Ziggy Marley, born David Nesta Marley on October 17, 1968, is a Jamaican musician and the eldest son of reggae icon Bob Marley. He is a renowned singer, songwriter, and producer in his own right, and has made significant contributions to the reggae genre.
Ziggy Marley began his musical career as a teenager, forming a band called The Melody Makers with his siblings Stephen, Sharon, and Cedella. The group gained popularity in the 1980s with their reggae-infused pop sound and catchy melodies. They released several successful albums, including “Conscious Party” (1988), which won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.
After The Melody Makers disbanded in the late 1990s, Ziggy Marley pursued a solo career. He released his debut solo album, “Dragonfly,” in 2003, which earned him another Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. He has since released several more albums, including “Love Is My Religion” (2006), “Wild and Free” (2011), and “Rebellion Rises” (2018).
Ziggy Marley’s music often carries a message of love, unity, and social justice, echoing the themes prevalent in his father’s music. He incorporates elements of reggae, ska, rock, and pop into his sound, creating a unique blend that appeals to a wide audience.
Apart from his musical career, Ziggy Marley is also involved in various philanthropic and environmental initiatives. He is an advocate for cannabis legalization and has spoken out about its medicinal benefits. He continues to tour and perform globally, spreading the message of love and positivity through his music.
Ziggy Marley Quotes
1. “If you keep hiding your true self, your life becomes like a slow death. Once you become free from the lies and the hiding of yourself, then life becomes vibrant again.”
— Ziggy Marley
2. “As a viewer, I love watching movies. There has to be an emotional connection.”
— Ziggy Marley
3. “People love me everywhere I go.”
— Ziggy Marley
4. “The long-term study of GMO foods is going on in real-time and in real life. Not in a lab.”
— Ziggy Marley
5. “God is like the sun. When the sun shines, it shines for everyone. God is for everyone.”
— Ziggy Marley
6. “The present is what slips by us while we’re pondering the past and worrying about the future.”
— Ziggy Marley
7. “There’s a rainbow in the sky, all the time, don’t be blind.”
— Ziggy Marley
8. “I was born by myself but carry the spirit and blood of my father, mother, and my ancestors. So I am really never alone. My identity is through that line.”
— Ziggy Marley
9. “Doing something that is productive is a great way to alleviate emotional stress. Get your mind doing something that is productive.”
— Ziggy Marley
10. “The people who are teaching religion and not teaching love are missing the message.”
— Ziggy Marley
11. “The solution for mankind is of a spiritual nature. It is not a political or religious solution. It’s the ability to love each other. That’s the only solution I see.”
— Ziggy Marley
12. “There’s more to life than physical and material.”
— Ziggy Marley
13. “The revolution will come from the people and the willingness to work towards something better, to fight for a better living.”
— Ziggy Marley
14. “Each of us has some change within us, we cannot change the political or the social system of the world unless we change inside of us as individuals and that’s the direction I am in now which I call spiritual.”
— Ziggy Marley
15. “In my songs, the sex is all subliminal. It’s subliminal, spiritual.”
— Ziggy Marley
16. “Reggae music is simple music – but it’s from the heart. Just as people need water to drink, people also need music. If it is true music, the people will be drawn to it.”
— Ziggy Marley
17. “Children are not a burden.”
— Ziggy Marley
18. “Reggae has a philosophy, you know? It’s not just entertainment. There’s an idea behind it, a way of life behind the music, which is a positive way of life, which is a progressive way of life for better people.”
— Ziggy Marley
19. “I believe we are all connected to other people. I am connected to people who are suffering. We all are.”
— Ziggy Marley
20. “I don’t condemn and I don’t convert. I’ve been searching through books and bibles to find what this life is worth, and I’ve made up my mind: Love is my religion. You can take it or leave it, and you don’t have to believe it. Love is my religion.”
— Ziggy Marley
21. “Running is a part of my medicine. It’s what helps relieve my stress, and it’s what helps me get away from the concerns of business and anything else that’s going on in my life that I need to escape from at times – to find who I am. Running really helps me with that.”
