Stephen Robert Nesta “Raggamuffin” Marley was born on 20 April 1972 in Wilmington, Delaware, and raised in Kingston, Jamaica. In 1979, a seven-year-old Stephen started his musical career as part of the child band the Melody Makers alongside older siblings Ziggy, Sharon and Cedella.
Stephen and Ziggy were directly mentored into music by their father and performed alongside Bob Marley and the Wailers at the 1978 One Love Peace Concert in Kingston, Jamaica, 1979 Reggae Sunsplash in Montego Bay and at Zimbabwe’s independence celebrations in 1980. The brothers performed, alongside the Wailers and the I Threes, at their father’s funeral on May 21, 1981.
After spending many years in the background as a producer, and backing big brother Ziggy as a Melody Maker, Stephen finally became a solo artist, releasing the albums Mind Control in 2007, “Mind Control Acoustic” in 2008, “Revelation Part I: The Root of Life” in 2011 and “Revelation Part II: The Fruit of Life” in 2016.
Stephen is an eight-time Grammy Award winner, three times as a solo artist, twice as a producer of younger brother Damian Marley’s ‘Halfway Tree’ and ‘Welcome to Jamrock’ albums, and a further three times as a member of Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers.