Artist Friendly with Joel Madden - Ziggy Marley

Episode Date: April 15, 2026

On this week's episode of Artist Friendly, Joel Madden is joined by Ziggy Marley. Marley was only 12 years old when his father died, but he’s carried on his legacy, putting out multiple albums, launching a record label, and producing the 2024 film Bob Marley: One Love. Before the release of his ninth full-length, Brightside, Marley stopped by the Artist Friendly studio for a grounded, soulful conversation with Madden. The two go deep on the making of his record, the song he wrote as a love letter to his father, and what it means to find your path without imitating someone else. “We all have a purpose here, so I’m just doing my part,” he tells Madden. “I’m not trying to be the brain if I’m the heart.” ------- Listen to their Artist Friendly conversation on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------- Follow Artist Friendly! IG: @artist.friendly TikTok: @artist.friendly YouTube: youtube.com/@artist.friendly ------- Host: Joel Madden, @joelmadden Executive Producers: Joel Madden, Benji Madden, Jillian King Producers: Josh Madden, Joey Simmrin, Janice Leary Director/Visual Producer/Editor: Ryan Schaefer Audio Producer/Composer: Nick Gray Music/Theme Composer: Nick Gray Cover Art/Design: Ryan Schaefer Additional Contributors: Anna Zanes, Neville Hardman ------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

But someone asks me, you know, oh, you know, with my father, like, oh, the pressure you ever feel like in competition with them are 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. Yeah. But everything has a purpose. The brain now going to try to be the heart.

Yeah. 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 to be in the nose. Yeah.

You know what I mean? So just let me be the nose. I'm probably afoot. The record's good. Yeah, nice record. I really like it. Yeah? Yeah.

Good one. Thank you. What's the name of the record? Brightside. Brightside. Brightside's one of my favorite songs. You know what? I like Brightside.

It's good. Yeah. I like Brightside. It's a hard one that. Joe, we give glory. That's the first song on the album. Because, you know, we'll give glory. glory to God before everything, anything else.

I feel like that one's special to me because the spiritual aspect of the whole creation on this album was, it felt spiritual to me. It feels very spiritual. To me, you know, yeah, yeah, the creation. So, 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 influence music that I would say is adjacent.

to reggae. 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 conversation with Scratch, Lee Perry, who is one of the, you know, old school, he passed away now, though, but old school, him used to do some stuff with my father. He's like a mad scientist, innovator, music, enough echoes and it was like a sound scale for music, you know? But yeah, I was talking to you, and I'm telling me, say,

you know, what about my music and my said the history of the music? Because what was missing in, when I was talking, like, what's missing today, my say, 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 a bit that type of person. if you do that type of music. You can't just do it. No. You ever be that type of person, you know what I mean? Yeah. To me, all music is healing in some way.

True. Even like angry music, people need to listen to it. Yeah. They can't express themselves. Yeah. Right? Because 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 don't know what I try to say. You know, I know what you're saying. 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. Which is what people have done since the beginning of time. 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?

Or they're talking to themselves. Yeah, yeah. 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're talking about like, before you were saying. you know songs that talk to God. You know, my favorite part of the whole Bible is the Psalms of David. It's 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, yeah. There's always some kind of, you know, Oh, that's special.

You know what I mean? But ever since, I've been like that, the Samma David, 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 writing singing songs. Yeah.

To God, talking to God through songs, you know? Yeah. Old school. Yeah, yeah. Old school. Yeah, man. So, yeah, and then, I agree with you to where you said the music, you know, different type of music.

People need some place for 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 trying to be angry that way, them angry this, yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Actually it's real. The different kind of anger. Yeah, it's true, man. It's true, man. Every purpose, music of all the 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. Yeah, yeah. Which is important. Where do they realize they're doing it or not. Yeah, I mean, yeah. Are you funny? Come on, no, come and talk to God out of time. Yeah.

