In this special episode (a live podcast at Zibby’s Bookshop!), Zibby welcomes Grammy Award-winning musician, author, and father of seven, Ziggy Marley, to discuss his latest children’s book, PAJAMMIN’. Inspired by the playful songs he created for his own children at bedtime, PAJAMMIN’ turns nightly routines into musical adventures. Ziggy shares his philosophy on parenting by example, the deeper purpose behind his work for children, and his lifelong commitment to spreading love. They also discuss his upcoming tour with reggae legend Burning Spear, a re-released documentary about his iconic father, Bob Marley, and the powerful lessons he has learned along the way.

Transcript:

Zibby: Welcome. Yay.

Okay. Congratulations on Pajammin' your latest book. Look how great this is. Yay. Tell everybody a little bit about Pajammin' and how it came to be. 

Ziggy: Yeah. Pajammin'. Um, so the context of it is that when I speak to my kids or when I want them to do something, I make, I make up songs, I make up rhymes, I make up jingles.

So I speak to them through music. A lot of times, whether it's bedtime or time to brush your teeth, I usually make up some kind song, you know? Um, for example, like um, my youngest one is nine now, but when the others were younger, when it was time to brush their teeth, you know, I would make up a sound, brush up, brush up, brush up, brush up, brush it on the top, brush it, you know, keep..

Zibby: Going, keep going.

We might have to use this one. 

Ziggy: So we'll communicate through music and my imagination and their imagination. We using, you know, the kids' imaginations. So Pajammin' is in that vein where, you know, we we're gonna go, it's a Pajammin' party. It's time for bed, let's go Pajammin'. I'm a father of a song called Jamming and you know, I took the energy from that and kinda just created this alternative language to speak to kids through reading my music.

You know? 

Zibby: Does it work? 

Ziggy: Yeah, it work. 

Zibby: Yeah, 

Ziggy: it work. Yeah. Might work. Definitely work. I proof, you know. Yeah. 

Zibby: Do you wanna read a, a page or two of the book? 

Ziggy: Yeah. 

Zibby: To everybody. Do you mind? 

Ziggy: Yes. Yeah. Feel like you and it funny called the audio book that's coming out. It's going to be not reading, but singing it.

Zibby: Oh, well you can sing this. Go ahead. Just put you on the spot. 

Ziggy: How I read this one? Decide. All right. It started in the day, way before sleepy time. The excitement was building for a very jamming filled occasion. The plans were made, the invite sent. Today's here and tonight is next. The perfect time to do this thing.

It's an old tradition Pajammin'. There is no when. There's no how. You can start a party now. Right now. I sit waiting for the sun to sit. Then I take a bath and get all dressed, mix and matching colors. We can help each other through polka dot sauce, stripes. You can wear whatever you like. Superheroes, dolls, soccer balls.

It doesn't matter 'cause we're a Pajammin'. I am Pajammin' with you. We're Pajammin' and I hope you like Pajammin' too. 

Zibby: So amazing. 

Ziggy: Yeah. 

Zibby: Ohoh. Um, so how old are your kids? 

Ziggy: So my oldest, I have seven kids. My oldest is like 30, 30 something. My youngest is nine. My daughter Judah, she's 20, just turned 20. She's in college. Um, Gideon is 18. He's getting ready to go to college. Abraham ear Abraham, 14-year-old, and Isaiah nine. I have two older daughters, two them twenties, you know?

Zibby: So what is, what is your secret to parenting here? 

Ziggy: Secret. I don't know if that's secret, but you know, we just try lead by example. Yeah. Words. Words can do something. But example really teaches children. That's how I grew up. I grew up learning by example, seeing, observing. So how you live your life is how you're gonna teach your kids.

You know what I mean? So we live a life of love and charity helping each other out, being respectful, you know, and every now and again you have to say something, but the majority is by example. 

Zibby: And tell me a little more about all your humanitarian work. 

Ziggy: Humanitarian work. Well, it's all humanitarian work for real.

Um, this is humanitarian work. Well just spread some giant love, you know. Um, but we have a foundation called Urge where we, um, always funds for children, um, education basically. Um, so yeah. But every day is humanitarian work life is humanitarian work. Yeah. 

Zibby: Very true. Yeah. When did you decide you wanted to start writing children's books?

Like what, what brought that on? I know this is not your first book, right? 

Ziggy: No. Well, I mean, it started when I did a, a Children, a Records for Children called Family Time. How many that was a few years ago. And I don't know, because I feel like, you know, we, we, what? We're all here to do something. Um, you know, you what on different levels, right?

