Not a sweet life: Bob Marley’s ‘lost son’ says it’s been a ‘Concrete Jungle’
When Fabian Marley got the opportunity to cover a Bob Marley song with producer Clive Hunt, he chose ‘Concrete Jungle’, the angst-ridden track from The Wailers’ 1973 album, Catch A Fire.
“Its one of my favourites; is like mi live dat life,” said Marley, 47.
His version has not yet been released. It’s one of the songs he worked on with Hunt, one of modern reggae’s top producers, and Massive Entertainment Group, a company based in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Two songs from the sessions at Mixing Lab studio in Kingston have been released: Through The Fire and Nah Go Sey mi Poor.
Marley has courted controversy in the past three years. He claims to be the first son of reggae legend Bob Marley who died in May, 1981 at age 36.
The Marley family have refused to recognise him as one of the superstar’s heirs.
The diminutive Fabian admits the verbal jousting with the Marleys has been stressful, but he is unfazed.
“Pressure kill some people but it jus’ build I. The hotter the battle, the sweeter the victory,” he said.
Clayton Thomas, head of Massive Entertainment Group, said he heard some of Marley’s songs in late 2014 through a mutual friend in New York. Once he decided to forge a professional relationship with him, Thomas sought Hunt to conduct the recordings.
Thomas, who hails from St Kitts, is determined not to knock heads with the Marleys.
“We’re staying away from all controversy. I’m here to push Fabian’s music,” he said.
The burly Thomas started in the music business working with soca bands like 14 Minus from his native island. Later, he produced songs by Luciano and Mikey General.
Fabian Marley will promote his new songs during a week-long stay in France, starting October 18 in Aulnay.