I think we do. You know what I'm talking all the time. I think thinking is talking to God. Yeah, like it's like there's a thing in here. But some people aren't free like that. No, no, no. They've somehow, they've been, I really believe this in 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. Yeah. To create. Yeah. 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 wasted time or it's this or it's that.

And I actually think creating is expressing. and expressing is something like the spiritual language, you know? 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, you know,

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. Yeah. I still hear artists trying to speak. Express. No, car, the other day I was going to interview on the guy, I don't know, people are asking that question. Hey, do you really think music can make a thing, blah, blah, blah? I mean, it has been. I mean, the whole pub culture, everything is music. I dictate the whole thing already, like, proven. We know that music is powerful. there's no question about it. You know what I mean?

So music can't change. Yeah, music is one of the most important thing, man. Imagine we're, you know, the situation we now imagine if we never have music. Yeah. It'd be bad. Yeah, I understand. Yeah. Sometimes, yeah.

You take it for granted how much it every day gives you a moment of relief or respect or understanding. The songs teach you. Even sometimes, even sometimes I'm driving. even if you hear somebody in the car playing it. You might not be playing music, but you hear that and it gets it does some tea, it does some tea, you know, it does some to you. Yeah, that beat there or whatever. So, yeah, my music, powerful, powerful tool.

I have a crazy theory. It's not fully developed, but 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 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 wouldn't be doing, I wouldn't be an artist where I'm like just getting songs from people to sing.

Yeah, yeah. That's me personally. Yeah. And that is a 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'll write songs,

We can write it intellectually and I do have to think about which word. Right. But for me, the foundation of it, the greatest part of it is inspired. Yeah. Is inspired and then sometime, I always, I keep relearning this lesson, patience. Yeah. I keep re-learning. Every time I make an album, I do, I keep relearning that damn lesson.

Be patient. It's gonna, it's gonna work. Yeah, it's gonna work out, right? Let it emerge. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Chill, relax, relax. You can't force it. You know?

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 spiritual listens, man, isn't making the 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. Yeah. 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 I could just, it's like I tell my, you have your kids, you're like, oh, calm down. You'll get there. Walk first. Then you can run. You know, they get their license.

They want to drive. They get there. And you're like, okay. Be patient. 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. 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've made a lot of records. Solo, I think of my ninth, solo. But I had some records before with my brothers and sisters. No, no, like your record, you know, what I've been... What I realize with this record is that I'm listening to it as a listener. Not as...

It's my record. Yeah. Like, I'm like... And I've never been able to... Because I don't usually listen to my records. Right. I don't... Oh, really?

I don't drive and listen to my record. 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.

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 of what I wanted, and all the lessons I've learned. I feel like I still have more to learn, but I'm in a good place. like with the lessons and the experiences and the, like I was really in a really good place.

Everything was kind of, you talk about divine, everything was kind of just falling into place. It was like, all right, but we had some problem, but guess what? It worked out that it was good. We had that problem because we changed something and now look at it, 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 third two hertz tune the instruments. Yeah, the me. Yeah. So when I tune, usually we're tuning in 4 40 hertz. Like when I tune my guitar, the keyboards, they're all in 4 40 hertz tuning. This record and I've been doing it from show still, I did in 4 32 hertz.

What's that do? So that now, well, I don't know. What it does for me and what it says on Google, right? And Google says... What CHAT-E-PT says. Yeah. Google says it's like it's more connected to the human frequency. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And it's like it's for meditation and like some, it's something good. It says something great. I believe in it. Just so you know. It's something great. But I experience it myself because I'm a, me's like a scientist in the music to like me like explore and, because 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 the closest I've been. Still have some way to go.

So, yeah, that's the four-third two earths. I mean, for me, it feels better. Sing better on it than 440. 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 world is the world. The world is the world. Maybe we need a change of frequency. maybe we should us come together and say, all right, every musician, we're changing from 440,

everybody do 432 now. Let's try a different frequency. Tuning. Yeah. See how it affect the music, see what affect the people. I actually think you're on to something. Yeah.