Some people fail us, some people, but we're all here to do something with each other and share stuff with each other. So when I figured out that I am here to raise a consciousness to spread love, you know, that's a part of why I am. I was like, all right, I've been making records for a while. But then something said you have to speak to children because that's the only way, really, the only way is for start young.

You can't, the change's not gonna happen with, you know, the change's gonna happen with the change, what we want to see in the world, it's gonna come from the seeds that we're planting with the children.

Zibby: So you're saying it's too late for all of us? 

Ziggy: Yeah, 

Zibby: we're just, we're gonna give up at this point. 

Ziggy: No, no, you're not gonna give up.

You gotta plant the seeds. 

Zibby: Oh, okay. We're seed. We're planting seed. 

Ziggy: Yeah, you gotta plant the seeds. You know, that's what we're here for. We're here to plant the seeds and then nourish the tree to grow into to, so the fruits are good. 

Zibby: Okay. 

Ziggy: Not bad. 

Zibby: You know, this is why you love gardening, right? Yes. 

Ziggy: This is what we learned from gardening.

Zibby: Yeah. Here we go. 

Ziggy: So, no. Yeah. I mean, I mean, so that's why I really went into that children's, um, space because it is something that say you have to speak to children. It's, that's the only, like, I'm wasting my time. 

Zibby: Yeah. You better get out. Unless I'm speaking, I mean, whatcha even doing here? Leave. No, I'm kidding.

Uh,.. 

Ziggy: So yeah, that's the, that's, that's the, that's my incentive, you know, and it's true. So, you know, yeah. I'm happy and it's a part of, I'm a child and my imagination and yeah you know, I'm a child really tell the truth. I, I mean, I'm the age thing and my body all but I still, I still have a childlike minds.

I'm still learning. I'm still taking anything. I'm still evolving as a child, you know, I'm not, and I'm not there yet. So my mind is very open. 

Zibby: A child with seven other children, it's like a big playgroup. 

Ziggy: True. True. That's true. 

Zibby: That's true. Uh, how do you try to spread so much love at a time where there feels like there is so much hate?

Ziggy: Hmm. Yeah, think about sometimes you get, you know, you get kinda like down about it. You know what I'm saying? But if they can do it, so can I. If they can spread it, then I can spread love. So if they're so adamant about their hate, we have to be even more adamant about our love. It's the only way, because it's only the willingness of their dreams, right?

So if he's willing her, she's willing to spread. I'm gonna eat and we are not willing to push back with love and positivity. Then it's a, it is a battle of wills. My will's strong. I'm gonna have a strong will. I'm gonna get frustrated and down sometime. But love is so much stronger than what done here.

It's so much more powerful. Um, so we're not going, yeah, we just, and it feel good to love it, really feel good to love. There's not like, love here it is not a good feeling. Here is, it's a donor. Love is a upper. So it feel good for love and have that in you and, um, yeah, love for everyone really. Even those who might not, um, like you or whatever.

But you see, I mean, I'm, I, I'm not against anyone really, you know what I mean? We just have to be willing for just as they are, even more than they are to spread their it. We have a bit more willing to spread our love as that's how we're gonna do it. 

Zibby: So maybe love as an upper will be your next book. 

Ziggy: Love..

We do our book together. Okay. Yeah. Ziggy and Zibby. 

Zibby: Perfect. Ziggy on Zibby.

 I love it. Yes. You heard it here first, everybody. Do you have other books in the works? 

Ziggy: Not right? No. I mean, no, I'm, I've been working on some music, you know, so getting written that. Yeah. 

Zibby: Tell us, tell us about your upcoming tour and everything.

Ziggy: Upcoming tour. Yeah. We have some shows here close by in Ventura. You know, a couple weeks. Um, but then in the fall I'm going on tour with one of a great legendary artists in reggae music called Burning Spear, who is like a, you know, a father figure to me in, in, in the music. You know, he's in the same v as my father, you know, those people that were respecting the arts that we do.

So I'm going to tour with him, and that for me, that's very historic and very significant as a as a student of that art, you know, this is like one of the masters of the art, you know? 

Zibby: Yeah. 

Ziggy: So it's good to be with one of the masters as a student, you know? 

Zibby: Yeah. 

Ziggy: Yeah. 

Zibby: Because you're always learning, so. 

Ziggy: Yeah, exactly.

Zibby: You share it. 

