Kymani or Ky-Mani, is a Jamaican, American Reggae Hip-Hop and dance hall artist. Born in Jamaica and later moving to Miami by the age of 9, Kymani is the 10th child of the great Bob Marley. On 3/11/2011 he released the single title track “ New Heights” from his soon to be released album. This will be his 6th studio album. This single is more reggae than hip-hop which differs from his previous album.
As a young man he was heavily involved in soccer and football in school and played the trumpet in his high school band. He grew up in the ghetto’s of Miami and did not receive the wealth and security some of his family members received. In high school he began rapping and DJ’ing and started to think that music was his forte. He made a couple albums and soon he was experimenting with laying tracks, at times with his brothers, Stephen, Julian and Damian.
In 2010 he released the single “Dear Dad”, a letter to his Dad declaring his love and loss. A heartfelt I miss you Daddy kind of theme to celebrate Bob Marley’s 65th birthday. The Song came shortly after a book of the same title, “Dear Dad” with the added subtitle “Where is the family in our family today” written by Ky-Mani which was changed from Dear Dad: The Marley Son Who Persevered from the Street to Prominence, was released to much controversy, about the Marley family secrets. From the name change to content, it opened a huge can of worms for the legendary family.
Ky-Mani has the phrasing of Bob Marley when gets into the reggae mode of vocalization, but not the voice. His vocals at times seem raw and unpolished. He seems more suited for the Hip-Hop/Reggae influenced genre.
Only time will tell which if any of the Marley boys will have the staying power of their heritage. The family is capitalizing on a memory, while the Reggae sound is not dead, it may be drifting away if incorporated into Hip-Hop/Rap craze and not preserved by the family business.
Look for Ky-Maini’s new album out this year, and judge for yourself which direction he is going.
http://www.kymani-marley.com/
Tunedin4U.blogspot.com
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