Zion Marley Headlines July Edition of Soulpower

When Soulpower organizer and hostess Soulflower first moved to Miami in 1999, she felt the South Florida live music scene was lacking. "It was very strip club culture. I started creating events I needed and the city needed," she tells New Times. Her favorite event was Raize It Up Live, held monthly for more than a dozen years at Naomi's Kitchen. "Two hundred to three hundred people would come out every month," she remembers.

After eight years away from South Florida, Soulflower returned to the Magic City and found herself disillusioned again by the live music choices offered. So she started Soulpower, a monthly event held on the last Sunday of every month at Magic 13 Brewing. "It's a vessel to bring everyone back again, plus a whole new generation of artists I call Soul Babies. We have live artists, vendors, and amazing performers. Miami is so segregated musically. Soulpower is for everybody, all genres, all ages, no segregation."

The inaugural Soulpower featured ten live bands. The second edition in June was a more laid-back affair featuring acoustic performances. The one coming up at the end of August will have a hip-hop vibe. The July 27 version that Soulflower is currently preparing for is all about reggae, headlined by Zion Marley, who Soulflower describes as "carrying the energy of peace, love, and power. Zion is a special being, and we want to show everyone who he is."

If you're wondering, Zion Marley is indeed a member of the legendary Marley family. Bob Marley is his grandfather. But his name is also well known among music fans in that his mother, Lauryn Hill, named a song after him shortly after his birth in 1997, titled "To Zion". Because of that, Zion tells New Times he was born into the world of music. "My mother went on tour right when I was out of the womb. She'd give me drumsticks and I'd bang them on everything."
Marley says he initially tried to escape the family industry of making music. "I questioned doing music full-time. I tried being a writer of books. I'd write coming-of-age stories. But four years ago, I decided to get into music full-time. Music takes a lot of work; it doesn't give you time to juggle other things."

He's released two singles into the world, "Best of Me" and "Marching". The latter, which just came out in June, is his musical response to Lauryn Hill's "To Zion". "I had access to unused demos from the original recording that were too good not to be used. 'Marching' is a victory lap of everything my Mom went through over her career after my birth. It wasn't easy for her."

Marley says there are pluses and minuses to having such a well-known last name and renowned family members when trying to make a name for himself as a musician. "It's a blessing and a teaching lesson. I'd never say it's a curse since people are going through much harder situations. I meet people because of my name, but I have to be careful of what they want from me."

When he makes his Miami debut at Soulpower, Marley says he'll play his two already released singles, along with a third single that will be released soon, titled "Premature Paradise". "It's about appreciating where you're at and not rushing a reality you might not be ready for." Like all his original songs, Marley says the muse often finds him when he's not at the studio. "I'll catch inspiration with a lyric and I'll write it out on my guitar. Then I come into the studio with intentionality. I get involved in the mixing process and levelling what sounds best."

Marley's Soulpower performance will see him singing live backed by a DJ. He says he strives to be part of a reggae renaissance. "We don't want half-baked ideas. We want the best for your palatable ears."       

Soulpower. 5 pm, Sunday, July 27 at Magic 13 Brewing, 340 NE 61st St., Miami; magic13brewing.com. Admission is free.