David Nesta Marley popularly known as Ziggy Marley, son of the legendary Bob Marley, was born on the 17th of October 1968 in Kingston, Jamaica, a man that has followed his father’s footsteps when it comes to music. Ziggy and his siblings formed the band Melody Makers in 1981 after their father’s death.
While all four members provided the vocals, Ziggy also played guitar, an instrument his father had taught him. He is married to Orly Agai, an Israeli of Iranian descent,who is a former vice-president of William Morris Agency. He also has 6 children, Justice Marley, Zuri Marley, Judah Victoria, Gideon Robert Nesta, Abraham Selassie Robert Nesta, and Daniel Marley.
He and his Melody Makers made a guest appearance on the popular kids television show Sesame Street in the 1991–92 seasons, and sang a Sesame Street version of “Small People” from their 1991 album Jahmekya.
He performed in an episode of Sesame Street, playing his well known song “Set Your Piggies Free”, which encourages children to take off their shoes and socks and to explore nature with bare feet. Ziggy became politically active, working with the United Nations and creating a record label called Ghetto Youths Crew.
A solo album, Dragonfly was released on 15 April 2003. On 2 July 2006, his second solo album, Love Is My Religion, was released on his independent record company Tuff Gong Worldwide. The album won a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album.
Despite his humble beginnings, Marley’s life was soon transformed by his father’s growing fame. The senior Marley soon moved his family away from the tough Trench town streets, but could not entirely shield them from the violence that permeated all of Jamaica during the 1960s and 1970s.
When he was younger his parents forbidden him from going to recording studios, during those times his days were spent doing other extracurricular activities, like fishing and playing soccer in Jamaica, it is known as football.
Nevertheless his father taught him to play drums and guitar, and at the age of ten, back in Jamaica, Marley began sitting in on sessions with the Wailers, his father’s background group, which included his mother Rita, also a talented singer.
In 2007, Marley signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a non-profit organization that provides free musical instruments and free lessons to children in public schools throughout the United States.
He has visited with children in the program and sits on the organization’s board of directors as an honorary member.
Ziggy Marley released a pro-marijuana song in support of California’s Proposition 19 ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana. Voters rejected the ballot but backers said they would mount another legalization campaign in 2012. He has also worked with youth AIDS prevention charities and children’s musical education groups.
His style is similar to that of his father – a roots reggae sound which focuses on messages of brotherhood and social justice. Ziggy Marley has continued to make many strides, there are so many things to know about him that cannot be fit into one article.