grew up. And a lot, everyone, we had four in our family, but there's a lot of people with a lot of kids. Yeah. When we grew up to see me, you grow, let's see, we have a lot of kids. We have like four, I have 40 or 50 cousins. Yeah. You know what I mean? I have a lot of, there's, and, and, and, um, I don't know, I just thought it was really nice. I always wanted, I'm happy with my, I have two kids and it's, it's, it's great. Yeah. But I always liked having brothers, you know, and like, there's something really great about having a lot of brothers. You have seven, seven. In my mom's family, my aunts and uncles, and we have four in my, well, five, four with my mom and dad. And then he had another one. Okay. So there's five of us. Okay. We all, it was all mixed up. Yeah. And then, I don't want to say only have two, but I wanted at least four, but I got two. I'm happy with two. Yeah. You have what you're supposed to have. They give you some grandkids. Yeah. Yeah. You'll be happy with that. Yeah. Yeah. I always said the kids come, they decide to come. We don't decide to have them. They just, they decided to come. So we, we, I'm happy with two, but I always, always liked having a lot of kids. I think that's a, it's a cool thing. Yeah. I'm happy for you. It's a good thing. Yeah. Nice. How's college? Yo, yo, it's nice. But that's nothing compared to my, my brothers. That's, that's small. That's small fries. I need to hear your brother's house. I have an uncle with 14 kids. Yeah. You got 14 and plus. Oh really? Yeah. Trust someone. My brothers, I'm no one that kind of settled down. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They're working. They're still working. Life is easy for you. Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. Yeah. Good stuff. school with 14 kids. Yeah, yeah man, I love kids. Big family, there's a lot to travel. Plenty. I mean, kids. Plenty. Like a 18-past year-end. There's a lot of cousins, there's a lot of cousins. Lots of cousins. My kids, they love hanging out with, you know, my sister kids, my brother kids, they play games. Yeah, so it's good. Good for them. Where did you grow up? Jamaica. How was that? Kingston, Jamaica? Yeah, Jamaica was nice. I mean, listen, we started out, you know, but as my father, you know, came up in the music business, we moved up in life and blah, blah, you know. But it was great. It was, we never knew any difference. It was fun. I didn't know what America, I didn't even been to America. We had good times. It was great. It was, there was political violence. There was all this stuff going on, but. Every place has its troubles. Yeah, but yeah, we never, we had fun. We had fun. We had fun. It's when you look back and realize, oh shit, that was some dangerous, like, but when you grow up, it's like, you know, really, you know, looking at that stuff. Also just how simple life was back then. Oh yeah. Oh yeah, man. Eating the fruit from the tree for me and just, yeah, it was a good upbringing. I like it because we went through different stages. You know, I experienced a little bit of, a little bit of every little thing, you know, to, you know, growing up from poor to, you know, it was a good journey. Yeah. It was a good journey. It gives you a lot of wisdom. Yeah, yeah. I have perspective, you know, and yeah. It's the same. I grew up with not a lot in like a place where we were in the middle of the woods and run around barefoot and, you know. You in the woods, me on the streets. Yeah. You in the streets, I'm in the woods. Barefoot. Trust me. I'm a little, a little hazy kid. And then having success and getting, you know, the idea of money when you don't have money and then you get it is the first, when the basic needs are met and then over met. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because you're like, all of a sudden you're like, no, you can't. Right. And then once you get past that though, and you realize that it actually only a certain amount of money will make you happy, which is like food, place to live, you know, and then you get past that and you're like, okay, that don't, that actually doesn't make a big difference once you have everything you actually need. Right, right. And then you have all an idea that you think you'll be happy with that car or that thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You're like, nah, that's cool. Yeah. It ain't going to make you happy. No, no. And then you start to realize it goes back to basic. Yeah. Where it's like love, how you feel about life in yourself is more a mental state and a spiritual state. Yeah. Yeah. That's why, because the struggle really, what was it for me? How I see the world right now. And everybody looking on, you know, things that's going on in, in the material world, in physical world, gas price, whatever, whatever it is. But the battle really is the mental. That's where the real fight is. That's where the struggle really is. Because if them can't, that's why, that's why that song, that song, why that world trouble me out? Every time I felt like, shit, I would sing that song when I was right. I'd like, I would have seen that song and it would, before I even recorded it, it was just one of those songs that took me over to that place, you know what I say? So, I mean, I've been thinking about this a long time, but I've realized, and I've said it before, but I realized, if them can demoralize us