— Ziggy Marley
22. “I learned from my father that music is from God and the message is from God.”
— Ziggy Marley
23. “I love running in nature. I don’t like running on the streets, I don’t like running in the city, I don’t like running on the concrete. I love running in nature, so Jamaica provides a lot of that for me.”
— Ziggy Marley
24. “Old music used to mean something. There is none of that today.”
— Ziggy Marley
25. “No matter the bad things that happened in past time, let’s try to live the best we can now.”
— Ziggy Marley
26. “The African-American community still needs to come together as one and stand up for the rights of the people and of what’s happening in their culture, their community.”
— Ziggy Marley
27. “Nobody owns me or my music.”
— Ziggy Marley
28. “Growing up, music was an important part of my childhood. I see it is just as important in my children and all children’s growth and development, and in a parent’s connection with their children.”
— Ziggy Marley
29. “How come “fat chance” and “slim chance” mean the same thing?”
— Ziggy Marley
30. “I want people to get over the stigma about hemp. These seeds can’t make you high, but they will make you feel good.”
— Ziggy Marley
31. “I don’t have to wait to realize the good old days.”
— Ziggy Marley
32. “I’m digging Batman. I’m digging that balance, that duality. He’s always on the edge and trying to balance himself within the rules of what’s lawful and justice, and being Bruce Wayne and being Batman.”
— Ziggy Marley
33. “Love is cheering and sharing and compassion and giving and receiving. Love is an action thing more than a word thing, that brings comfort or joy or relief to anyone or anything.”
— Ziggy Marley
34. “Screaming, it’s not me. I tried it before! Action is more my thing. Not talking. It’s hard for me to have word fights, fighting with words. I’d rather just listen.”
— Ziggy Marley
35. “Record stores keep the human social contact alive it brings people together. Without the independent record stores, the community breaks down with everyone sitting in front of their computers.”
— Ziggy Marley
36. “Last time I was in Jamaica I financed a teacher to teach in an orphanage.”
— Ziggy Marley
37. “I don’t care what you play, where you’re from, who you produce. It depends on what you’re doing when you’re with me. That’s what counts. I don’t pre-judge anything or anybody.”
— Ziggy Marley
38. “I’m a spiritual musician, I think there have been enough political musicians and I think everything that can be said has been said about political, social things, you know, and there’s still some more to be said but not much.”
— Ziggy Marley
39. “My father was like the Old Testament. I am the New Testament. I am part of a new generation. In time, people will realize this.”
— Ziggy Marley
40. “Using political tools to change social conditions won’t work.”
— Ziggy Marley
41. “Jamaica has problems; America has problems; everywhere has problems.”
— Ziggy Marley
42. “I would look at a dog and when our eyes met, I realized that the dog and all creatures are my family. They’re like you and me.”
— Ziggy Marley
43. “When people come to Jamaica, we don’t want them to think about the problems of Jamaica. So let them come be in their paradise.”
— Ziggy Marley
44. “Children are wonderful, and they add to my whole life.”
— Ziggy Marley
45. “I like doing nothing, actually. Doing nothing is the better thing when I am not working.”
— Ziggy Marley
46. “My father loved all different types of music. He wasn’t a snob. He wasn’t a purist.”
— Ziggy Marley
47. “I want the people who listen to my music to feel the feeling that I feel, to cry the cry that I cry – justice. I want them to feel in their hearts the need for justice.”
— Ziggy Marley
48. “Love is more than one thing.”
— Ziggy Marley
49. “The last thing my father told me was: ‘On your way up, take me up. On your way down, don’t let me down.’ A father telling his son that puts some responsibility on my shoulders. He told me that, and I take it very seriously.”
— Ziggy Marley
50. “There is a physical relationship with a woman that you don’t have with anybody else, but that’s not about love. Love is a spiritual thing.”
