Stephen Marley Mind Control Music
by Stephen Marley

About this Music

The highly anticipated debut album Features 'The Traffic Jam and 'Hey Baby'. A member of the celebrated Marley sibling group The Melody Makers since the age of seven, the 5 time Grammy Award winning producer, singer, songwriter, and multi-in strumentalist is stepping center stage for the first time. 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. It's an album with the grit and flavor to rock old school Kingston sound systems and slippery, waxed Miami Range Rovers alike. Features cameos from Damian Jr, Gong Marley, Julian Marley, Mos Def, Ben Harper and Mr. Cheeks.

It's hard to believe that Stephen Marley is only now making his solo debut. But as the brains (producer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, singer) of the family who has been behind the Grammy-winning careers of the Melody Makers and Damian Marley, as well as young brothers Kymani and Julian, he hasn't been slacking off or lost in a haze of ganja. Perhaps too acutely aware of the magnitude of this record, Marley finished it once, then scrapped several songs and started anew. The results this time reveal an artist who is in complete control of his medium: Some songs have a political edge; some are societal critiques; some are lullabies to his children; some are party anthems. The sound brings in such unlikely but satisfying elements as flamenco guitar and nyabinghi rhythms. Throw in guest spots from Mos Def, Ben Harper, his brothers and others, and Mind Control truly does sound like the work of a master craftsman able to weave all these different ideas into one cohesive whole. –-Tad Hendrickson