Back in March, the Garden Amp, in Garden Grove, CA, hosted the Kaya Fest Pre-Party with performances by InnerWaves, Simbala, Special Blend, Bambaata Marley, and Tomorrows Bad Seeds.
After the show, I had the great opportunity to chat with Bambaata Marley, Bob Marley’s grandson, and it’s about time we release this conversation! In celebration of his newly released single, “Deadbeat”, check out the conversation I had with Bambaata — a talented and unique soul!
In a 2014 article in Rolling Stone, you talked about how it does not matter what your music ultimately sounds like because it will always be influenced by reggae music. Saying, ‘…The root of my music, regardless of if it might sound a different way, is always reggae…’ Could you elaborate on that thought?
Yeah, for sure. That’s what I was talking about because that’s what I’m making. However, I say that because that’s where I’m from and it’s something I can’t change. It is what it is and that’s the root of my creation and that means nothing in regards to what something sounds like. That music is special music and because I know it, I don’t have to use the specific sounds. I can do other things with it.
That goes perfectly with what I heard throughout your set tonight– it’s so versatile.
Yeah, I mean it doesn’t sound like reggae to everyone but it is to me– Reggae is a soul. I’ll call it nothing until they call it something.
When was your last performance before tonight?
I can’t remember, it was a while ago. I’d say 8 or 9 months ago– it’s been a minute. I made the album and pretty much after I did that I decided to get back to doing shows. I put the band back together last week. I found some new cats so this was their first show and everybody did well.
Wow, just last week? How tough was it for you to bring all these individuals together to have them be on the same page?
It’s the hardest thing in the world and it’s kind of impossible unless you’re lucky.
Would you consider yourself lucky?
Tonight I’m lucky. Tomorrow you never know.
When do you plan on releasing your album?
I’m looking at June, summertime is fun, and June seems like it would be a good time for it all to come out. Especially around the time for festivals to say, ‘Oh we want this man’, you know what I’m saying? So yeah, June vibes.
So everything in this world is ever-changing and especially when it comes to music. Do you have any thoughts on that?
Sometimes the change is horrible. The majority of the time it’s really bad. [laughs] So I don’t know. I’m not saying that it’s bad to change but if you change you’ve got to change in the right direction. If you’re changing in the wrong way it’s like, ‘what are you doing?’ It’s like if you put your pants on your head… where are you going? That’s pretty much what it is.
What are you currently listening to?
A lot of everything– plenty of things. The Black Panther soundtrack, everything TDE, Goldlink… all those guys, those are my homies.
Will we be seeing you at Kaya Fest?
I’m attending, I’m playing, I’m rocking… and taking names. [laughs]
Words of wisdom to independent artists?
The advice I would give to an independent artist is to listen to no one but yourself because that is what independence is. You know what I mean? You can’t be an independent artist and listen to everyone else around you. Trust yourself, trust your gut, and move on that.
(1-4, kaya fest pre party) photos by anrea santos (5-8 kaya fest) photos by pat evans (9,10) photos by sean o’connor
Much love, Bambaata for taking the time to chat with me. Although I had seen Bambaata perform at the Pre-Party, seeing him perform on the Kaya stage was beyond what I could have imagined. Bambaata fed off the crowd’s energy and the Kaya vibe making his performance all the better!
If you’re interested in reading more about Nothing Mag’s Kaya Fest experience, click here to read Nothing’s collaborative Post-Show Thoughts on Kaya Fest 2018.
Kaya Fest 2019 will take place in our home– The O.C., specifically, Garden Grove, CA! We’re so stoked to attend next year and all of us at Nothing Mag hope to see you all there!