— Ziggy Marley
51. “People are loving me because they don’t even know me. “You’re Bob’s son. We love you.” So I think that’s a good thing for a father to leave so much that people are loving their children. I’m proud of that.”
— Ziggy Marley
52. “If there is no love in your heart – so sorry, Then there is no hope for you – true, true.”
— Ziggy Marley
53. “Success means different things to different people. To me, the greatest quality of successful human beings is the ability to love.”
— Ziggy Marley
54. “I am not trying to be better than my father. I am not trying to be like him. I am just trying to be myself and express myself how I feel.”
— Ziggy Marley
55. “My dream is to live a good life and be loving, be close to God and be a good human being and bring peace to people.”
— Ziggy Marley
56. “Proud about my father? What am I most proud of? I think I’m proud of the legacy he left I think is what it is. He has left us so much.”
— Ziggy Marley
57. “The sun is always shining. We have oxygen, trees, and birds. There’s so much good things on Earth, still. We haven’t destroyed everything.”
— Ziggy Marley
58. “People treat you according to your energy or what you put out there, so what I put out there is very open. I’m not paranoid or scared, I’m open. That’s how I treat people, with respect and speak truthfully.”
— Ziggy Marley
59. “The more red meat and blood we eat, the more bloodthirsty we get, the more violent we get. The more vegetarian food we eat, the more peace is taken into us.”
— Ziggy Marley
60. “I’ve tried body surfing. It’s nice.”
— Ziggy Marley
61. “Social revolutions and group revolutions are good, and we need that, but we also need personal revolution – a revolution within ourselves that changes who we are as people.”
— Ziggy Marley
62. “I’m a big reader. My kids love reading, and I think it’s important, not just for development but for bonding. You start reading to kids before they can even understand what you’re saying to them, so I look at it as a fundamental tool for connection.”
— Ziggy Marley
63. “I think that music, beats, melody, sound are a natural part of our DNA, our vibe. It’s just a part of the cycle of our lives, we’re born, we have eyes, we have music.”
— Ziggy Marley
64. “This dragonfly came up to me. He was hovering right in front of my face, and I was really examining him, thinking, How does he see me? I became enlightened.”
— Ziggy Marley
65. “My father’s songs don’t intimidate me; my father’s songs are my songs. My songs are his songs. There’s no intimidation.”
— Ziggy Marley
66. “I am freely able to express myself honestly to the public without trying to polish it over, trying to hide something. I’m just trying to be free with my expression.”
— Ziggy Marley
67. “My father’s music gives hope to people and also inspires them to break the bonds of injustice and to be positive in life. I’ve seen that everywhere I go, especially in poor countries and poor neighborhoods.”
— Ziggy Marley
68. “I am a compassionate human being. I am who I am.”
— Ziggy Marley
69. “I think parents today are looking for meaningful things for their kid. It’s about feeding them something with meaning.”
— Ziggy Marley
70. “The Rastafari culture has a very strong connection to Haile Selassie, a descendant of King Solomon.”
— Ziggy Marley
71. “As an artist, I feel that my father’s biggest influence is me realizing that music has a purpose and it’s not just for business and that music is spiritual. I get that from him that music is a spiritual thing.”
— Ziggy Marley
72. “I’m not Catholic, I’m not Orthodox and I wouldn’t even say Rastafarian, that still divides people, I don’t want to divide people so anything that I say is something that must be so big and great that it did encompass everyone and it’s love.”
— Ziggy Marley
73. “I have found that children are the most open-minded of all my audiences. They are not set in their ways. They are open to ideas.”
— Ziggy Marley
74. “I prefer the country life. I live in Kingston, but there is lots of trees.”
— Ziggy Marley
75. “Kids are an important audience to reach for the future of the planet.”
— Ziggy Marley
76. “I am a leader. Leaders always get heat. They’re always going against the grain. Jimi Hendrix got heat; Bob Marley got heat; Miles Davis got heat. Every great artist got heat. Heat means you’re doing something right.”
