Let’s Take It Higher: Humble Heir Skip Marley In Search Of His Higher Calling

If Skip Marley had his way, world leaders would wise up overnight and Toots and the Maytals will win this year’s Reggae Grammy. Oddly enough, or maybe not at all, it’s a page straight out of his grandfather’s book; such sentiments were echoed by the Gong himself, both in his timeless gems of uprising and upliftment, as well as his labelling of Toots and the Maytals as “one of the best”. 

In a new Boomshots documentary, Let’s Take It Higher, released yesterday, Skip told Reshma B, “Di whole foundation of wah wi ah do now is thanks to dem man deh, dem pinnacles of reggae music. Nuh only reggae; blues, funk, soul, energy him bring, everything. Nobody nuh do di stage like Uncle Toots.” 

The 24-year-old star from Reggae’s royal family is a humble heir in search of his higher calling. Not surprisingly, his debut EP is called Higher Place, and is one of this year’s Reggae Grammy contenders along with Buju Banton’s Upside Down 2020, Maxi Priest’s It All Comes Back to Love, Got To Be Tough by Toots and the Maytals, and The Wailers’ One World (which includes a Skip Marley feature). 

Boomshots sat down with the singer-songwriter, producer and musician ahead of Grammy night at his Miami home where they talked music, the incredible legacy on his shoulders, and keeping a level head in the industry. 

It’s hard to press pause on a character like Skip’s: his peers admire him, he has the respect and support of his family, and Reggae veterans are lauding him as an authentic yet inventive protégé.

Legendary Jamaican reggae act Inner Circle, also known as The Bad Boys of Reggae (for their highly popular hit Bad Boys, the soundtrack of American 90’s series Cops) find him to be a most fitting reggae steward. “We don’t want to miss the fact that there’s many other young Marleys coming up too, but we here talking about Skip Marley,” said Roger Lewis of the group. “It’s an honour to see dat it come down [through the bloodline], said his brother, Ian, of the mysticism that is unmistakably Bob Marley’s. 

“I like the yutes spirit a lot man, very loving, very genuine. Is a big crown fi follow and then to see Skip now as the grandson who look a lot like Bob, and have nuff a Bob vibes. What did Bob say? Dem ah go tiyad fi see mi face”, he added, dropping a line from Marley’s song Bad Card made even more uncanny by his entire clan’s striking resemblance. 

Skip’s mother Cedella Marley also joined the conversation, and spoke highly of her son’s fighter spirit. The Lions singer was born premature, jaundiced and as his mom put it, “he’s always had to fight hard”. All of this only bolstered his spirit, and the former Melody Maker gave him her best ‘momager’ advice when he decided on his foray into the family business. 

“We were very honest with him as far as what to expect, what to not expect, and to also know that you’re gonna have to do everything harder than anyone else. Just because”, she said. “Not like say you have something to prove, but just because it’s a work ethic.”

As the payoffs for the crooner pour in, a distinct musical prophecy stands out. Skip was notably amused when Reshma brought up a line from the Gong’s Roots, Rock, Reggae, in which Marley willed his music across American airwaves: “Play I on the R&B/ I want all my people to see/ We’re bubbling on the Top 100 just like a mighty dread.”

Not only did the ‘mighty dread’ crack the Top 100 in 1976 with the groovy track from Rastaman Vibration, but his sixth sense reverberated all the way to 2020. Skip’s silky-smooth duet Slow Down with American songbird H.E.R reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Adult R&B Songs chart last year, garnering enough momentum to earn him a second Grammy nod for Best R&B Song.

The sense of pride in this feat extends across the entire Marley syndicate, from “the youngest uncle” to his “auntie”, the Queen of Reggae, who’s a video call away when you’re Skip Marley. Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley considers himself “almost like [a] big brother” based on the minimal age difference between he and his nephews, as well as his amorphous style that has influenced Skip’s artistry. “We have a next generation of Marleys who love music, they’re very talented, we’re here to support them as family, for sure,” he said.

“Skip, I’m so proud of you, you would never believe it,” Reggae Queen Marcia Griffiths told her grand-nephew via video call. “One of the highlights on my musical journey is to have performed with you on stage,” she said. The former I-Threes singer has graced the stage with three generations of Marleys, but was still gushing about their rendition of Chances Are at the Gong’s 71st birthday celebration. “It was mystical auntie, it was spiritual,” he replied all smiles.”You know me already, it bigger than me still, me do it fi we.” 

H.E.R. was visibly excited about their Best R&B Song nomination during her virtual call with the Boomshots host. “It just shows you how powerful the music is and how sometimes it crosses those genres. Even Skip’s project—there’s so many different influences in there. And you feel Bob in there but you feel Skip and how unique he is and how many things make up who he is musically.” 

She wasn’t alone in praising the gifted, unassuming youngster. Rapper Rick Ross who collaborated with Skip on the song Make Me Feel along with Ari Lennox told Reshma B, “the homie Skip he really special, cause it’s like when I hear his vocals it’s like he not even trying but it’s such an incredible sound. When I put my verse together I just wanted the words, the vibe to be beautiful because when I listen to his vocals, that’s what I heard.” 

With enough on his plate to inflate any ego, Skip cites his faith as a grounding force, guiding principles taught very early in his life which he later embraced for himself. In the clip, we see as much of the domestic, down-to-earth character as 25 minutes could reasonably allow — exercising, engaging with his dogs, rocking Adidas stripes like his grandfather before him. 

Home movies of the self-styled “troublemaker” and his big brother Soul on tour with the family help drive home the point about his noble mission and motive. As his friend and producer of the No Love (Dub Mix), D Smoke, puts it, Skip has made his life’s work “challenging norms rather than chasing something that feels like an industry standard.”

Smoke also cited Skip’s “priority to educate”, so it’s no wonder his closest companions seem to be his blue Adamas guitar, a replica of Bob’s famed Redemption Song instrument, and the pocket-sized Tuff Gong text, 60 Visions: A Book of Prophecy.

A description of the leather-bound book from the official website reads: “Here are sixty ways we can heal the world while healing ourselves. Here are sixty visions that cover the world like the waters cover the sea. Here are 60 seeds to plant, one at a time, in the human heart.”

Whether he walks away with the lion’s share of his nominations or none at all come Sunday night, Reggae music has a warrior in its corner. After all, the name Skip was one of Marley’s aliases, Skipper, a title given to the master or captain of a ship. Skip is poised to steer the world through turbulence towards higher with his craft one slow strummed chord at a time. 

He has the magnetic charisma of the Gong himself, noted by even the host — “It was a pleasure to work with Skip,” Reshma B told DancehallMag. “This was done during the pandemic and to be honest I wasn’t sure I wanted to travel but I’m so glad I did. Everything felt very natural, when you have an understanding with each other that nothing has to be said because it’s all vibes.”

As one who wears his potential, prestige and love for the people so well, it will be hard to slow down Skip Marley. As he puts it, “the music will never die live, [it will] reach all over the world and around again. The word of Rastafari will keep going, keep growing, and keep finding the right people.”