Nine questions for Ziggy
Ziggy Marley / Dread your locks and pack your pipes, Ziggy Marley takes the stage at the Shell this weekend. Honolulu Weekly caught up with the pop reggae superstar as he moved into the last leg of his tour.
1. You’re getting toward the end of your tour–are you sick of these interviews yet?
“No, no. It’s irie.”
2. So your last stop on this tour is Hawaii.
“Is it? Hmmm, I am not sure.”
3. I understand that it is. Are you going to get to hang out here after the performance for a little while?
“Oh yeah, definitely. I always make sure I have that chance. Hawaii.”
4. You’ve spent a good deal of time hanging out on islands. Do you feel an island connection between Jamaica and Hawaii?
“Yes, and it’s more than the island thing even. It’s more of the tree that bears fruit. The tree is the music and the fruit is the message.”
5. And the message in your music is one of love and peace, but I understand Jamaica has had serious problems with violence.
“Last time I was there, earlier this year, it was good and bad, you know. I’m not sure how it is now but you can’t paint Jamaica with one paintbrush. It’s good, some of it. And it’s also bad. But the bad gets in the news.”
6. Is that part of why you try to emphasize the good in your art?
“I think it’s just who I am, you know? We need to uplift people. Not oppress them.”
7. I understand homosexuality is illegal in Jamaica.
“I think so but I am not 100 percent sure because I don’t read the legal books. People there feel, you know, that it’s not part of our culture that we grew up with. So it’s kept quiet and a lot of people in Jamaica accept it but a lot of the people who accept it still don’t want it to become a norm. But everyone needs to be uplifted. Everywhere. Every age.”
8. What is it about reggae that appeals to so many people?
“Well, I’m a child inside and I always grew up on my imagination. I think reggae music is more than music. It is a message first. That carries more than music. It uplifts consciousness. It raises consciousness and it can make you dance. So it has that double whammy. Some music makes you dance but it don’t know what to say. Some music says something but it won’t make you dance. But reggae music is both. It’s that easy vibe music. It’s just good vibrations.”
9. Anything else you want to add?
“Love.”
Love is My Religion
Ziggy Marley on Letterman, 1997
COMMENTS
We often print online comments in our “Letters to the Editor” section of Honolulu Weekly. While submitted letters are often edited for length and clarity, online comments we use are printed entirely as they are written for the website. If you do not wish for your comment to be used in Honolulu Weekly print issues, please write “Don’t Print” at the end of your comment. For questions, e-mail editorial@honoluluweekly.com. Thank you!