I think that your awareness of frequency is, well, we know it. We actually know it. Whether people want to accept it is different. True. We know it. And I think it's, it might take 20 years.

for people to go, for the collective 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, we got an email, and I was like,

I don't read very well, so I'll check it. But it was interesting because I listened to the record a few times. I kept going back to it. Yeah. And it was interesting over the last few days because I was like, oh, I'm talking to Ziggy Marley. I always get a little nervous. Even though I know you a little bit because we lived in the same day.

And we say hi, whatever. I knew you were a nice guy, but you get a little nervous. You're like, oh. And my process is listening to the music. That's it. I don't read a lot about back, stats, 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 shit. It's real because when I meditate, so I meditate probably like a few times a week. Maybe. 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 a frequency, you sleep better. Yeah. So 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. No, but the same thing with me too. That's because I kept, maybe that's why I like listening to it. Because I don't, as I said, I don'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. It's a bit trancy. I'm just a human being. I'm a human being. mean just like anyone else. So it affects me, even though I made the song. Yeah, yeah.

It's still affecting me. The frequency is still affecting me. You know? Yeah. So, yeah, no, it's a real thing. It's a real thing, man. It's real. Whether people want to accept it or not,

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. It might take 20 years, but...

No, man, true, man. But it's good for starting the conversation. I put it out there for kind of get people... questioning or maybe experiment in our trying. Why not? Let's go. I mean, we've been on 4'4 for a long time. Been away.

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, because the tuning wasn't no big, perfect, four, four, you understand me? So that's interesting to me too.

That's why I'm one to say, yeah, because some of them songs that feel different, the classics. Yeah. You know, them feel, they 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? Yeah. There's a bit of like a medit. You almost go into a thoughtful, mindful, mindful meditation. Yeah, yeah.

think so one part spiritual yeah one part good message so like a positive message is it 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 and the message and then the actual frequency there's something to it man i'm telling 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 off into 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 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 mention that it reminds me as something that, you know, Fetelli, 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 gonna tell you about, why I let the world? But when I wrote, when while it 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.

When did I do that? I need, I need it. No, I need, it's too much. Why I let the world trouble me? When I, 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 morning for bob that song about my father and i'm not sure how that

song why i wrote that song or what happened like i don't think anything happened that i can be like oh yeah i point to that that's why i wrote like but that's the reason why you know but when i was writing that song it kind of feel like i said to myself i again, my imagination, yeah, we're talking about that. Then my imagination, I say, I feel like it's also my father singing this song also. It's not just me. It's like, this is his song. It's like, there was a little, some people call it channeling or whatever,

channeling themselves or whatever, but there was something special. There was something going on that. You have much to say about that. With that, you know, there was something, honestly, there was, and I don't usually tell about this either. Like, me not, kind of people, you know, it's in my imagination, basically, right? I mean, you know, no. But it's not, but I'm saying that's why I don't like talk about it because it, I know the experience.

Yeah. Somebody might say, what you're talking about, bro? You know what I mean? Yeah, but okay, so think about this. That song, Many more for Bob, 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 uh 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 I got a very short period of time with him

before he left this world. And it had an influence on me. That's my only relationship with my father. 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. 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. Yeah. And usually when he visits me, it's with music. Yeah.

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. Yeah. And so I would hear the records he would play. Yeah. And there were key songs, right? And, well, 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 of 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 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. So I do think that if music is a spiritual language in a way we talk to God, right. 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? Of our communication, yeah. In and around music. And then so you have a very unique situation, right? Because your dad did music. Yeah. 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, uh, the words for it. They're your treasures. Yeah. And they're your, your, your greatest pride. Yeah. 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 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 experiencing this and it's the perfect song. 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. Right. 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. 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, you 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 fucking cool. And it's true, too, is that. Yeah. 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. I was like, there's this song,

many more than for Bob. If my son wrote that for me, I would be proud, touched, I'd 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, you know, you know, when I hear you talk and it's like, you have really, You have really have an open mind, those connections. You have to have an open mind. Oh, only way. That's the, you mind.

