Damian Marley Quotes

"We take for granted electricity, water, even concerts. Count your blessings."

"I think after a time there won't be anything left to be interesting for mankind. Computers are about to do everything for us. Cellphones are smarter than we are. We'll embrace spirituality because we'll be bored of everything else."

"In Jamaica, them always have throwback riddims, recycled old beats, and the hardcore reggae scene is always present. You have faster stuff like the more commercialized stuff, but you always have that segment of music that is always from the core, from the original root of it."

"My father has been a voice of encouragement in times of desperation for so many people. But he died when I was so young that, for me, his music has been a way for me to get to know him better."

"Everyone is related to Africa; everyone comes from Africa. We are all distant relatives."

"The U.K. crowds always have a lot of energy, and I've done some milestone shows there that I'm very proud of."

"Jamaica full of ghetto, but boy, I tell you: me never see it like that."

"I'm a big fan of hip-hop, so it reflects in my approach."

"Coming where I'm coming from, really, my family name isn't a pressure because, you know, music is not like sports, where you can go and do a hundred reps in a gym and come out and be all buffed up. Music is an expression of what's inside of you. And that's how I make music."

"I would never say that being Bob Marley's son has been a pressure. It has been a door opener."

"The U.K. is one of the places that has always been an advocate of my music and I spend a lot of time touring here. I've got family and friends over here, but more than that, there's a large Jamaican community and the Jamaican culture is very widespread in the U.K. which I love."

"Everything I've experienced, things that my friends have experienced and we talk about, things that are on the news - all aspects of life are in my message."

"Toasting is basically what you call rapping. It came off of playing the beats at the parties, however it be. You find a space in the beat, and you have somebody live just basically saying rhymes over the beat."

"Technology has changed things, same as everywhere. But the economy has changed drastically. When Jamaica first won independence, our dollar was stronger than the U.S. dollar. Now ours is about 90 to one. That's had a big impact on crime and poverty."

"I used to buy records in high school. Mainly dancehall: Super Cat, Buju Banton."

"I like singing all songs, really, but I find that writing social commentary comes naturally."

"I record all night and sleep all day."

"It might sound like I'm a dreamer, but economic models have reached their height of evolution. Technology has evolved. What hasn't evolved is mankind's spirituality; everything is from 3,000 years ago. With spirituality comes morals, a better way of thinking."

"You say 'African music' and you think 'tribal drumming.' But there's a lot of African music that's like James Brown, and a lot, too, that sounds very Hispanic."

"By the time Africa is developed, it will be the wonderland of the world, 'cause it will be able to make use of all the mistakes of other nations. But it nah go just drop out of the sky. So we have to put in work."

"Being Bob Marley's son has done many things for me, in terms of having a career in music. I'm very proud of my music, and I'm very proud of where I'm from. People hear that I'm Bob Marley's son, and they turn on my music to listen just out of curiosity."

"It's my luck to be at the frontier of what looks to be a resurrection of roots music on the international scene. That's really what reggae music is about: that voice against oppression and struggle."

"One of the first albums that I remember, rap albums I remember really listening to, was LL Cool J 'Mama Said Knock You Out.'"