Stephen Marley

Stephen Robert Nesta Marley was born April 20, 1972, in Wilmington, Delaware, and was raised primarily in Kingston, Jamaica, the second son of Bob Marley and Rita Marley. Around age seven he was already singing alongside older brother Ziggy as part of what became Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers.

Stephen's initial fame came through the Melody Makers, which became the youngest act to win the Grammy for Best Reggae Album with 1988's Conscious Party. Behind the scenes he became the family's de facto producer, steering brother Damian's Halfway Tree and Welcome to Jamrock to Grammy wins.

Stephen released his solo debut, Mind Control, in 2007 — writing, producing, and playing most instruments himself — which won the 2008 Grammy for Best Reggae Album. He followed with two more Grammy-winning Revelation albums and produced Lauryn Hill, Pitbull, and Buju Banton, and served as musical director for the 2024 biopic Bob Marley: One Love.

Within reggae, Stephen Marley is regarded less as a frontman than as an architect — a producer/multi-instrumentalist whose studio instincts shaped not only his own catalog but his siblings' defining records. He continues to tour, including as part of the Marley Brothers: The Legacy Tour, and maintains a private recording studio in Miami Beach.