Ziggy Marley defends reggae on Bill Maher show

Marcia Rowe, Gleaner Writer

Ziggy Marley was the mid-show guest on the HBO seasonal programme Real Time with Bill. He joined the host and his other mid-show guest to talk about his latest CD, Fly Rasta, before his upcoming tour of North America. Marley was philosophical, frank and witty with his responses and remarks to the subtle probing questions of the show's host, Bill Maher.

Maher opened the conversation with a disclaimer to his introductory statement of Marley: "You are more than a reggae musician. I listen to your music, especially in this new one (Ziggy's CD Fly Rasta). You are really a crossover musician. This stuff is very accessible the way a lot of traditional reggae isn't to everybody."

"Open-minded music is music that does not have any limits or boundaries on it. So everyone can get into it, because it's not in a box, it's not in a prison. It is free music", Ziggy replied with a heavy Jamaican accent, sounding much like his late father, Bob Marley.

After commenting on Ziggy's accent, Maher continued his line of assertion. "But I feel that you are a crossover reggae artiste. I feel that you did to reggae what some country musicians did 20 years ago ... . They made it that everybody can enjoy that kind of music."

GIANT HIT

Marley was sharp and cool in his response saying, "If you feel that way, that's cool."

Bill Maher, known for his strong stance on global warming, expressed a liking for one of the tracks on the Fly Rasta CD, I Don't Wanna Live On Mars, and called it a giant hit.

Marley explained that the track was very special to him as he cares about the planet. "It is kinda my love song to the planet."

When Maher said: "People associate reggae music with a few things: your family, Rastafarian[s], and, of course, weed", Ziggy was fast on the draw: "Herbs," he corrected, then explained that Jamaicans used a lot of herbs for sickness. With much probing from Maher, he yielded, "That is the one (marijuana) we use the most."

"And is marijuana a sacrament in the religion?" Maher asked, referring to Rastafarianism.

"Marijuana is a lot of things. Mek mi tell you, Bill, wi drink it, it is medicinal, we mek tea with it. In the country, wi tek it mek tea," Marley iterated.

But Maher was persistent. He wanted to know if the smoking of marijuana is synonymous to reggae music: "But you could never separate it. Separating that from reggae is like separating rap from bragging."

Marley responded: "No, man, because you see, is not every reggae musician smoke marijuana. Marijuana is specific to the Rastafarian culture. Marijuana is used in a way to open our minds basically for more creative thinking, for more connection with what we call the universe."

The entertaining and informative interview also addressed Marley's religious beliefs.

"I know that you said you do not want to be defined just as Rastafarian because it is too dividing. Why is that dividing?" Maher asked.

LOVE

"Well, the true meaning of Rastafari is love, but when I speak of Rastafari, I only speak for myself. I don't speak as a spokesman for a group of people. The individual consciousness, that's how I take it. So I would rather tell you to love than tell you to be Rastafari because you might say, 'Rastafari? What's that?' I am not into that, I am into love. The most important thing is not the title, it is the action of lovething." For this response, the white tam-wearing Marley received loud applause from the studio audience.

The host also wanted Marley to clarify the connection between Haile Selassie, the emperor of Ethiopia, and the Rasta belief.

"Well, you have to look on the history of Jamaica through slavery and colonialism. There was a time when it was all about the white man - Jesus Christ was a white guy with blue eyes, the angels were white, everybody was white.

"Here was a people who did not have an identity, and was looking to change things. So, in the Bible in Revelation, there is a story about the next coming of Christ, he was going to be the Kings of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Well, here is this man in Ethiopia who came with that title, who came with that name. That is a part of how we rebelled against the colonial idea of who Jesus was and who God was."

The interview switched to Marley's philosophy on environment and perhaps to test his profession of love, with the reminder that his GMO-free food product was scoffed upon by the people of Mon Santo, California .

"No, wi have to try mek them see the light, fi show dem the truth and with love. Let them understand that if this is a society where wi say people have the right to know things, then why in California we don't have the right to know if your food has been genetically modified?"

Ziggy also wants the authorities to focus on more than the smoking aspect of marijuana. "We want to see the whole plant be legal in every aspect. You can use it for nutrition, for building material."

Marley is also the author of a children's book titled I Love You Too. The other guests on the show were NBA player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, author Walter Kirn, Lt Governor Gavin Newsom, and financial expert Monica Mehta.