George Harrison who?

Stephen Marley comes from reggae royalty just don t ask him about The Beatles

By Matt Pais

Most kids don't get to be special guests at a nation's liberation. Of course, Stephen Marley didn't exactly lead a normal childhood.

The third child of reggae legend Bob Marley, Stephen was there when Zimbabwe celebrated its independence from Great Britain in 1980. He took the stage with his dad and the Wailers shortly after he learned to walk. Later, he played with brother Ziggy and other siblings as part of the Melody Makers. More recently, he produced multiple Grammy-winning albums for his brother Damian.

Yet Stephen, who's been around music all his life, didn't put out an album of his own until last week, when he released the good-vibes-a-plenty "Mind Control." From New York, the Jamaica-raised singer talked about life as a Marley, one of his father's favorite foods and controlling people's minds.

You've been called the George Harrison of the Marley clan.

The George Harrison? Who? George Harrison?

Have you heard that before?

What does that mean?

Do you know who George Harrison is?

No, tell me.

He was a member of The Beatles.

OK. No, I don't know a George.

OK. Well, you seem like a pretty calm guy. Do you ever get worked up?

Yeah, man! Sometimes we get rowdy.

What happens?

The earth shakes! When we get rowdy, we roar, like them lions. "Raaaarrr!"

Does being a Marley put pressure on you?

Good pressure! If we should succumb to saying, "Yes, there is pressure," then I would have to say it is good pressure. It's a good standard to try to keep up to. Our father is our teacher. He is our mentor.

What's something people would be surprised to learn about your father?

I don't know really. My dad loved ice cream. I don't know if that matters.

What's your earliest memory of music with your family?

We started out in 1979 when I was 7, so I guess a year before that, when I was 6, we used to play out on the veranda at our home. And we would go around the neighborhood and invite the people to pay, like, 50 cent or 25 cent to come and hear us play on our veranda. That is the earliest memories I have. My father was not there, but my mother was there some of the time. And that was how my father heard about us singing. My mother said, "Yo, they're singing. They're giving little concerts at the house." Him say, "Yeah?" And that's how it started.

So ticket prices have gone up a bit.

Inflation, bro!

Why did it take so long to release your first solo album, "Mind Control"?

Well, I really didn't wait. I wasn't waiting. I was working, really. And the work sat before me. I just got a chance to deal with myself in that sense.

If you could control people's minds, would you?

Um, yes! Because I would put positive things in their thoughts and in their minds.

Such as?

Just love, first of all. Love for mankind, you know. That would be the biggest thing. If we cannot find love, we can't find nothing.

Matt Pais is the metromix music and movies producer.