And so the legend lives on ...

If you ask any Bob Marley fan, what it is about his music that they love, most will mention the fact that it was so honest and forthright and was filled with genuine emotion. The same can be said of all of the work of his sons. All of the Marley brothers have been making music for at least 12 years now, and their experience and attention to detail has just now become evident to the world, first on Damian's "Welcome To Jahmrock" and now Stephen's "Mind Control".

While "Mind Control" is Stephen's first foray into the solo spotlight, he has handled a chunk of production on all of his brother's releases and has made guest appearances on a multitude of projects with the most notable probably being In Love With You from Erykah Badu's "Mama's Gun"

Most people familiar with the music of the Marley siblings know that Stephen has a reputation for being the best singer out of the bunch and on this album he does his very best to maintain that reputation. The album starts of with the title track Mind Control where he channels his fathers voice and spirit and warns about the dangers of letting others control your view of the world.

Hey Baby follows next with Stephen and Mos Def giving us what's destined to be the next single from the album, as they assure their significant others that they even though they might go off to fight spiritual wars that they will always be back.

Traffic Jam is the first single and video from the project, featuring little brother Damian. Here we get to hear Stephen's dee jay skills (the reggae version of emceeing) as the brothers trade verses over a simple, but infectious track with a chorus that's almost impossible to get out of your head.

All the above tracks are sure to be embraced by both the reggae and non-reggae masses, but the track that I found myself clinging to most is the one that will most likely not be. Lonely Avenue, reminded me of 3 little birds by his father in it's content, but the sound is distinctly different, somewhere in between his father's coarse voice, James Brown's adlibs and Marvin Gaye's pleading. It's a sound that I think Ben Harper (who coincidentally appears on the album) tries to attain but never manages to nail it, but Stephen definitely does.

With the exception of Let Her Dance (I just couldn't get with Illestr8's verse) the album is
bordering on classic, and should hopefully lead to even more U.S. released projects from the Marley's. I'm definitely looking forward to catching them on tour this spring.