Arts & Entertainment
Ziggy
continued from page 9
that everywhere I go, especially in poor
countries and poor neighborhoods. Even in
speaking to actual freedom fighters from
South Africa to Ethiopia, they always told
me how influential the music was in their
struggles.
KW: Attorney Bernadette Beekman asks:
What is the most significant life
lesson you learned from your
father?
ZM: Everything I’ve taken
away from my father has been sig-
nificant. 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 peo-
ple, we should do it. And that there
is a spiritual side to life as well as to music,
and that we are here for a bigger purpose
than just ourselves. Those are some very
significant ideas of my father’s that I have
carried with me all my life and still cherish
to this day.
KW: Harriet Pakula Teweles asks: What
was it like growing up as the son of such a
famous icon?
ZM: I’d divide it into two periods. Bob
wasn’t as big an icon as he later became
after he died. When he was alive, he just
acted like what he was, a musician that peo-
ple loved. He never behaved in any
superficial or iconic way. He was just being
himself. There wasn’t anything special or
different about our lives. In Jamaica, every-
body’s the same. The second period began
after he passed away, when his iconic
stature grew and everywhere we went peo-
ple would show us a lot of love as Bob
Marley’s kids. That was very positive for
us.
KW: Marcia Evans asks: How long did
you live in Trenchtown?
ZM: I was born in Trenchtown and spent
my early years there as a toddler. When my
dad made more money, we moved out of the
ghetto to a better neighborhood with better
schools. Eventually, he purchased the home
on Hope Road from [Island Records pro-
ducer] Chris Blackwell, which also became
his headquarters.
KW: Film student Jamaal Green says:
First and foremost, I would like to say love
and respect to you and your family for pro-
viding the world with generations of great
music and good vibes. With the debut of the
ZM: I don’t think there’s a specific mes-
sage. I want people to feel an emotional
connection to Bob, a human connection as
a friend, as family.
KW: Is there any question no one ever
asks you, that you wish someone would?
ZM: I can’t think of one off the top of my
head right now.
KW: Your dad gave you the
nickname, Ziggy, meaning mari-
juana. And you are an advocate for
the legalization of pot. Why is that,
because you consider it a sacred
herb or a recreational drug?
ZM: My interest in it is actually a
much wider spectrum than merely
smoking marijuana. It’s all about
the use of hemp for clothing, for
building materials, and as a bio fuel, as an
environmental alternative in the industrial
sense. Plus, the seeds have nutritional value.
That’s what I’m interested in bringing to
light, because everybody just talks about the
smoking, the smoking, the smoking. I’m
trying to get across to people that if we in
this world are serious about the Green Rev-
olution and saving the planet, then this plant
has to be a part of the discussion, because it
is the most suitable natural resource with
thousands of beneficial uses.
KW: What is your favorite dish to cook?
ZM: Right now, just oatmeal.
KW: When you look in the mirror, what
do you see?
ZM: I don’t know what I see… [Pauses to
reflect] I see a body. I see a body.
Bob wasn’t as big an icon in life
as he later became after he died
documentary Marley, is there a possibility
of someday making a dramatic film about
the life of the “Honor Rebel” Bob Marley?
If so I would love to apply for the job.
ZM: [LOL] Jamaal, you just might be
able to direct it. It’s going to take a few
years to get there, so you might be perfect,
if you’re available at that time. But it’s not
something that we’re focusing on right now.
When we are ready, it will have to be a mag-
nificent piece of work.
KW: Editor/legist Patricia Turnier asks:
Who would you like to portray your father,
if you make a movie about him?
ZM: That’s an issue. We don’t know.
KW: How about you?
ZM: I wouldn’t play him, but we haven’t
looked that deeply into it yet.
KW: Patricia, who is Haitian-Canadian,
was also wondering whether the movie
Marley will be available subtitled in French,
her
native
language.
ZM: I hope that the distributors will make
the movie available in whatever subtitles
are needed in different areas.
KW: Patricia’s has a couple more ques-
tions: Do you enjoy listening to your own
CDs?
ZM: Umm… not really.
KW: And, what message do you think
people will take away from?
Ziggy Marley
KW: If you could have one wish instant-
ly granted, what would that be for?
ZM: Peace in the world.
KW: The Ling-Ju Yen question: What is
your earliest childhood memory?
ZM: Playing on the streets of Trench-
town.
KW: The Kerry Washington question: If
you were an animal, what animal would you
be?
ZM: A snake.
KW: Bernadette also asks: What is your
favorite charity?
ZM: I’m into anything that really helps
children.
KW: The Judyth Piazza question: What
key quality do you believe all successful
people share?
ZM: Successful people… [Ponders the
question] That’s kind of a trick question,
because it depends on how one defines suc-
See MARLEY on page 15
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April 25, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 13