Ziggy: Yeah, exactly. 

Zibby: It's like tutorial. 

Ziggy: Yeah. 

Zibby: And speaking of your dad, you have a documentary that you produced that you're re-releasing, right? Tell me about that. 

Ziggy: Yeah, we did a documentary a few, a few years ago. The family did. Um, I was an executive producer along with my mother. Um, it's kind of the definitive documentary, which we were a part of the family was a part of.

So yeah, we were just, it's his 18 birthday this year, so we, you know, we released it for a limited thing and people can check it out. So if they more really get in depth and we look a bit more more about him, um, this documentary is a good one for that. You know? 

Zibby: Is there anything in there that's a big surprise to people who feel like they know. 

Ziggy: I'm sure there's a lot will be in there. That is a big surprise. I mean, I don't know how much people know, but this is from the people that were closest to him. 

Zibby: Mm-hmm. 

Ziggy: You know, speaking about him and speaking about himself. So you get a different perspective. 

Zibby: Yeah. 

Ziggy: You know? 

Zibby: And what was it like for you growing up with such a important iconic father who's also a father figure to so many?

Ziggy: Well, I remember it I grew up. Then it wasn't like that when I was growing up. He wasn't, uh, it wasn't like now. Right, right. So it's a different time. Um, he was a, you know, he was a well known musician in Jamaica, artist, well respected love. So, you know, it's like, he was, he was somebody when I was growing up, but not this big icon that he's now, and growing up with him was, it wasn't, it's just a musician traveled in a studio with play with him, friends.

It wasn't, there was no big thing about it or anything, I would say, oh wow. It was, you know, for us it was normal. 

Zibby: Mm-hmm. 

Ziggy: It's our life and, but music was around all the time. Music, and we talk about by example. Yep. So the example that we see him, that we see him showing us is work ethics, work, work hard, you know, discipline, the music, fitness, your body, eyesight as a, as a boy.

Also home treat people is humbleness, humility. You know, I, I saw that too. I learned from that too. So that's what, that's what it was like. I mean, him get him, get big and big as time goes on and you kinda realize as you, as you grow with, with his growth, you realize him meaning more and more to the world, you know, and becoming much more, uh, gravitational force of people and things and stuff, you know?

So you see like it get bigger and bigger. You can see that. Yeah. 

Zibby: So it never makes you feel like nervous. Like, oh, how could I produce an album that could ever be as big,.. 

Ziggy: Oh,.. 

Zibby: This is my own neurosis. 

Ziggy: No, man, look how you're not thinking about that. You're just being who you are. You know, you just make it, you just being a, if you're not being a sentence, a problem, if you're trying to be, if you're not being who you are, your true calling, your true self, then that you're gonna think about those things.

But if you just being you,.. 

Zibby: Yeah. 

Ziggy: I mean. Maybe there things you, not that that comes and goes, but it's not a dominant thing that's on you all the time. You know, obviously, you know, there's, you hear people talk or whatever, but no man, I mean, and after a while you grow and you learn and you kind of just become, you know, from a caterpillar, the butterfly.

Zibby: Yes. 

Ziggy: You know what I mean? It just, it's, it's go through stages, you know? Yeah. 

Zibby: So when you're creating, when you're creating a book or you're creating a song or you're creating, how do you get into that mindset and how, like what is the magic? How does it happen? 

Ziggy: Well, I mean it kinda, in a way it gets harder through time because, I mean, there's so much cre, cre, creativity out there going on.

How can your creativity, there's so much there, there's so much information. Um, but then it is like. There's a magical element, but in, in, now, like at the present time, the magical element is only a part of it. It's not the all of it. There's also a scientific element to it now. 

Zibby: Hmm. 

Ziggy: Yeah. Because in early element, my career was only the magic.

Zibby: Mm. 

Ziggy: It was good. Magic is good, but no, you learn. You learn and you grow and you, you realize some reality that is beyond the magic note. There's that, there's a scientific thing going on where sometime you have to start, think, think more, especially now because as I said, there's so much songs written.

Zibby: Mm-hmm. 

Ziggy: Music being in, so sometimes you have to really, you have to put aside the magic and really come with like, knowledge, you know, like real, and start, think about things. And I've been thinking about things more now and it works. It is, it is a growth. 

Zibby: Mm-hmm. 

Ziggy: It's a growth and it works for me. So the magic is always the beginning of it though.