So that, that is a thing, that is a real, that's what Mary say, people are, you know what, you have to have, you gotta be open, you can't close after no possibility of what. Yeah, yeah. You can't do that. I'll sound crazy, otherwise. Because some people think I'm crazy.

Yeah. 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 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 may have? Four, five, six, seven. Seven kids. Yeah, seven kids. That's a lot of kids.

Yeah. Someone had some when I was really young. Yeah. And I got some old and out of them in a middle. 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. Yeah. I did. I did. Why seven? Because of the number of seven.

Seven? So my mom had seven kids in her family. Oh, my mom had seven. And I remember growing up with a lot of uncles. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it was a nice number. It's funny. Seven's a lucky number, though.

Yeah, seven. But I just think having a lot of kids, man, it's growing up where I grew up, we had four in our family, but there's a lot of people with a lot of kids. Yeah, man. We grew up to see me. Yeah.

You could, let's see, we have a lot of kids. We have like 40, I have 40 or 50 cousins. Yeah. You know what I have a lot of, there's, and, and, 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 great. Yeah, man. But I always liked having brothers, you know, and like, there's something really great about having a lot of brothers. See, I have seven in my mom's family, my aunts and uncles.

Yeah. 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, okay. We all, it was all mixed up. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 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. You have what you're smith. They give you some grandkids. Yeah, yeah. You'll be happy with that, you know? Yeah, I always said the kids come, they decide to come. Mm-hmm. We don't decide to have them.

They just, they decide to come. So I'm happy with two, but I always, always liked having a lot of kids. I think that's a cool thing. Yeah. I'm happy for you. It's a good thing. How's college? Yo, yo, it's nice.

But that's nothing compared to my brothers. That's small fries. I need to your brother's house. I have an uncle with 14 kids. Yeah, you got 14 and plus. Oh, really? Yeah, that's awesome. Trust someone.

My brother's, I'm the one that kind of settled down, you know? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, they're working. They're still working. Life is easy for you. Yeah, exactly, exactly. Yeah.

Good stuff, man. I have an uncle with 14 kids. Yeah. Yeah, man, I love kids. Big family. There's a lot to travel. Plenty. That many kids.

Plenty. It's like an 18-passing your head. It's good, because of cousins. Lots of cousins. My kids, them love hang 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 is that? Kingsson, Jamaica. Yeah, Jamaica's not. I mean, listen, we start out, you know, poor, but my father, as my father, you know, came up in the music business,

we move up in life, blah, blah, you know. But it was great, it was, because we never know any difference, it was fun, I didn't know what America, I didn't have been to America. We had, we had good times, man. Yeah. It was great. It was, there was political violence, there was all this stuff going on, but.

Every place has its troubles. Yeah, we never, we had fun, we had fun. It's when you look back and you realize, oh shit, That was some dangerous, like, what the, you know, but when you young, growing up, it's like, you're not 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, it was a good upbringing. I like it because we went through different stages. You know, I experienced a little bit, a little bit of every little thing, you know, through, you know, growing up from poor to, you know. Mm-hmm.

It was a good journey. journey. Yeah. It's a good journey. Yeah. Gives you a lot of wisdom. Yeah, yeah. My perspective, you know, and yeah. Yeah. It's the same. I grew up with not a lot. Yeah. 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're in the streets. I'm in the woods. Beerfoot. Trust me. I'm a little little hayseed kid. Uh, 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 because you're like all of a sudden

you're like no you can't right and then once you get past that though yeah and you realize like 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 right it's all an idea that you think you'll be happy with that car or that thing. You're like, nah, that's cool. They're 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 and yourself is more a mental state. Yeah. Yeah. Spiritual state. Yeah. You know.

Mental state, yeah. That's why because the struggle really, what's it for me, how I say the world right now. And everybody looking on, you know, things that's going on in, instead of material world, in the physical world. gas price, whatever, whatever it is. But the battle really is the mental. That's where the real fight is. That's the way the struggle really is.

