It can be difficult to keep track of all the musical offspring of super-fertile reggae king Bob Marley. Ziggy, Stephen, Julian, and Damian have each carved out their unique notches in their reggae family tree. Julian, elder only to Damian, creates music true to the traditional roots reggae legacy of his father more so than his siblings but incorporates R&B, hip-hop, and dancehall elements as well. In sum, accessible to the trimmed and dreaded alike.
His latest release, 2009's Awake (recorded in Miami and Kingston), is filled with spiritually and socially conscious tracks strong enough to enlighten the sleepiest of dorm room stoners. The production is polished, placing it on the poppy side of the reggae spectrum. Older brother Stephen, who is Awake's executive producer, earned two Grammys for work on brother Damian's albums, in addition to his four others as an artist. As a performer, Julian has toured the world with his band the Uprising. His stop in South Florida this month comes on the heels of gigs in Australia, Jamaica, and Los Angeles just this year.
