Stephen Marley Is in 'Control'

When Stephen Marley's first solo album, "Mind Control," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard reggae album chart in March, reggae aficionados saw it as either another Marley musical milestone or a testament that good things come to those who wait. Among the prodigious Marley progeny, Stephen has always been considered the best singer, the one who sounds the most like father Bob. The uncanny resemblance extends to his good looks.

But until recently, Stephen, the second son of Bob and Rita Marley, chose to stay in the shadows, albeit actively. He started as a member of older brother Ziggy Marley's Melody Makers with sisters Cedella and Sharon, and has more recently been producer and co-writer of albums by younger brothers Julian and Damian, as well as producer for such artists as singer Erykah Badu and rappers Eve and Mr. Cheeks.

As for No. 1, it's a family tradition: The Melody Makers had three No. 1 albums and Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley one, 2005's "Welcome to Jamrock." The patriarch of the family had a dozen No. 1s -- all reissues of classic albums or compilations, 13 if you count 1999's "Chant Down Babylon," a mash-update for the hip-hop generation featuring posthumous "duets" between Bob Marley and Lauryn Hill, Chuck D., Badu and others; Stephen executive-produced it.

All that helps explain how Stephen became a five-time Grammy winner before he put out his own album.

It's not as if Stephen, who recently turned 35, hasn't been singing most of his life. When he was 7, he, Ziggy, Cedella and Sharon recorded "Children Playing in the Streets," written and produced by their father, who died of cancer two years later. It was an international hit, the beginning of the Melody Makers and the first hint of what has become an family legacy.

So, 28 years between debut recording and debut album: Is that a career deferred, or what?

"What can I say?" Stephen says with a laugh from San Diego, a stop on his first headlining tour, one that brings him to the 9:30 club Tuesday, with Damian and possibly other Marleys in tow.

"We are a team and I am the midfielder," Stephen says. "I am the one that sends through the passes so that my teammates can score the goals. That was just the position that was comfortable for me, the position we all flourished best at, when I was in the middle.

"Now it's time for me to go up front."

Since he was 18, Stephen has been the go-to-producer in a family of singers, partly because "it was a role that wasn't being taken care of and it was necessary so that the flock never stray." But working in a reggae icon's shadow has to have been a blessing and a burden, with any of the children's successes inevitably linked to their father's legend. First-born son Ziggy has struggled with that his entire career. "This is who we are -- the children of Bob," says Stephen, who began working on his solo debut more than five years ago. (Three songs appeared on a 2004 EP, "Organically Grown Sampler.")

What provided a final push was Damian's breakthrough with "Welcome to Jamrock," a huge hit critically and commercially. More important, Damian was suddenly an artist with massive success on his own. The album's success also elevated Stephen's profile substantially.

"We're moving far. That's what it meant to me," he confirms.