Search - Ky-Mani Marley :: Many More Roads

Not the most well-known Marley, but Ky-mani's the most skill

SteppingRZA | USA | 03/25/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In terms of popularity, Ky-mani Marley may be far behind the likes of eldest brother Ziggy, Stephen and even little brother Damian, but he's the best vocalist of the singing Marley kids. Ziggy and Stephen, as talented as they are, seem to lean far too heavily on the Bob Marley-isms, especially Stephen. And Damian, while seemingly the most popular Marley nowadays, is arguably the least talented -- putting out albums with solid music backing thanks to brother Stephen, but his vocal delivery is OK at best.

Now, with Ky-mani, while not as prolific as Ziggy, I can envision him as being a singer in his own right, Marley name or not. I can't say the same of the others.

The Marley kids have their strengths.

Ziggy writes strong songs, but his voice is so much like his father's that it's hard to discern his own voice, and it just doesn't seem he has ever found a sound of his own, and maybe that's through no fault of his own -- as he has been branching out musically lately.

And Stephen, as good as his production chops are, he's nowhere near as good a lyrics-writer, and his vocals seem all over the place, imitating Bob Marley more than Ziggy ever did.

And Damian leans on dancehall toasting, at which he's OK, but I still wonder if he'd have the opportunity if, first, he didn't have the Marley name, and didn't have Stephen's production backing.

*(Julian, unfortunately to say, seems to be mostly an imitation of both Bob and Ziggy, and you'd see him if you couldn't catch Ziggy, Stephen or Ky-mani performing)

But Ky-mani, to use Jamaican parlance, has the "sweetest" vocals of the Marley brood. His voice, while still reminiscent of father Bob's, has a timber to it and subtle vibrancy to it, like it's a cloth made of finer threads.

Whereas Ziggy and Stephen's vocals still seem rough, and even flat at times, Ky-mani brings true melody, musicality and dexterity with his singing.

I saw him performing live recently, and his on-stage performance was right up there with the best two or three reggae concerts I've seen.

And he can play funky, play roots, play dancehall and sing lovers rock, going from each style with ease (and sometimes back and forth between two styles within the same song, check out "Hailie I" on this CD), whereas Ziggy is good with the straightforward voice of indignation and conscience, but rather lacking when it comes to the love-themed songs. And Stephen is better at the love songs than Ziggy, and also good at indignation, but he's lacking when it comes to the social-conscience songs, stumbling while trying to deliver strong messages.

But with Ky-mani, just hear how he goes from the rooted indignation of

"Who We Are" to the roots of title-track "Many More Roads," and to the lovers-rock style of "Love In The Morning," all equally convincing. And when I saw him perform live, I learned he can handle dancehall booming vocals more convincingly than Damian, for whom dancehall toasting is his bread and butter. (Check out "In A De Dance" on this CD, where he delivers a gruff vocal style, reminiscent of Buju Banton, but with Ky-mani's vocal ability)

It's truly a shame that more people don't know about Ky-mani, but I guess that makes it easier for us, his fans, to see him play. ;)

Ziggy has the elder brother status and voice of wisdom, Stephen the production know-how, Julian the Ziggy-like and Bob-like mannerisms and affectations, and Damian the toasting bravado, but Ky-mani's got the vocal dexterity and skill, something the others can't claim. With a new album due out sometime soon, hopefully Ky-mani will gain recognition for being much more than just "another Marley son.""