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Tavis: Damian Marley is a Grammy winning reggae artist whose latest CD is a heralded combination of dancehall and roots reggae. Reggae, of course, is in his blood. He is the youngest child of the legendary Bob Marley. The new CD is called 'Welcome to Jamrock', which has been a critical and commercial success over the past several weeks. He's also been on tour with U2. Damian, nice to see you again.

Marley: Yes, respect.

Tavis: Respect to you. Glad to have you back on the program, on this program for the first time, I should say, on my PBS program. The track we just played, 'Welcome to Jamrock', when you hear almost anything with a reggae beat to it, when you hear your stuff, it's easy to get up in a club and run to the dance floor and, you know, do your thing.

But the lyrics to 'Welcome to Jamrock' are actually rather somber, talking about the condition of your beloved Jamaica. So talk about the lyrics you write to that particular groove that people, I think, overlook.

Marley: Well, the lyrics are really depicting the life of Jamaicans, most Jamaicans, what the average Jamaican is facing. Which is not really what the tourists come to Jamaica and experience. You know what I mean? For most Jamaicans right now, it's just struggle, especially in the inner city areas for the youths coming up.

There's not really a lot of opportunities for, you know, the next generation coming up right now. So that's really what the song 'Jamrock' is about. It'd be a misrepresentation to only speak of those things when you speak of Jamaica, of course. The island is very beautiful and there's a lot of positive things about it. But right now, for the average citizens, it's a struggle, you know?

Tavis: How much does it bother you, though, if it bothers you at all, and I assume it does since you wrote the song. How much does it bother you that the tourists, to your earlier point, see one thing when they come to Jamaica? And Jamaica's a wonderful country, but there is a lot of abject poverty and violence and other issues. It's a struggle living in Jamaica right now.

Marley: Yeah, well, my problem is not with the tourists. I mean, it's great that people come to Jamaica and share in our culture and be a part of our whole, you know, vibration. My, our beef is really with, mainly the people who we elect to deal with these problems. And I mean it's like seldom we really see them move in a way which they can really benefit the people.

I mean, right now the level of education that is really accessible by most of the youths, it's slim. And I mean, it's not really a high level of education, so, like I say, my problem is not to the tourists. It's more so with the system that is there.

Tavis: Yeah. Anybody who is a tourist to Jamaica comes there and appreciates the culture. And the music is such a wonderful part, such a huge part, overwhelming part of what we think of when we think of Jamaica. And your father, of course, is the giant of all those persons who've come before with regard to reggae music. Your dad would have been 60 this year, and on the occasion of his 60th birthday, you all exhumed his body from Jamaica, and buried him in Ethiopia?

Marley: No, no.

Tavis: Tell me what I got wrong here, then.

Marley: So really, that was just something that was, I mean, our father spoke about - he said that he wanted to make sure that he was not left in the west whenever we are moving towards Ethiopia. That's just a statement that he made. There was no actual action taken toward doing any of that.

What really happened earlier this year was that we went to Ethiopia to perform there for his 60th birthday, so there was a big celebration in Ethiopia in Meskel Square. And that's really what it was. It was just a celebration, so.

Tavis: Somehow that story got out there, though, that they...

Marley: Yeah.

Tavis: So there's no truth to this thing?

Marley: No. There's no truth to it.

Tavis: Okay. I'm glad we got a chance to clarify that. Speaking of Bob Marley, I know you've been asked that before, but for those who have not heard your response, and maybe it's changed over the years. What's the benefit, the good of being the offspring of Bob Marley? And I assume that along with the good there must be a challenge of being the offspring of Bob Marley, so address both if you will.

Marley: Well, the benefits for me I'd say definitely is that, is a light for my career in terms of somebody who doesn't know Damian, perhaps, will know the Marley. And, you know, because of that, they will take a listen to the CD. Whether or not they like the music, that's another story, but at least you get that first listen.

I guess, the downside, I guess, people's expectations, which is not really something that really bothers me on a day-to-day basis. The most I really think about it is when I'm asked in interviews about, you know, that situation. It's not really something that I really focus on in life, you know?

Tavis: To your point about not focusing on it, though, you're not unaware, though, that that exists, that people, when they hear Marley, they think of Bob first.

Marley: Right, right. I'm not unaware that that exists. Definitely, I know that's out there. But like I say again, I try not to let that cloud my mind. Keep my mind creative when making music. And it's really, you know, being myself. My father's still very much a part of who I am, you know, growing up, being his son, and sharing the same kind of morals, being a Rasta. So, for me it's just really expressing myself and being natural with it. So I don't really, like I said, pay too much attention to that.

Tavis: Are you ever amazed, because I am. Then again, I'm not the offspring, I'm not Junior Gong. But are you ever amazed as you travel around the world, and you've been on tour, as I mentioned, with U2, a moment ago. You ever amazed after all these many years that your father's music still has the impact that it has, that people still listen to it like the CD just came out yesterday? Does that ever, like, blow you away?

Marley: Yeah, man, definitely, especially when I go to new places that I've never been before. And especially different cultures, like people don't speak English and these things, and when you go to these places, you see love that is there. You see his face nearly everywhere on Earth. So you know, that is always a refreshing feeling. And it's always new when you go and see that and experience that. Like even being in Ethiopia, to see the kind of love they have for him there was very amazing, you know? So, yeah.

