I-OCTANE is no stranger to the Marleys and their music. He has worked with Ky-Mani Marley on A Yah Wi Deh for his 2014 album My Journey and on Wayne Marshall’s Go Hard featuring Damian “Junior Gong” Marley, Aidonia, Assassin, Bounty Killa and Vybz Kartel.
Ky-Mani and Damian are sons of reggae legend Bob Marley.
“It’s always good to work with any of the Marleys because you can learn so much from them while you’re making good music. When you see the man dem work ethics, you just want to work hard and put out your best ‘cause di man dem just work straight. All when man inna di studio a drop asleep, dem nah stop till the track lay down good,” said the singjay.
I-Octane said the reggae legend has left an indelible mark globally, which he wants to emulate.
“I want to leave a mark on the music industry. When I look at how hard Bob Marley and the musicians of his generation worked to pave the way for me and other artists today, I know I can’t do anything less than that. Him paved the way so that people like me can come and sing music and go all over the world go do it. So I have to be an example to those that come after me, just like Bob Marley was a role model for me,” he said.
The Digicel brand ambassador said he remembers performing in Nigeria to warm reception.
“Not many reggae or dancehall artists make a big thing of going to places like Nigeria to perform. They have their own music and it’s similar to ours, so we’re technically competing for the same fans. So to go to a country like that and have people turning up, singing along and dancing to your songs is just amazing, but I know that’s something that has taken a lot of work to build,” he said.
Marley, through his music, preached love and African unity. His African-inspired tracks include
Africa Unite and Zimbabwe. He died in May 1981 of cancer. He was 36.
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