Damian Marley has revealed the advice he has given his son as the teenager prepares to follow in the footsteps of his famous musical family.
The 48-year-old singer, the son of the late reggae legend Bob Marley, is proud that Elijah is developing his talents, but is keen for the youngster to understand how much hard work is needed to be a success in the music industry.
Damian told People: “Practice makes perfect. You have to keep at it. All the greats who you see out there, they’ve spent a lot of time working on their craft, even though what you see is the end result. What you don’t see is all the work that’s put in behind the scenes.”
While the Welcome to Jamrock hitmaker is encouraged by his son’s musical progress, Damian insists Elijah’s education remains the number one priority.
He said: “He’s slowly getting into trying to come up with stuff for his own, but he’s been learning his instruments. He plays piano pretty well, and he’s also pretty good on the drums.
“As a matter of fact, too, I just released a juggling rhythm by the name of the No Better Rhythm, where it’s my son playing the drums. So, he’s growing, but education first. He’s still in school, and he’s finishing up his education.”
Damian added: “[I am] looking forward to the future for him.”
Elijah, who has performed alongside his five-time Grammy-winning dad, has been passionate about music from a young age.
Damian said: “Ever since he was a little child, he’s just always been around us and always been in tune and interested in what we’re doing.
“Just because he looks up to his uncles and his dad.”
The Beautiful performer started writing songs at around 13 with help from his brother Stephen Marley, 54, drawing inspiration from his family and a wide range of artists.
Damian recalled: “I grew up with a lot of music playing in my house. My mother was a great fan of music. She actually used to sing jazz songs publicly.
“The first music I really started to purchase for myself was like ‘80s dancehall music, Peter Metro and Shabba Ranks, Papa San, Ninjaman — those were my heroes when I was growing up.
“I would go to stage shows and watch them perform and say I want to be like them, which is probably why my style is a little bit more toward dancehall style as opposed to, like, my dad’s style for the most part of my music.”
He added: “It’s really because of the influence of early dancehall artists and hip hop too, but growing up I’d [also] hear things from like Nat King Cole, Sade, David Bowie.
“All of these, and, of course, my father’s music, and my brothers’ and sisters’ music. We’d always be hearing those things in the house, and just Jamaican popular culture in general.”
Despite growing up around Bob’s music, Damian did not fully appreciate the One Love star’s legacy until he began releasing music professionally and the media started to make comparisons.
He remembered: “You don’t really realise that until you get to be a certain age, so you don’t really grow up with that. You kind of just grow up free, doing what you love to do.
“It was more so when you start releasing music professionally, and the media starts making comments and things like that. That’s when you kind of start to realise.
“But it’s not really something that you dwell on a day-to-day basis. When we’re in the studio making music, it’s what we do. It’s just being me. So it’s not really something that you think about unless you’re really asked about it.”
