INCLUDES GRAMMY©-NOMINATED #1 GLOBAL SMASH “SLOW DOWN” WITH H.E.R., AND “MAKE ME FEEL” FEATURING RICK ROSS & ARI LENNOX
EXPANDED EDITION BONUS TRACKS:
“SLOW DOWN” (AFROBEAT REMIX) FEATURING DAVIDO & OXLADE
“MAKE ME FEEL” (DUB MIX) FEATURING ARI LENNOX
PRE-ORDER HIGHER PLACE ANNIVERSARY EDITION VINYL HERE
Of the release, Marley states: “I’m thankful that the EP reached these levels over the past year. The vinyl record release is a collector’s item to show that gratitude to the DJs and fans who supported from the start. The one thing you can’t slow down is time, so it is important to acknowledge the milestones along the way.”
HIGHER PLACE contains wall-to-wall classics. There’s Skip’s history-making #1 global hit and RIAA Certified Gold single “Slow Down” with Grammy© Award-winning artist H.E.R.; “Make Me Feel” featuring fellow Miami hitmaker Rick Ross and Ari Lennox; and “No Love” which Skip worked on with Betty Wright, legendary mentor and Miami family friend, whose gritty reggae vibe samples Wu-Tang Clan’s “Tearz,” a track from their first LP, Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers).
The Marley family imprint is also on the record’s opening title track, “Higher Place,” a ‘virtual’ duet with music legend Bob Marley (1945-1981, Skip’s grandfather); and “That’s Not True,” a collabo featuring Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley (Skip’s uncle). HIGHER PLACE is now expanded to album length with the addition of two bonus track remixes: “Slow Down” (Afrobeat Remix) featuring DaVido & Oxlade; and “Make Me Feel” (Dub Mix) featuring Ari Lennox. (Please see complete track listing below.)
In spring 2020, “Slow Down,” with over 70 million global streams, became the quickest and biggest-streaming song in Marley family history, and elevated Skip to over 200 million global artist streams It was the first time a Jamaican-born artist reached the #1 spot on the Billboard Adult R&B chart. At the same time, Skip became the first Jamaican-born lead artist inside the Top 15 on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart in nearly a decade and a half (since Sean Paul and Keyshia Cole in 2006, “When You Gonna Give it Up to Me”).
Executive produced by Skip & Cedella Marley (Skip’s mom / Grammy-winning Melody Maker) and C. Jermi Thomas (Island Records, A&R), HIGHER PLACE earned its title as a call-to-action to Skip’s generation, fans, and listeners to inspire people to ascend to a higher place of love and level of consciousness. The project includes wisdom that has been passed down the Marley lineage, that Skip likes to call “Marley Mantras.”
Over the course of 2020, amazing chemistry radiated between Skip and two-time Grammy©-winner H.E.R. performing “Slow Down” live together. The song’s television debut on Fallon and show-stopping performance at the NAACP Image Awards (where he was nominated for “Outstanding New Artist”) both took place in February, followed in June by the ABC Good Morning America Summer Concert Series session.
At the same time, Skip won critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, Fader, Hypebeast, Vibe, Billboard, Complex, Essence, Teen Vogue, and others. During the lockdown, he performed for the launch of the Essence Music Monday series, Billboard Live, Global Citizen & World Health Organization, and Univision’s 17th Annual Premios Juventud Latin youth awards (sharing the stage for the opening performance with the Wailers, Cedella Marley, Pedró Capó, Rauw Alejandro, Camilo, and Kany García). Earlier this year, he was nominated for two Soul Train Music Awards and Best New Artist at the iHeart Music Awards.
Earlier this year, the 25-minute Skip Marley documentary film Let’s Take it Higher premiered at VIBE.com two days before the Grammy© Awards broadcast. The doc, whose production began on the fateful day of January 6, 2021, includes family movies from Skip’s childhood, and candid interviews with his HIGHER PLACE collaborators H.E.R., Damian “Jr Gong” Marley, Rick Ross, and D. Smoke. There are special appearances by Skip’s mother Cedella Marley, and by his aunt Marcia Griffiths – she toured the world with Bob Marley as a member of his backing trio the I Three with Skip’s grandmother, the legendary Rita Marley. The film was directed by Reshma B, who produced the acclaimed reggae documentaryStudio 17: The Lost Reggae Tapes. Let’s Take it Higher was produced by Boomshots, the official reggae and dancehall platform of Complex Media Networks; and by Rob Kenner, whose book The Marathon Don’t Stop: The Life and Times of Nipsey Hussle was published the same day that Let’s Take it Higher premiered.
HIGHER PLACE ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY VINYL by SKIP MARLEY – track listing:
1. “Higher Place” featuring Bob Marley
3. “Make Me Feel” featuring Rick Ross & Ari Lennox
2. ‘Slow Down” with H.E.R.
4. “My World”
5. “Faith”
6. “No Love”
7. “That’s Not True” featuring Damian ‘Jr. Gong’ Marley
Bonus tracks:
8. “Slow Down” (Afrobeat Remix) featuring DaVido & Oxlade
9. “Make Me Feel” (Dub Mix) featuring Ari Lennox