Because if them can't, that's why that song, that song, why that world trouble me? Every time I felt like shit, I would sing that song. When I was right, I'd like, I would just sing that song. And it would, before I even recorded it, it was just one of those songs that took me out of that place. You know what I say? So I'm a real, I mean, I've been thinking about this a long time,

but I realize, and I've said it before, but my realize, if them can't, if them can demoralize us mentally, like, and make with us stain this funk of negative energy that they keep putting toward us, that is how we lose the battle if we met them control this. Because you just say it's a mental state of mind, right? So we have to make sure we keep this free, to create the space that we want to be, and not let the outside world force us to be in that space.

So you're mental, yeah, man, you're right, because my father was the same way to. My father said, the guy asked him, you're a rich man. Let me say, like, how much do you want to make you rich? Yeah, I guess that's a good question. You never think about that? Somewhere I'm rich. The other guy said, like, back in, you guys say, like, you have $100,000. $700,000.

Yeah, that make you rich? That's, him said, that's not my type of richness. My richness is life. You know what I'm saying? So the attitude that we grew up with seeing him and my mother and our, you know, That's our attitude when it comes to money. Money, money, we know, we're not, we're not a sell-out to sell for money and doing, you know, like we live our life, good and work, and, you know, money will come.

If money come, it's coming, you know, but we never grew up with money for make us happy anyway. We were happy before we had money. Yeah. So, you know what I mean? So, yeah, happiness. Where is happiness, you know? Yeah. 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 yeah yeah yeah what is somebody uh what does that mean yeah you're kind of out here you're trying to like figure it out and and it's so much bigger where i came from was so small and i got out and i was like holy shit yeah this is the real world yeah 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's you know it made me less than or I don't know

and it was the journey of like yeah spending some money or figuring this out figuring that out they're like oh that didn't do it that didn't do it and you go all the way full circle to realize not it's just here it's here it's how we feel about ourselves how we feel about life how we do we do we choose to to see the good or right right right right and the foundation yeah yeah it's the it's 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. True. And so if that's how you define rich. True, true. Right? But then you start to

realize that how we measure ourselves, how you measure yourself as a choice. Yeah. So if you're going to measure yourself with money or measure yourself with fame or whatever. I got you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then that to me was where it was where I turned the corner of like how am I measuring.

Right. Right. Right. And then that's when I really started when life unlocked for me. And I think I developed into the person that is sitting here today. Is learning my metrics. Yeah. Like how do I measure?

You know, so, but this is, yeah, we go through the same thing. It's the same journey. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, you know, so we say, we say, hide to each other and a street, but I don't know you, but it's the same journey. Yeah. That is the journey of some, that's you, 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 learn more, you learn about yourself and you're willing for adjust, for adjust yourself to that consciousness. Yeah. Instead, try to fight it. You know what I mean? You need to accept that and say, you know, that's the right frame of mind are the right way for think about things. The willingness to change, the willingness to grow, to evolve, that open-mindedness that we talk about it, it's key, it's key to be in a place where you feel true joy and true happiness

with who you are and not trying to be, you know? So it's a real, yeah, man. I have the same, a lot of us on that journey and been on that journey, you know? Just like waiting for the record. Yeah. It's got to come. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

On 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. Can't 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.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 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, control you have a space where you go your home where that is your small world or

yeah yeah community that is yeah the outside shit is different than yeah this is where you go and then you know what i say is that is 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 right and not everybody is chosen to do the same things right so not everybody's some people are I do it for the success. Yeah. For the goal, for the money.

That's what they're doing it for. Yeah. You know what I mean? Some people do it for the art. And I write, it's fine, man. Just go and do what you have for the, you know? Takes all types. Yeah, I mean, that's the real world, you know?

We just have, like, me, you know, I feel purposeful. Like, me have a purpose through the music. When I sing, when I do live shows, I feel like, with the words I'm saying, have a meaning. You know, um, yeah, for me, for my. part of that from 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 too so every what we what you're affecting out there is that 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 um you know oh you know

with my father like oh the pressure you ever feel like in competition with them are trying to i mean i think 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. Yeah. But everything has a purpose. The brain now going to try to be the heart.