mentally, like, and make with us, stay in this funk of negative energy that they keep putting toward us, that is how we lose the battle, if we let them control this. Can you just say, it's a mental state of mind, right? So we have to make sure we keep this free, create the space that we want to be. And not let the outside world force us to be in that space. So your mental, yeah, man, you're right, because my father was a seamstress. My father said, the guy asked him, you're a rich man. Let me say, like, how much you want to make you rich? Yeah, I guess that's a good question. You ever think about that? Somewhere I'm rich. The other guy said, like, you have 100,000 dollars, so, you say 100,000 dollars. Yeah, that make you rich? He said, that's not my type of richness. My richness is life. You know what I'm saying? So that attitude, we grew up with seeing him and my mother, and our, you know, that's our attitude with when it comes to money. Money, when I was sell out, we sell for money. And doing, you know, like, with life, good and work, and, you know, money will come, if money comes, it comes, you know, but we never grew up with money for making us happy anyway. We were happy before we had money. That's the way, you know what I mean? So, yeah, happiness. Where's happiness, you know? Yeah. And so money's a funny thing because what I learned out here, I moved out here, and at first I was like, oh, man, I need to get my shit together. Like, at first I was young and I was like, I need to be somebody. And then what does somebody, what does that mean? You kind of out here, you're trying to like figure it out, and it's so much bigger where I came from was so small. And I was like, holy shit, this is the real world. Like where I'm from is not the real world. And I had to go all the way to like 40 something to realize full circle. Actually where I'm from was a special place that I ran away from because I thought it was no good or there, you know, it made me less than, I don't know. And it was the journey of like, yes, spending some money or figuring this out, figuring that out, they go like, oh, that didn't do it. That didn't do it. And you go all the way full circle to realize, no, it's just here. It's here. It's how we feel about ourselves, how we feel about life, how we do, do we choose to, to see the good or right, right, right, right. And the foundation. Yeah. Yeah. It's the, it's the core of who you are. And what I also learned is no matter where you are, if you think you're going to get money to be somebody, there's going to be somebody with more money always. And if you think you don't have money, if you have any money in your pocket, you are richer than someone else on this planet. And so if that's how you define rich, right? But then you start to realize that how we measure ourselves, how you measure yourself is a choice. Yeah. So if you're going to measure yourself with money or measure yourself with fame or whatever. And then that to me was where it was where I turned the corner of like, how am I measuring? Right. And then that's when I really started to, when life unlocked for me. And I think I developed into the person that is sitting here today is learning my metrics. Yeah. That's what I measure. You know, so, but this is, yeah, we'll go through the same thing. It's the same journey. Yeah. I mean, you know, we'll say we say hi to each other and ask you, but I don't know you, but it's the same journey. Yeah. That is the journey of some, that's, that's the right journey. It's the same journey I'm on. I've been on. It's that same journey. I wouldn't change it. It's the same journey. I mean, after a while you start learning more and you learn about yourself and you're willing to adjust, adjust yourself to that consciousness. Yeah. Instead of try to fight it, do you know what I mean? If I accept that I'm saying, you know, that's the right frame of mind, the right way for think about things. The willingness to change, the willingness to grow, to evolve that open-mindedness that we're talking about. It's key to be in a place where you feel true, giant, true happiness with who you are and not trying to be, you know? So is that really the same? I love that I was on that journey and been on that journey, you know? Just like waiting for the record. Yeah. It's got to come. Yeah. Yeah. Or its own. Yeah. Some parts of us also have to emerge. Yes. And what I learned was I don't always have to know either. I've learned how to like be calm and go like, I don't know my opinion on that. You know? I don't know how I feel about that. Yeah. Yeah. You can take your time. Yeah. You got to take your time. But when, what I learned in this whole entertainment thing, also being out here for 20 years and I've been around, you have to, you just see everybody and you see some people are in their moment where they just like having their first hit or their fifth hit or some people are on the other side of it. And you see all these different experiences of this thing that I think is kind of made as God, the success. And then you realize actually you have actually lost the point of this thing, which is to make music and to help people express themselves and to make art. And that art does actually affect the world when it's real art. But I saw it and I realized like, if I can keep my life small, no matter how big or in a good way or big and bad way, anything is like I