Ky-Mani Marley

Ky-Mani Marley
Ky-Mani Marley, Vieilles Charrues Festival, 2014.
Background information
Born	(1976-02-26) 26 February 1976 Falmouth, Jamaica
Genres	Reggae, dancehall, hip-hop, R&B
Occupation(s)	Musician, singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, piano, trumpet, bongos
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Shang Records, Gee Street/V2 Records
Associated acts	Young Buck, Protoje

Ky-Mani Marley (born 26 February 1976)^[1] is a Jamaican reggae and hip-hop artist. His name is of East African origin, and means "Adventurous Traveler". He is the only child of Bob Marley with Anita Belnavis, a Jamaican table tennis champion.

Life and career

Ky-Mani was born in Falmouth, Jamaica, but at the age of nine, he relocated to the inner-city of Miami . During his youth, Ky-Mani was unaware of his musical abilities, sports being his first love. With his mother's direction, he took piano and guitar lessons and played trumpet in his high school band. In addition to tapping into his musical talents, Ky-Mani was an athlete, competing in soccer and American football. As a teenager, Ky-Mani started rapping and deejaying; his first single was "Unnecessary Badness". He became inspired as a singer after being asked to sing a hook to a song during a recording session at a studio in Miami. Ky-Mani soon began experimenting with laying tracks, at times with his brothers, Stephen, Julian and Damian.

Ky-Mani signed to Shang Records where he recorded his debut album in 1996 titled Like Father Like Son, and several singles: "Judge Not" with Patra, followed by "Dear Dad" (which topped the British reggae charts),^[1] "Who The Cap Fit (remix)", and "Sensimelia", all of which added to his growing reputation as a master in the new generation of reggae musicians. In 1997, Ky-Mani joined forces with Praswell (Fugees) on a hit cover of Eddy Grant's "Electric Avenue". Marley appeared at Midem (international music showcase), when it was held in Miami for the first time. In the Cameo Theatre, Marley performed a set which was aired live by the Caribbean News Agency to 36 countries.

Marley became the subject of a bidding war. He signed with Gee Street/V2 Records in 1997 where he completed a collaboration with label mate P.M. Dawn on the single "Gotta Be Movin' On Up".

Marley's next recording was the 2000 release, The Journey. In 2001, he released his third studio album Many More Roads. He then went on tour and in 2004 and released his fourth studio album, Milestone. In 2007, he released Radio. His new album titled Maestro was released on June 30, 2015.

Marley's acting work included lead roles in the Jamaican films Shottas and One Love.

Discography

• Like Father Like Son (1996)
• The Journey (2000)
• Many More Roads (2001)
• Milestone (2004)
• Radio (2007)
• "New Heights" [Single] (2012)
• Maestro (2015)
• Conversations with Gentleman (2016)

Guest appearances

Filmography

• One Love (2003)
• Haven (2004)
• Shottas (2006)
• "#EM3(EENIE MEENIE MINEY MOE)" (2014)

References

External links

• Ky-Mani Marley at the Internet Movie Database