Tavis: Tell me more about this particular CD. You've got some interesting collaborations on it. How does this differ from your previous projects?

Marley: Well, I mean, it's 14 new tracks that really show different experiences of my life. I mean, practice make perfect. I'd like to think that we're improving on our vocal approach and our production. We have Nas, Bobby Brown, Black Thought from The Roots, Bounty Killer, and Eek-A-Mouse, and of course, my brother Stephen Marley has guest appearances on the album. Yeah, and like I say, it's just another effort from us as a family, 'cause it's very much a family project also. And you know, we just like to improve with everything that we do, so.

Tavis: Speaking of family projects, it must be nice, though since - I mean, you know the numbers better than I do, but it seems to me, at least from the outside looking in, that almost everybody in your family, all the Marley offspring, are in the music business on some level. Stephen, Damian, Ziggy, the list goes on and on and on.

Everybody's in the business, it seems, at some level. It must be nice, speaking of family, to do a project, and to know that if you wanted it or if you needed it or if you thought about it, you've got a whole bunch of talented folk around you to pull from to join with you on your project.

Marley: Definitely. It's a lot of support, you know. And me even being one of the younger ones, I have a lot of elder experience to draw from, so, I definitely benefit from it.

Tavis: Tell me about, and maybe more than, but certainly as much as any of the other Marleys, you really like to experiment with mixing the sound of reggae with other music sounds, with other genres of music. Where do you get these ideas? What makes you think that that stuff will work? 'Cause you really do experiment with mixing reggae with a bunch of other stuff.

Marley: True. Well, it really does mean, I find all different genres of music is really inspiration for that. You know, I listen to a lot of hip-hop music, and growing up, even growing up around my mother, who was a person who listened to like, Gypsy Kings and, you know, she listened to a lot of, like, blues and soul music, you know? So we use these different influences, you know. We just like to experiment with music. We like to be free with it, so that's really where it come from.

Tavis: You ever tried something that, this is just between the two of us, you ever tried something that...

Marley: And the rest of the world.

Tavis: (laughs) The rest of the world, yeah. You ever tried to mix something, and you play it in the studio. You got in the studio, you put it together, and you're like, "No, that's not gonna work"?

Marley: Yeah, man, lots of times, you know? I mean, for every, I guess you'd say for every 10 times you try, you may get two right. So, you know, sometimes you try things that don't work out.

Tavis: Yeah. Let me ask you a real silly question, for those who are not really initiated in what reggae is. I think you'll understand what I'm trying to get at. When you go into a club or anywhere and you hear a reggae sound, how do you explain to people that what they're not hearing every time they hear reggae is the same thing?

And I ask that 'cause when you walk into a club or anywhere, you hear a reggae sound, what you hear is (humming). How do you explain to people that they're not hearing the same thing all the time? How do you get people, in other words, to appreciate the breadth and depth of what reggae is beyond that (humming).

Marley: Well, I mean, that's really what we're trying to do now. You know, I mean, a lot of it is really just educating people about our culture. You know, I mean, the more that you get into something is the more you become a fan of it, the more you understand what it's all about. I mean, I remember when I was just hearing hip-hop in Jamaica for the first couple of times, that's what it was like to me.

You know, I mean, until I really started listening to what they were saying and figuring out what was really going on in the songs and what have you. That's when I really started to understand the scope of it, you know? I mean, so, and that's what we're really trying to do within these projects, even using those other genres of music that we were speaking about earlier. We'll hopefully bring in outside people towards reggae music, you know?

Tavis: Yeah. What do you think makes reggae work? If you ask any artist, whether it's a jazz artist or an R & B artist, or a gospel artist, they can tell you what they think it is about what they do that resonates with people. I mentioned earlier your father being, you know, the king of the hill where reggae is concerned, but what is it about reggae itself that you think resonates with people, that works so well after all these years?

Marley: Well, first and foremost, I think it's really about the message of the music, you know, what the music is saying. It really, the masses can relate to it, you know? I mean, because reggae's a music that was really - it came from the struggle in people, which as we know, is the masses of people on Earth. So I really think that is really what is a special thing about reggae music, is really what it stands for, you know, I mean, as upliftment. A music of upliftment and enlightenment.

Tavis: You mentioned hip-hop. Finally, before I let you go, you mentioned hip-hop, and there is a great debate, as you well know, about whether or not hip-hop is moving in the right direction. Whether the sound is right, or whether gangster rap has taken it over, yadda, yadda, yadda. Do you think reggae is moving in the right direction after all these many years?

Marley: Yeah. I think reggae's moving in the right direction. I mean, and even to add to what you just said about hip-hop moving in the right direction. I think it - you can't really blame the musician. I mean, you have a lot of conscious hip-hop, but it's really that it's not exposed. So I think, you know, to me I think really the problem is more so with the means of exposing the music, you know? Like, for example, on the channels or the media then, you know what I mean? So really, that's, you know, that's where it is to me.

Tavis: I'm glad to expose it, not that it needs it, but it is the new CD from Damian Junior Gong Marley, 'Welcome to Jamrock'. Nice to meet you, Damian.

Marley: Respect, yes.

Tavis: Glad to have you here. Thanks for watching the program. We'll see you next time here on PBS. Talk to you this weekend on PRI. Thanks for watching as always. Good night from LA, and keep the faith.