Damian Marley
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Damian Robert Nesta “Junior Gong” Marley (born July 21, 1978), is a reggae artist, a humanitarian, and the youngest son of the late reggae legend Bob Marley. He has won three Grammy awards.
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Damian was two years old when his father died; he is the only child born to Marley and Cindy Breakspeare, Miss World 1976. Damian’s nickname Junior Gong is derived from his father’s nickname of Tuff Gong. Damian has been performing since the age of 13. He shares, along with most of the Marley family, a full-time career in music. Unlike his brothers and sisters, however, his musical specialty is “toasting”, a Jamaican vocal technique that is a predecessor to rapping.
Personal life and beliefs
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Born as Damian Marley, he was nicknamed “Jr. Gong” in honor of his legendary father, Bob “Tuff Gong” Marley. He has 13-half siblings total; 11 on his father’s side and 2 on his mother’s side. Damian was only two years old when his father died, killed by the spread of melanoma to his
lungs and brain, at 36 years of age. Damian has been in the music business since he was a child. He began performing as the vocalist for a group called The Shepherds. The Shepherds performed at several shows in Jamaica including the Reggae Sunsplash music festival in 1992. After The Shepherds’ demise, Damian turned his vocal talents to deejaying. In 1993 Damian’s debut single “Deejay Degree” was released on Tuff Gong Records (the label founded by Bob Marley) and the following year he released “Sexy Girls On My Mind” for the Main Street label.
Damian’s next release 1995’s “School Controversy” was featured on the Epic\Sony Wonder compilation, “POSITIVELY REGGAE” with all sales proceeds going to Jamaica’s Leaf of Life Foundation, an organization which assists children who are HIV positive. Although he was still a teenager, Damian was selected as the “POSITIVELY REGGAE” spokesperson, a role that introduced him to the international press and record buying public. The same year Damian performed at select dates on the Shabba Ranks World Unity tour and with his brother Julian performed at Jamaica’s Reggae Sunfest and Sunsplash festivals. His first album, “Mr. Marley,” was released in 1996. He is Rastafari and his music reflects both his beliefs and the Rastafari guiding principles of one love, one planet, and freedom for all nations. While he travels and tours the better part of the year, his home base is split between Kingston, Jamaica and Miami, Florida, where he lives a single life. He has no children. Damian spends a lot of time with his brother Stephen at his “Lion’s Den” studio in Miami Dade county Florida. He has a younger half brother Christian and a half sister Leah from his mother Cindy. Leah currently resides in Canada.
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