Julian Marley Added To GYI U.S. Tour – Joining Damian "Jr Gong" and Stephen "Ragga" Marley, Wayne Marshall, Black-Am-I, Jo Mersa and Christopher Ellis
Julian Marley has officially been added to the Ghetto Youths International’s Set Up Shop Tour. The U.S. Pacific Coast run, which kicked off in Hawaii this past weekend, will also feature performances by rising Ghetto Youths Crew members Wayne Marshall, Jo Mersa, Black-Am-I and Christopher Ellis along with reggae heavyweights Damian “Jr Gong” and Stephen “Ragga” Marley.
This Wednesday (June 19), Julian and Stephen “Ragga” Marley will join the rest of Ghetto Youths International members on stage at Marymoor Park in Seattle. The crew continues to make stops at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl, Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in Boonville, CA and more. The tour will come to a close on Tuesday, July 2 on their third sold-out night at the Belly Up in Solana Beach, CA. See full tour schedule below.
Ghetto Youths International is the family-owned record label incorporated in 2002 by Bob Marley’s sons Julian, Stephen and Damian. The entity allows the brothers to work closely with each other on musical collaborations and release a catalogue of works featuring a new crop of artists as well as their own material.
The Set Up Shop Tour will support their recent compilation Ghetto Youths International Presents Set Up Shop Vol. 1, released in February on the Ghetto Youths imprint. The 14-track compilation features the talented Ghetto Youths International artists including Jo Mersa, Wayne Marshall, Black-Am-I, Christopher Ellis, Stephen “Ragga” Marley, Julian Marley and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and many more. The album peaked at #1 on the U.S. Billboard Reggae Album chart and the U.S. and Japan iTunes Reggae Album chart. Set Up Shop Vol 1. also landed the # 2 spot on iTunes Reggae Album chart in the United Kingdom.
The Ghetto Youths movement will continue this summer with solo projects from the crew’s next generation of Jamaican reggae stars. The multi-faceted dancehall artist and songwriter Wayne Marshall is set to release his GYI debut album TRU Colors, and the album’s explosive single “I Know” (produced by Damian Marley and Sean “Young Pow” Diedrick) recently bursted on the scene. New EPs will follow from the culturally-inclined reggae singjay Black-Am-I, Christopher Ellis (the youngest son of legendary Jamaican vocalist Alton Ellis) and Jo Mersa (the second-generation offspring of Bob Marley and eldest son of Stephen “Ragga” Marley).