— Ziggy Marley
77. “I think if I’m serious about affecting people with music, I have to affect people on a human to human level, not on a grand social idea or political idea, it has to be a human being idea so it has to be what’s inside a human being.”
— Ziggy Marley
78. “I’ve been in Africa, America, moving around a lot. It’s helped me to open up my mind. I was born in Jamaica; I’ve lived all my life there and got all I could from Jamaica. But I needed to be somewhere else to grow.”
— Ziggy Marley
79. “A record is a message, timeless.”
— Ziggy Marley
80. “Success to me does not mean money.”
— Ziggy Marley
81. “The people don’t run the system; the people are victims of the system. The people choose the leaders thinking that they will help them. But when they turn around, there is no help.”
— Ziggy Marley
82. “If African countries can unite and pull resources together, then that will be the best thing we could ever do for the problems in Africa including AIDS.”
— Ziggy Marley
83. “Children are the world’s future, and we need to take care of them like we would any precious resource.”
— Ziggy Marley
84. “Music is a unifying force.”
— Ziggy Marley
85. “I can feel my father’s spirit within me. I can feel similarities within us from the artistic perspective from being a musician. We have a lot of similarities.”
— Ziggy Marley
86. “Fitness has always been one of the top priorities in my life because that’s the way I grew up, with soccer being the sport of choice.”
— Ziggy Marley
87. “We believe in the almighty and we believe in God and that music is from God and we’re inspired by God to give messages and ideas to people.”
— Ziggy Marley
88. “The challenges we face are never as important as the challenges we face up to.”
— Ziggy Marley
89. “My father, his spirit is with me constantly, and I’m a believer in that world and the world of dreams and that stuff.”
— Ziggy Marley
90. “I used to have this little mouse. I buy birds from the pet store and I let them go.”
— Ziggy Marley
91. “It’s hard to say a favorite song of my father’s. I listen to all his stuff – a lot of the old stuff before the ’70s.”
— Ziggy Marley
92. “Just Do What you feel, and Don’t you fool yourself.”
— Ziggy Marley
93. “Everything, I just wanted to be like my father. And, as I grew within the music, I kind of became myself which was even more like my father, only without me trying though.”
— Ziggy Marley
94. “Things like lack of leadership and a lack of the willingness to evolve, they’re so used to keeping people within the constraints of the idea that has been the same idea for a thousand years.”
— Ziggy Marley
95. “Free spirits have to soar.” “True Religion.”
— Ziggy Marley
96. “The roots of my music start from the ghetto.”
— Ziggy Marley
97. “My father, my Rastafari culture, has a tight link to the Jewish culture. We have a strong connection from when I was a young boy and read the Bible, the Old Testament.”
— Ziggy Marley
98. “Politics, nature, and what is happening all over the world is important to who we are and where we live.”
— Ziggy Marley
99. “I have a satellite radio show called ‘The Legends of Reggae.’ It’s a cool way to branch out and do other things. I’m paying respect to the legends of reggae.”
— Ziggy Marley
100. “Hemp is a part of the cannabis plant, and it is very useful.”
— Ziggy Marley
101. “If food is labeled, some people might choose to eat stuff that’s genetically modified. They might decide they love it. But give us a choice.”
— Ziggy Marley
102. “I am not reggae, I am me. I am bigger than the limits that are put on me. It all has to do with the individual journey.”
— Ziggy Marley
103. “Society and the system and politicians don’t want people to be aware of things. They want people to believe what they have to show ’em.”
— Ziggy Marley
104. “I’ve opened up more by traveling outside Jamaica. It helps me to grow as a person to be outside of my element; to be on my own in a strange place meeting people.”
— Ziggy Marley
105. “I’m not so much into the beats. I’m more into the spiritual side of the music.”
— Ziggy Marley
106. “Today, music is great for entertainment, but it is lacking soul; it’s lacking substance, and it’s difficult to find the good stuff. There are too many corporate interests. It’s not about the actual music because it’s about the corporation, and music just becomes part of a package.”