can be in the calm of a small life where I just think, do I like that? Yeah. I don't know yet. You know, like have those moments where you know who you are because it's small. You feel. That's the same thing like we're saying for control, your mind space. You have a space where you go home where that is your small world or your community. That is the outside shit is different than this way you go. And then, you know, what I say is that it's not, you know, everyone don't have the same calling music is powerful. But you know, that's why that's why I'm not like, I don't like, you know, talk anything about other artists or say something because not everybody is on the same journey. And not everybody is chosen to do the same things. So not everybody is some people have done it for the success. Yeah. For the for the goal, for the money. That's that's what they're doing it for. Yeah. You know, I mean, some people do it for the art and I write, it's fine, man. Just go and do it for the, you know, takes all types. Yeah. I mean, that's that's that's the real world. You know, we just have like me, you know, I feel purposeful, like never purpose through the music when I sing, when I do live shows, I feel like the words I'm saying have a meaning. Yeah. Yeah. For me, for my part of that, for my part of the journey, because, you know, somebody asks me like, each of us have a play of a part to play in this, in life. Yeah. All of us. We're all connected to it. So every what we, what you're affecting out there is some we're coming around back to affect me. What I'm affecting is coming back around to affect you. Everything is connected. But someone, someone asks me, you know, oh, you know, with my father, like, oh, the pressure you ever feel like in competition with him or trying to, I mean, tell the person, listen, oh, we should this thing, you know, and this is for all of us. We all have a purpose here. The ears not going to try to be the nose. The eye not going to try to be the tongue. But everything about purpose, the brain, I'm going to try to be the heart. Everything about purpose. So I'm just doing my part. I'm not trying to be the brain if I'm the heart. I'm the nose. I'm happy to be the nose. Yeah. You know what I mean? So just let me be the nose. I'm probably a foot. You had to force them. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? It all works together. It's true, man. And like, what would you do without the big toe? Yes, man. Like you couldn't walk, bro. Yeah. Yeah. The pinky. So come on. It's real. Yeah. That's a metaphor I've never heard that I really like. I'm probably going to use it. Yeah, man. It's free. It's free. I'll give you credit. Yeah. Tell me about the vinyl. The vinyl. Yeah. Just like, yo, I grew up with vinyl. I grew up with listening to vinyl. I grew up with. Again, that's why I'm happy. Like the time I was born. Because I got to experience some of that. Some kids, they don't have, they have no idea what that is. So I don't know. Never, never, never self spot for vinyl. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Never, never, never self spot for vinyl. And those days, I guess, you know. It's special. Yeah. I don't know. Like, so, like this record, I was like, I'm doing this record for vinyl. Digital is an afterthought. Yeah. I'm doing this vinyl way. You know. Yeah. So that was the whole idea with that. Just forget back to some connection to the earth, connection to physical. Not just the digital numbers, but try to forget, you know. Gets back some feeling or tell the thing, you know. So yeah, that was my part of my, like what I'm looking for, you know, maybe this. Yeah. And this is the next part of the road I'm on with this vinyl thing and this 432 thing and it's all, but it was really a great process though. With everything kind of old school, arms and the eyes and we use the board and we went through the board, eventually ended up in proto's mix and whatever, but everything went through something physical. Because all, you know, everything went through. So I'm going to show them now everything I forgot through earth, because everything come from earth, the plastic, the metal, everything is from things in the earth. So we have forgotten through earth. That was the whole concept of that. Yeah. We'll get the vinyl, but it took a while for guy get the right so much test press. Yeah. The test pressing is a real thing and you got to listen to it. You can't just say, no, no, no, you have to listen to it. Yeah. You have to listen to both sides and multiple and yeah. But again, like there's something about that process that forces you to slow down and listen. Respect. It is an old art form. Yes. And there's something, I don't care what anyone says, it doesn't mean that great music is not going to be made, can't be made or isn't being made, but there was something about the slow process of making songs and recording and then vinyl and pressing and test pressing. And then, you know, there was a mindfulness, whether the artists of the time were aware of it or not, the process forced you to listen. Yeah. And sometimes people rush. Yeah. No. And I think that making of what you did for your album is interesting because in a time where everything's faster, faster, faster, faster, you slowed down. No, true. I hear it on the record. I do. When I listen to the record, I was like, this is different. Yeah. And then you telling me the process, I go, oh, I understand. Yeah, you understand. Yeah, man. It's cool. