YG Marley

Joshua Nesta "YG" Marley (born December 5, 2001) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the son of rapper and singer Lauryn Hill and former football player Rohan Marley, and the grandson of reggae pioneer Bob Marley. He received breakthrough success with his debut single "Praise Jah in the Moonlight", which entered the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached the top ten in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden.

Early life and career

Joshua Nesta Marley was born on December 5, 2001, in Beverly Hills, California. He is the son of American singer/rapper Lauryn Hill and Jamaican football player Rohan Marley. His parents never legally married, but had a long-term partnership for 15 years. YG is also the grandson of reggae musician Bob Marley. Marley has numerous siblings and half-siblings between his parents, including sister model Selah Marley and half-brother former NFL player Nico Marley.

He was raised in South Orange, New Jersey. During his childhood, Marley often joined his mother on stage at her concerts. At the age of nine, he declared "I wanna rap" to an audience at Hill's concert. In 2013, he began performing written original material during the shows.

In 2017, he landed a modeling campaign for Urban Outfitters, and was featured alongside his sister Selah Marley in Teen Vogue. In February 2018, he joined his mother during her performance at Woolrich's New York Fashion Week party. The following month, Marley previewed a then unreleased snippet of "Nice for What" by Drake on his Snapchat. In 2020, Marley attended a pre-Grammys brunch hosted by Universal Music, and told Billboard that he is "working on new music", and further stated that Hill would be featured on the project. In 2021, Vibe reported that he was featured on a track called "Slick" by Selah Marley.

In late 2023, he began performing an original song, "Praise Jah in the Moonlight", during Hill's concert tour commemorating the 25th anniversary of The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Video clips from his performances went viral on social media, most notably on TikTok. On December 25, 2023, Marley officially released "Praise Jah in the Moonlight," his first single. The single quickly became a streaming hit, reaching number one in the United States, and Global Spotify Viral 50 charts. In addition to gaining popularity on TikTok, the movie Bob Marley: One Love based on Bob Marley's life was released after the debut of YG Marley's single "Praise Jah in the Moonlight".

In January 2024, it was announced that he would be a featured performer at the 2024 Coachella music festival. The following month, "Praise Jah in the Moonlight" peaked at number one in New Zealand; it entered the US Billboard Hot 100, with Marley becoming the sixth member of the Marley family to enter the chart. It also reached the top ten in the United Kingdom and Norway.

On March 31 2024 he teased a remix of “Praise Jah In The Moonlight” featuring Lauryn Hill on Adin Ross’s Kick stream.

Discography

Singles

Other appearances

References