Marley, now 44, recently spoke with Mike Devlin of the Times Colonist, while on a tour stop in Calgary on varying topics from becoming somewhat of a mentor to his younger siblings after his father's death when he was 13 to exposing his children to different corners and cultures of the world in hopes of instilling a sense of wonder in them. Check out the excerpts below:
On his hopes that his music will inspire audiences:
"I let it unfold naturally. But part of me wishes I could find a place, a true place, in the world where the influence of it is seen in a practical way. We sing about peace, and I wish I could sing peace and love and there would be peace and love in this world. We still have a lot of work to do"
On Reggae being in a difficult place at the moment, in terms of its mainstream appeal:
"Music is a very influential tool, but because of how the industry [works] — radio and all the other media — it is not always easy to get across the music that we do, our ideas, our messages, to the popular media. That's why we're touring. Touring and being on stage is a real way to get our message across."
On becoming somewhat of a mentor to his younger siblings after his father's death:
"It was in a very natural way, I think it goes beyond [me] being a father figure and me as a human being who acts a certain way. Maybe there are things or traits that my own family see as a good trait, an example by action, an example by how you live. I don't have a big, convoluted idea of being a father figure, but I am who I am and my personality was influenced by my father and my mother, and they see how I live my life. If that influences them in a positive way, that's good."
On raising his children:
"Family is the beginning of society, know what I mean? Have a good family structure, ideas and philosophies within the kids, everything starts from that. I want them to have a good education, good morals, good manners and good discipline about how to treat people."
On writing in a more conversational tone as oppose to other Reggae artistes:
"You have a couple different styles of writing. There's one that is commenting on a situation in the world, and there is one that comes from experiences and thoughts. I am coming from what I have experienced myself in life — things I think about, and less a commentary point of view. … It's about overcoming adversity, problems we face in life. That's what it's really about."