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it and I appreciate the whole thing. It was a good experience. A really good one. A really good experience with it. Are there any other reggae artists that you feel like modern that you really like? Yeah, man. The young generation, they might come up good, Chronix and Jesterite and some of them go back to like, I played to the roots, Protage. You have some good kids. Yeah. You have some good kids out there. Yeah, they're doing their thing. Yeah, they're doing their thing. It's a world I really like. I love seeing every now and then an artist will emerge out of like Jamaica or, I wouldn't say it's reggae, but it's reggae. It's from Jamaica, so it feels like it's reggae-ish. Yeah. Even though it's modern music, it's like rappers and stuff. It's so cool. It's cool vibe. Yeah, man. I've never been to Jamaica. I've always wanted to go. Jamaica. Jamaica is a spiritual place. Yeah. I mean, if you can find the woods, you go up in the woods, right? countryside. Yeah. Like that's, I mean, Kingston is Kingston, right? But the countryside, Jamaica is a spiritual place, bro. It's a spiritual place. It has to be, if you bring out so much of these things out of it, out of this island, you know, there's something, there's something special about different about Jamaica. There's some vortex. Right. Exactly. There's something going on, right? But, you know, whenever I go back home and I don't know, there's something about the, looking at the forest in Jamaica, like it's medicine. Yeah. The grit, the grit, the sheer that the grit is like, I don't know. I know how to say that. I know what you're saying. Like, yeah, you know what I'm saying? I know what you're saying. Yeah, so yeah. But that's like what I experienced when I go home. Yeah. I was there. It's very far away, so it's very hard to get to. And I took one of my friends who had the, you know, I always tell people like, oh, you got to come back where I'm from. Then you'll understand me. And you will understand me how, you know, why I get so impressed. But when you go there and you sit in certain scenes and you see certain fields or water, there's a lot of water there. There's like creeks and rivers. Nice. Nice. And then there's some like opening, like what you're saying about Jamaica, I really believe there's these places where like maybe there's like a crack in the, from where physical life and spiritual life or wherever that is up there. Something. There's some like open. Yeah. There's an open vortex or something. And there's some energy there that you can't explain. And there's only been a few, but some places are known for it. Like they're saying this place is a, you know, some place in a Phoenix. Alien places or something. And I think there's something to it. I know there is actually, I don't know. No, you're right. You're right. When we think about it, I don't even think about all that stuff. But like when you say to me, it makes sense, you know? Yeah. It makes sense. Yeah. It's great, man. Congrats on the record. Yeah, man. Nice. Good shit. Thank you. When did it come out? April 18th. Oh, okay. So in three days. Yeah. So it's a big deal with them like. Yeah. Vinyl. Huge day for vinyl. So that's it. You have a vinyl plant. We're building one. Yeah, we just, yeah. It's the same place where the studio is. Right. In the office. We have a recording plant for making vinyl. So straight from recording. Yeah. My next record, I'm going to make it that at my place, you know? Impressive yourself. Yeah. That's the way I saw it. That's from my father. That's how my father did it, you know? Yeah. And for me, it's like, I always used to have students in the house, in the home. Right. In the room here, in the room there. But then if I wanted to do something bigger to go to a studio, I had to go rent a studio. Yeah. So this was like, this was a dream come true for my own place finally. Like this, where it's a nice big room and we can do everything I want to. You know? So it was good. LinkedIn's AI-powered job search can help you find the most relevant roles based on your goals and experience. It cannot help you find something to talk about in the elevator. So, uh, ride any dragons this weekend? It can help you find your next job just by describing it in your own words. It cannot stop your coworker from describing their dreams. So I was flying, right? And while we can't help you advance in the office foosball tournament, LinkedIn can help you advance in your career. LinkedIn is the network that works for you. It invites people to create. And a home studio is great. And you can always add that where it's like, maybe you start a sketch in there or something. Yeah, with your laptop or something. This building we've had for 10 or 11 years. When I come here, it puts me in a different zone. Yes. You know, it makes me think creative. Yeah, a different mindset. Yeah, that's good. That's true. Having a place that's for music to be made is really important. Studios. No, no, that's, it's special. Because it catches the energy. Yeah, different. Yeah. With that intention, it definitely helped the final musical experience. Yeah. When the place have the intention of making music in there. Are you going on tour? Yeah, I'm going to tour. New Orleans Jazz Fest and then... You know what's