See Damian Marley Explore Bob Marley’s Hometown in ‘Living It Up’ Video
Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley reflects on the drive and sacrifice of his father, reggae legend Bob Marley, in his new “Living It Up” video.
The intimate clip opens with Damian and his son touring the Trenchtown neighborhood of Kingston, Jamaica. “It’s where reggae music comes from,” the singer says reverently. “To survive in these places, you have to be a star. You have to be a soldier, you know? This environment is what built my father … In ‘Living It Up,’ that’s what we’re singing about: grandpa making it out of the ghetto.”
The video then cuts to Marley hosting a lavish party at a massive mansion, where his guests partake in a massive buffet and swim in the pool. “You give thanks for what you have,” Marley tells his son to end the clip. “Because people before us work hard for us to be able to live where we’re living.”
The funky “Living It Up” highlights the vocalist’s fourth studio LP, 2017’s Stony Hill, which earned a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album. In a statement about his latest clip, Marley said the single best exemplifies the record’s theme.
“It represents my history,” said Marley. “It comes down to where my father is coming from and where my mother is coming from, it’s not likely that people from these two worlds meet up like that on a regular basis and have children. That whole journey, I think is an inspiring story in itself.”