— Ziggy Marley
107. “I don’t chase what I hear on the radio. I try not to compete with anybody.”
— Ziggy Marley
108. “I come to sing for the people, not for the government. God made the sunshine for everyone and made the moon for everyone. We have to follow his example so we have to play music for everyone too. We have a message, and in order for our message to reach the people, we have to play.”
— Ziggy Marley
109. “My father speaks for himself, through his music.”
— Ziggy Marley
110. “Yoga is a great thing and meditation is also great to get connected to yourself more.”
— Ziggy Marley
111. “It’s very important that we instill some respect for the parents. In America especially, the kids are unruly, screaming at Mommy and Daddy, running the show.”
— Ziggy Marley
112. “I don’t think we should do anything that should make the people hate the American people more.”
— Ziggy Marley
113. “The political system is not for the people. The people are secondary to the economy. It’s about what generates money, not about what benefits the people.”
— Ziggy Marley
114. “I was in my yard and thought that the tree was a living being. We take trees for granted. We don’t believe they are as much alive as we are.”
— Ziggy Marley
115. “Everything I’ve taken away from my father has been significant. So, I can’t say that any one lesson is the most significant. By being around him, I learned that there is a purpose in life, and that if we are inspired to help people, we should do it.”
— Ziggy Marley
116. “Sometimes my mistakes turn into interesting music because I do things that aren’t supposed to be done.”
— Ziggy Marley
117. “I want to be fulfilled in myself, rather than try to follow exactly in my father’s footsteps.”
— Ziggy Marley
118. “My father was interested in bringing reggae music to the entire world.”
— Ziggy Marley
119. “I was 12 when my father passed, so I didn’t have a father during my teenage years.”
— Ziggy Marley
120. “It takes years to develop into the kind of human being you want to be.”
— Ziggy Marley
121. “I think my type of personality has all music inside of it, so I am full of music, without even knowing it, without even learning it, without even hearing it.”
— Ziggy Marley
122. “Music is one of the most essential things in life. It is what teaches us.”
— Ziggy Marley
123. “It was my dad’s idea that music is supposed to be more than simply about entertainment and making a living, but about being of service as an integral part of the consciousness of the world. In honor of him and because it’s right, I use music in that light.”
— Ziggy Marley
124. “I never did feel any pressure in Jamaica. You just someone, not nobody big.”
— Ziggy Marley
125. “I don’t fight creativity. I don’t fight against not being creative. If I’m not being creative, I’m not forcing it.”
— Ziggy Marley
126. “I follow the universe; I follow G-d. G-d made the sun, and the sun shines on everyone.”
— Ziggy Marley
127. “The truth – you’ve got to deal with it or it will kill you bit by bit.”
— Ziggy Marley
128. “The more I grow as an artist, the more I think I become like my father as an artist. The more I diversify, the more I become like my father, which is true to who he was.”
— Ziggy Marley
129. “If religion had a good purpose, then man would have created something great. But we’re man: we mess up everything. We mess up nature. We mess up God. We take what is given to us and make it into what we think it should be.”
— Ziggy Marley
130. “My best business decision was to be independent as a musician and artist. My worst was compromising on certain aspects of a deal for the sake of other members of my group when I shouldn’t have, because I was right in the end.”
— Ziggy Marley
131. “I rented a house, recorded the stuff in a house. Just took my time ’cuz sometimes it’s just rush, rush, rush. I just wanna live and play music.”
— Ziggy Marley
132. “It’s that kind of in-born music thing – I could pick up the guitar and play something. It’s not something I consciously do.”
— Ziggy Marley
133. “Some of my songs I don’t do on tour because they don’t work well live.”
— Ziggy Marley
134. “I don’t believe in other people’s ideas. I have my own ideas.”
— Ziggy Marley
135. “The idea of who my father is to me is very different than who he is to you, or to the rest of the world.”