crazy is I thought when I heard your record, I go to jazz fest probably every few years. My wife goes every year. I can't go every year. She goes for like a week. She goes to New Orleans like three weeks a year. Yeah. She goes for book fest, jazz fest and something else. She likes it. But I go every, but when I heard your record, I was like, ah man, he should play jazz fest. Yeah. Yeah. You got a little jazz stuff in there too. Yeah, man. Yo, there's a whole of things in there, man. Like that, you know, the reggae ideas at the foundation, but that's what I say. I don't, I'm free. I just, I just make it all free. I like rock music too. I like rock music actually is rock music really doesn't make me think about freedom. Yeah. Just rock music that made me start like, because my money can't do anything. Yeah. We are way, way, way. Why do I have to just stay, you know, so rock music was the first music I really like. I'm gonna start things, say, hey, oh, I'm all free like them guys, they're all the guys that can do, you know, make something. Yeah. So it, it's a big inspiration. And then it was, then the first time I was coming to America, I was in Miami, my uncle used to, he loved rock music. He had no driving. He would have put down like, it was like my, my, Sharona. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm gonna say, I was, I was from Jamaica. I don't know anything about that. I was like, it kind of, what the fuck is this? Yeah. It kind of, it kind of connected with me doing somewhere, you know. Yeah. So it was cool. Yeah. You were like, okay. Yeah. I'll see you. Yeah. Yeah. I've always gotten along with Jamaicans. Yeah. I have. Are you sure? Yeah. They're reading this. They're reading this. We get along really well. They're reading this. We've, we've, we toured and there's been tours where like, we used to do this warp, the warp tour, right? Every summer. And there was a, every now and then there'd be like a reggae art, because reggae and punk music are very, they're very, they've always had a relationship. Yeah. True. Right. When you think about the English music, ska music, all of that, there's been this relationship that's really great. They're close ties. Yeah. And so there is a connection with rock and reggae that is super important. And it always has been. And I think that, and maybe it's the, the freedom of it. And I grew up listening to all that from reggae to then ska music to obviously rock music and punk music. It's all, it's all next to each other. And they, and they, they have a really like important relationship. I would say it influenced rock in a big way. Yeah. And I've always, I've always gotten along really well with reggae artists. Yeah. You know, which other music was the reggae, country music, you know, people don't realize that country music. It's got some time when I'm just traveling, reggae is a Changi. Like, yeah. Well, people miss that, you know, but it's close to little redneck reggae. It is close. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It is very close. But again, though, I think it's the, there's a soulfulness when you hear that. That's when it, I think there's a connection. There's a connection to the soul, the soul music. Yes. Yes. Yes. The soulfulness. Yeah. When it's there, it's connected. It's true. It's true. I'm not probably going to go through all genre too. Yeah. If it's soul, it's going to connect. Yeah. The soul. Yeah. That's true. That's true. You can't feel it. People who are singing, I think, it's something like life is full of suffering and pain in some way. Like we can't, none of us get to escape. Right. Or that's the through line with all of us is we all have to suffer at some point. Yes. And we all lose someone at some point. We all, the truth of life is there's that. There's the pain of the reality and the suffering of life. And then there are people who have suffered more. And when there's music that expresses or helps ease the suffering. When you hear someone singing that has the soul is someone who's expressing the pain of life because they've lived it. Right. And they had to express it. They had to to survive versus make a song that's going to be big. Yeah. And I think those real artists, they always make it through. Yeah. That's true. That's true. This is great, man. Thanks for coming. Yeah, man. Thank you. Is there anything else you want to talk about? We're doing it. We're doing it. Yeah. I mean, but I've always admired you and respected you and liked your whole, how you carry yourself, how you move through the world. And then, you know, we lived in the same neighborhood. I'd see around you were very nice. Your family is lovely. Yeah. You know, and actually my daughter went to music class at your house. No, yeah. We were babies. Yeah. You guys are a classy family. You're nice and you're, it's always struck me how genuine and I don't know, man. I've always just thought, I've always respected you. Yeah, man. So to get to talk to you at length and in depth like this is a treat for me. Yeah, man. I'll give you a thumbs up. Enjoy it, man. Yeah, man. Good one. Thanks, bro. Thank you for watching Artist Friendly. If you liked this episode, please make sure you hit the like button. You follow the channel and please share it with your friends. We appreciate the support. That is why this show exists because you listen to it. Thank you guys. We'll see you next time.