Yeah. 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 to be in the nose. Yeah.

You know what I mean? Yeah. So just let me be the nose. I'm probably a foot. You have the foot. Yeah. Yeah. Or a thumb.

You know what I'm not. It's all works together. It's true, man. And like, what would you do without the big toe? You understand me. Like he couldn't walk, bro. Yeah, yeah. The pinky.

So, come on. It's real. Yeah, man, without unconnected one. 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.

It's free. I'll give you credit. Tell me about the vinyl. The vinyl. Yeah, just like, oh, I grew up with vinyl. I grew up with vinyl. Listen to vinyl. You know,

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. Yeah. So I don't know, me have a soft spot for vinyl and those days, I guess, you know.

It's special. Yeah, I don't know. Like, so like this record, it's like, I'm doing this record for vinyl. Did you tell 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 out of the thing, you know? So yeah, that was my, and there's a 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, because we do everything kind of old school amps and DIs and we used the board and we went through the board, eventually ended up in Pro Tools,

and whatever, but everything went through something physical. It was all, you know, everything went through. I told them, everything I forgot through earth, because everything comes from earth. The plastic, the metal, everything is from things in the earth. So we have forgot through earth. That was the whole concept of that, you know. We get the vinyl, but it took a while for a guy get the right.

So much test press. Yeah, the test pressing is a real thing. And you gotta listen to it. You can't just say, no, no, no, you can't. No, you have to listen to it. Yeah. You have to listen to both sides and much, 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 then 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 uh you slowed down no true i hear it on the record i do man when i listen to the record i was like this is different yeah yeah and then you

telling me the process, I go, oh, I, no, I understand. Yeah, you understand that. Yeah, man. It's cool. Yeah, yeah, I enjoyed it. I enjoyed it and 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, chronics and jesseral and some of them you with them kind of go back to like a plate to the roots, Quotej, 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, like, Jamaica or... I wouldn't say it's reggae, but it's, it's from Jamaica, so it feels like it's reggae-ish. Like, 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, you know? Yeah. I mean, if you can find it.

find the woods that you that you grew up in the woods right yeah countryside yeah like that's i mean kingston is kingston right but the countryside jamaica is a spiritual place bro is that spiritual place it has to be for bring out so much of these things out of it or 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 go back home and i don't know there's something about the looking at the forest in jama like his medicine. Yeah.

The greed, the sheer of the greed is like, I don't know. And I always said 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 experience when I go home. Yeah.

When you go out 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 me, like, oh, you got to come back where I'm from, then you'll understand me. And, you will, you'll 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. It feels like 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. there's an open vortex or something

and there's some energy there that you can't explain. Yeah. And there's only been a... But some places are known for it. Like, they're saying, this place is a, you know... There's some place in a Phoenix or Arizona. Yeah, like an alien places or whatever. And I think there's something to it.

I know there is actually. I don't know. You're right. You're right. When we think about it. I don't hear anything about all that stuff. But like when you said to me, it makes sense, you know? Yeah.

It makes sense. Yeah. It's great, man. Congrats on the record. Yeah, man. Thank you. Nice. Good shit.

Thank you, bro. When's it come out? April 18th. Oh, okay. So in three days. Yeah. Yeah, so record, record store day is like that whole big day with them like vina. Huge day for vinyl.

So that's it. You have a vinyl plant. We're building one. Yeah, we just, yeah, the, it's the same place where the studio is. Right. In the office. We'll have a recording plant for make vina. So straight from recording.

Yeah. My next record, yeah. My next record, I'm going to make it at my place, you know. Impress it yourself. Yeah, that's the way I saw it. That's from my father. That's how my father did it, you know? Yeah.