— Ziggy Marley
136. “It’s natural that anyone is compared to their father.”
— Ziggy Marley
137. “I left Jamaica for a while, because as an artist I need to experience different things, see the world, have different energies. Living in one place is not good for me.”
— Ziggy Marley
138. “I think God surrounds us, in all different manifestations of the energy.”
— Ziggy Marley
139. “Working on my own gave me a chance to take my time and experiment a lot.”
— Ziggy Marley
140. “My father and I had a really good relationship. We’re cool. I am not trying to outdo him or anything like that.”
— Ziggy Marley
141. “My whole family is spiritual. My grandmother, grand aunt, cousins, they’re all preachers and pastors. Spirituality is a part of my family, from generations ago.”
— Ziggy Marley
142. “I am expressing myself truthfully. That is an important thing.”
— Ziggy Marley
143. “I think Americans should have a policy of love. That should be the foreign policy, love. Export Love.”
— Ziggy Marley
144. “Religion has become so many different things. Religion is an economic thing for some people. Religion is a gun.”
— Ziggy Marley
145. “The most important thing my father taught me is that every man has to stand up for his rights.”
— Ziggy Marley
146. “I grew up with coconuts as the main flavor in food in Jamaica. It’s part of our culture.”
— Ziggy Marley
147. “I think it’s wrong the way they criminalize herb. There are many more uses than just smoking. Beneficial to mankind.”
— Ziggy Marley
148. “I’m inspired to do music. I really can’t stop unless I stop being inspired.”
— Ziggy Marley
149. “I just got into the Beatles a couple years ago, you know, I like it.”
— Ziggy Marley
150. “We still have to evolve, that’s how we’re created, we’re created to evolve so you can believe in that the answer is in this book or in this one idea that the masses most believe in, each individual must evolve themselves, spiritually and consciously.”
— Ziggy Marley
151. “I’m into anything that really helps children.”
— Ziggy Marley
152. “I don’t like to do things for any other reason than it happens spontaneously or there’s something that makes it happen naturally. I don’t like putting down too many plans and trying to do a strategy to get a certain response or a certain effect.”
— Ziggy Marley
153. “As an artist myself I don’t like to be preached. I want to enjoy myself, so I kind of use that perspective to make music.”
— Ziggy Marley
154. “In Jamaica, we eradicated polio many years ago, but there are a lot of kids suffering in Africa still.”
— Ziggy Marley
155. “I’ve never read one book about my father.”
— Ziggy Marley
156. “People have to know there is more to living than physical things.”
— Ziggy Marley
157. “I’m not a slave to the recording industry. I have the freedom to make an album that I want to make and do it the way I want.”
— Ziggy Marley
158. “Art is always good. It just depends if you like or not.”
— Ziggy Marley
159. “I run four times a week. And I don’t count miles – I don’t do that. I don’t care about that. I care about how I feel, and I run according to how I feel.”
— Ziggy Marley
160. “I’ve spent a lot of time in America since Sept. 11, 2001. Being here, I was noticing that the people, who in the ’60s used to voice their opinions about their rights, are much different today. People are afraid to voice opposition to the government in a mass way.”
— Ziggy Marley
161. “I’m not an American, Do they count the votes in America? I haven’t voted in Jamaica either.”
— Ziggy Marley
162. “I think the people should have a right to boycott whoever they want to boycott without the government making them into criminals and try to protect corporations from people. They should protect people from corporations.”
— Ziggy Marley
163. “URGE is a grassroots charity. We organized to get some incubators to give to the hospital for the kids. We donate money to orphanages.”
— Ziggy Marley
164. “I make music that I know that people will enjoy, and balance the ideas and philosophy that we put in music with music that when we play it live, people can move to it and groove to it.”
— Ziggy Marley
165. “Each father wants their sons to be just like them, really.”
— Ziggy Marley
166. “I try to make my music interesting to me first, then hopefully other people will find it interesting, too.”
— Ziggy Marley
