Words by Joe Nawaz

OK, so he’s Bob Marley’s eldest son, a five-time Grammy-winning musician (for those who rate such things) who has a new solo album (his fourth) called Wild And Free, produced by one Don Was and featuring collaborations from ”friends” such as Woody Harrelson, but what has Ziggy Marley ever done for us?

Well, specifically, he’s headlining the final night of this year’s Sea Sessions festival in Bundoran in what is remarkably his first ever visit to Ireland. And generally, he wants to save the world through the healing power of hemp. “I smiled when I knew I was coming to play Ireland,” Ziggy tells AU from his Jamaican home. “We have a word here, ‘irie’, it means ‘good’. So I figured we were coming to Irie-land, which is a really good thing.”

He may be looking forward to the detour from his world tour that is the rolling dunes and waves of the Donegal seaside town, but Ziggy is under no illusions as to his Irish profile. “I don’t think people over there will have seen much of me,” he muses. “I’m really looking forward to it and letting my music be heard there.” Music isn’t the only thing that is exercising Marley these days and the title of the new album isn’t a reference to his state of mind, but a homage to the hemp plant and its myriad medicinal, ecological and nutritional values. He has increasingly become a passionate advocate for marijuana’s rehabilitation.

“I’m standing up for this little plant called marijuana, cannabis, hemp, whatever. The potential for it is vast. I’m talking as a bio-fuel, a food, clothing. I’m speaking as an environmentalist. Sure, it has risks but the good outweighs the bad. Do we talk of the risks in nuclear energy or oil spills the same way? It occurs totally naturally and do you know we could feed most of the world with it? Somebody once decided that we had to stop this plant and that was it.”

Ziggy’s proselytizing zeal for ‘this little plant’ is evident on Wild And Free – the duet with Harrelson has them swapping lines about its beauty and benefits – but also running through the record is a strong ethical message of personal change – as you would also expect from a son of Bob. “My record is saying that materialism, glamour, all that stuff will not help us evolve as a planet. It’s about the individual making a difference. Personal revolutions are more important than group ones.”

He has also branched out into graphic novels of late – new comic Marijuana Man offers a “a new toke on a familiar genre”. Ziggy explains: “Marijuana Man is a superhero who draws his strength from marijuana. The plant has been a villain for too long, now it’s got a superhero. A positive role model. I’m hoping that such a message will help make a change in attitudes.”

Before all that though, Ziggy Marley has to play on a (probably) windy Sunday in Bundoran. He is as sanguine and understated about his live act as he is passionate about “the weed”. “I’m not a showman. I don’t have dozens of dancing girls but people will have a spiritual time, I think. I let my songs speak for themselves and I hope the Irish audience will enjoy the show.” Joe Nawaz

www.ziggymarley.com
www.seasessions.com