But again, for me, it's like, I always used to have studios in the house, in a room here, or the room there. But then if I wanted to do something bigger, I had to go to a studio, I had to go rent a studio. And yeah. So this was like, this was a dream come true

for having my own place finally, like this, where it's a nice big room and I can do everything I want to. Yeah. You know, so it was good. So yeah, And, like my music, my hair changes with me and has to be able to be able to

to keep my rhythm. For so, potion 9, of Sebastian Professional, has all what my my hair needs. Nutrition Profunda. Protection against the encrespaid. 99% less of rotura

and punas abjurtas under control. New Potion 9 of Sebastian Professional, the secret professional, of who don't see tendencies, but of who they're

people to create. It invites people to create. And a home studio is great. And you can always have that where it's like maybe you start a sketch in there or something. Yeah, with your laptop or something, yeah. This building we've had for 10 or 11 years. Yeah. When I come here, it puts me in a different zone.

Yes. Yeah. You know, it makes me think creative. A different mindset. Yeah, that's good. Having a place that's for music to be made is really important. Studios. No, no.

It's special. Because it catches the energy. Yeah, different. Yeah. With that intention, it definitely had the final musical experience. Yeah. When the place,

have the intention of making music in there. Are you going on tour? Yeah, I go on tour. I do New Orleans Jazz Fest and then... You know what's crazy as 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.

Mm-hmm. She goes for like a week. She goes to New Orleans, like three weeks a year. Yeah. He goes for book best, jazz fest, and something else. She likes it. But I go every, but when I heard the record, I was like, oh, man, he should play jazz best.

Yeah. Yeah. You got a little jazz stuff in there, too, a little bit. Yeah, man. Yo, there's a whole lot of things in there, man. Like, you know, the reggae ideas at the foundation, but that's me say, I don't, I'm free. I just making our feet.

I like rap music. to are like rock music actually is rock music really didn't make me think about freedom yeah there's rock music that made me start like because my man they can't do anything yeah we're yeah why do i have to just yeah stay you know so rock music was the first music i really like me start things say yo more free like them them guys they oh them guys they can do you know make something yeah so it's a big inspiration and then it was then the first time i was coming to america was in my uncle, Houston, he loved rock music.

So when we were driving, you were to put on, like, it was like, my, my, Sharona. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And ACDC. Yeah, yeah.

I'm gonna say, 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 connected

with me do in some way, you know? Yeah. So it was cool, yeah. You were like, okay. Yeah. I see you. Yeah. Yeah, man.

I've always gotten along with Jamaicans. Yeah. I have. That's true? Yeah. I don't know what it is. The realness.

We get along really well. We've, we toured and there's been tours where like we used to do this work the warp tour, right? Every summer. And there was every now and then there'd be like a reggae. 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 the.

of that, there's been this relationship that's really great. They're close ties. Yeah, yeah. And so there is a connection with rock and reggae that is super important. And it always has been. And I think that maybe it's 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 have a really like important relationship. I would say it influenced rock in a big way. Yeah. Yeah, but I've always gotten it along really well with reggae artists. Yeah. You know, which other music close to reggae, country music, too, no people don't really. It is actually. Country music. Because sometimes when them do those drumming is a reggae, it's a cheng. Like, yeah. People miss that, you know, but it close to

little redneck reggae. Yeah, it looks 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 to the soul. Yeah. The soul music. Yes, yes, yes. You know?

The soulfulness, yeah. When it's there. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's true. You know. It's true. And I probably go through all genre too. Yeah.

If it's soul, it's going to connect. Yeah, the soul, yeah. 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.

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.

But 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 survive versus make a song that's going to be big. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I think those real artists,

they always make it through. Yeah, that's true. That's true. You know, this is great, man. Thanks for coming. Yeah, man. Does there anything else you want to talk about? Yeah.

Yeah. We're nice. I first heard your music when I was, you know, young. It's probably like 13. 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 you around.

You were very nice. Your family is lovely, you know. And actually my daughter went to music class at your house. We went to our babies. Yeah, 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 to get to talk to you at length and in depth like this is is a treat for me yeah well we'll give thanks and enjoy it man yeah one good one thanks bro thank you for watching artist friendly if you like 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 show exists because you listen to it. Thank you guys. We'll see you next time.