You know, the magic is the beginning. If it, if it's that magic at the beginning, then. Like that is out you. Yeah. You can start without the magic. So the magic is always the beginning. And then some of the, the practical stuff comes in play later on. You know. 

Zibby: That's like how people talk about marriage. You don't have the magic in the beginning.

Forget it. It's not gonna get better. Anyway, off topic then. It's okay. Anyway. Okay, so what is your, what are your hopes and dreams on this tour for you? You're gonna be reading the book, I know you're going to The Grove and you're doing lots of other fun things when you talk to a crowd, like what is it?

You're most hoping, like what are, what are you hoping that this book does aside from Bring Joy, which I assume is a big piece of it. 

Ziggy: Well, I don't tell the truth. I'm not hoping for anything.. 

Zibby: Low expectations. 

Ziggy: I like it. No expectations. No, not just I, I've wrote this and, uh, you know, people in here and I'm sharing it and I have no expectations or hopes.

Just whatever it does for you, let it do, I don't. I'm, I, I don't want to do what I wanted to do. I want to do what it does for you. I don't have no sorta, hey, I need this to do this. Mm-hmm. It's up to the, the reader or the family or the kids to get what they get. I don't, I did the work, I did the art, I did the thing, and I'm satisfied with that.

And I'm happy and I'm happy people take a look at it and, you know, get joy from it, but no expectations. 

Zibby: So what's something that you still haven't done in your life that you still wanna do?

Ziggy: Huh, I think was skydiving. For real. I like, I like anything that flies. I like stuff that fly airplanes, birds, and I like that.

So, but I'm scared of that. Yeah. 

Zibby: Yeah. So maybe don't do that then. 

Ziggy: But me, I don't know. And flying planes, I like, I like to fly planes too. Yeah. 

Zibby: Did you see the rocket? Did you all, did you, any of you see the rocket, the SpaceX rocket rocket took off from last night? 

Ziggy: Today. 

Zibby: Last night. 

Ziggy: Last night. 

Zibby: Yeah. Too late for that one, but yeah.

Ziggy: Yeah. 

Zibby: Do you have any advice for aspiring creatives of any type? 

Ziggy: Yeah. I, I'll share experience. Um, I'll share experience and if that helps somebody, you know what I mean? Because my experience different, like the advice I give someone might not work for them. So I would also give my experience and say that for me.

It's a discipline. It's a discipline. It's not, it's not a fly by night. It's not like, hurry up, it's not a hurry pound get, it is like, it's a discipline. It's a, um, it's a lifestyle for me. And need have meaning. It have meaning. Um, that is not just a selfish thing, you know, because Yeah. I mean, yeah. It have it have a deeper meaning.

Zibby: Mm-hmm. 

Ziggy: And put in the work. You gotta work it. You gotta work it. You gotta live it. You gotta work it. Keep working, keep working, keeping, you know, I, I learned to like, write down everything in my head now, even if it's, it don't make any sense, one didn't make sense, you know, like later on there's a thing I've been working on, I would go back and say, oh yeah, this makes sense with that now.

Zibby: Mm. 

Ziggy: But I never, it didn't make any sense at the time. So, yeah, man, just, yeah, just keep work at, work at your art, work at your art work, live your art, work at it if you can, you know, do, do, do as much as of it. If you're passionate about it, you know. 

Zibby: And what are you most afraid of? 

Ziggy: Afraid. What am I afraid of?

Skydiving. 

Zibby: Oh, we took that off the menu. Remember? We are not gonna do that. 

Ziggy: No, but I'm thinking, what am I afraid of? I mean, you have fear, you have feelings of fear that comes and goes. But if I have a face it I'm willing to face it's, uh, I mean, fear. I don't know. I mean, I'm sure I'm fearful of something, but I don't know.

Zibby: I am, I'm jealous of that answer. 

Ziggy: Yeah. I'm not sure. 

Zibby: Alright. 

Ziggy: I'm not sure. 

Zibby: How often are you getting back to Jamaica? 

Ziggy: Every now and again, not much, but every now and I, again, I go home usually to do some of the work, the humanitarian work that we do, build homes for people that don't have homes or, you know, feed our community.

Um, so when I go to Jamaica, I really don't go to vacation. I really got to give back, you know? 

Zibby: Mm-hmm. 

Ziggy: Yeah. 

Zibby: Amazing. Well, thank you for inspiring all of us. I know I am totally inspired. Thank you all for being here, and thank you for coming. 

Ziggy: Thank you. Power. Yeah, thank you, Zibby.