The official home of Will Downings radio show "The Wind Down". Every week enjoy a mix of your favourite tunes and some new music I know you have never heard before!

Damian Robert Nesta Marley, also known around the world as “Junior Gong” and more recently as “Gongzilla” was born in 1978 to parents Bob Marley and Cindy Breakspeare, Miss World 1976.  As a young adult, he developed a passion and a gift to speak for those who cannot always speak for themselves. A self-proclaimed ‘Spiritual Revolutionary’, Damian has worked assiduously to carve his own niche in music history and to add a new perspective to the Marley legacy for the 21st century. 

At the age of 13, Damian began performing in a group called “The Shepherds” which comprised of Shiah Coore (son of Third World guitarist Cat Coore) and currently a member of his band, and Yashema Beth McGreggor, daughter of reggae singers Freddie Mcgreggor and Judy Mowatt and then began touring with his brothers, Stephen, Ky-mani, Julian and Ziggy. 

By 1996, Damian had already made his stamp as a different kind of Marley when he released his first solo album “Mr. Marley”, a heavily dancehall-influenced album produced by his brother Stephen Marley.  His second album “Halfway Tree” was released in 2001 by a major record label and showcased Damian’s unique gift for blending dancehall, reggae and hip-hop styles.  This album won Damian much recognition and remained on the Billboard Top Reggae Album Charts for 158 weeks and earned him his first Grammy for Best Reggae Album in 2002. 
While honored by this recognition by the global music fraternity, Damian continued to work in the studio, laying the groundwork for the tracks that would become his highly anticipated album, “Welcome To Jamrock”. The lyrics in this album presented Marley as a true spiritual revolutionary, as he used his talent to evoke a spiritual change while trying to enforce a better way of thinking.  He is described as “rhyming with the conviction of a street preacher with the intellect of a university economist”.  

Damian’s hit single “Welcome to Jamrock” was listed as one of the Top 100 Songs of the Decade by Rolling Stone, and at the 2006 Grammy Awards, he won Best Reggae Album and Best Urban/Alternative Performance for Welcome to Jamrock. Damian is the only Jamaican reggae artist in history to win two Grammy Awards on the same night. He is also the only reggae artist to win in the Best Urban/Alternative Performance category at the Grammy Awards. The New York Times called Welcome to Jamrock the “best reggae song of the decade.” 
Welcome to Jamrock led the pathway to Damian’s critically acclaimed collaboration with Nas for 2010’s much lauded album “Distant Relatives” – a project which explored the relationships between reggae, hip-hop and Africa. The album title refers not only to the bond between the artists, but the connection to their African ancestry, which inspired the album both musically and lyrically. USA Today referred to the album as a “potent and often provocative collaboration” and by Rolling Stone as “an Afrocentric winner.” The album debuted at Number 5 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and Number 1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, Rap Albums and Reggae Albums charts, with Billboard heralding the album as “a dynamic hybrid.”    

The Distant Relatives Tour kicked off in 2011 and saw Damian traveling and performing for thousands of fans all over the world, including South America, Europe, The United Kingdom, The Caribbean and North America.  

Damian continued to cross musical boundaries in 2012, as he went on to partner with Skrillex for their groundbreaking track “Make It Bun Dem”, which Rolling Stone called “a monster mash up of dubstep and dancehall” and has led to several remixes of the original version.  Damian recently released two other singles; “Set Up Shop” and  “Affairs of the Heart” which both received widespread airplay. 

Damian continues to tour with his band all over the world as a way of entertaining and healing as he continues to spread the message for those whose voices cannot be heard. He is working with his brothers Stephen and Julian under their Ghetto Youths International Label, to discover, develop and sign gifted artistes by applying their musical talent and vast experience to create new and different styles of music.  

Damian is currently in the studio working on his upcoming solo album.

He’s had No. 1 singles, platinum and gold albums, has toured the world and has appeared on songs with Lil Wayne and Ludacris, among many others. Five years into a remarkable solo career, Bobby V (formerly Bobby Valentino) has experienced the best the music industry has to offer while working with some of the game’s elite. No wonder he’s calling his fourth album Fly on the Wall.

“Being in this industry for over ten years, having three successful albums, touring the world, and having an impact on people’s lives through my music has been a dream come true. This album is a testament to my experiences in this industry and through it all I’ve been a Fly on the Wall learning the ins and outs of the music business along the way. I’ve had a lot of ups and downs but can always depend on my fans. Through the ups my fans keep me grounded and through the downs my fans keep me motivated. Everything I do is for them.”

Bobby V fills his new album with stories of his remarkable experiences. With production handled by Tim & Bob (Boyz II Men, Michael Jackson), The Pentagon (formerly The Underdogs [Beyonce, Justin Timberlake]), LOS (Usher, the Dream) and Jazze Pha (T.I., Ciara), Fly On The Wall contains the type of polished production accented by live instrumentation that has become Bobby V’s signature.

Case in point is the ultra-catchy “Phone #.” Featuring Plies and produced by Jazze Pha, the cut was born during a studio session. “Jazze’s phone went off and it was that 2Pac song, .What’z Ya Phone #? from the All Eyez On Me album”‘ Jazze was doing a beat and that was the first thing that came to my mind..What’s your phone number?’ That’s how the first line came about.”

Bobby V then took the song to another dimension by adding one of his trademark sound effects to the tune, something that has helped Lil Wayne featuring Bobby V’s “Mrs. Officer” (certified platinum) and Bobby V’s own “Beep” become hits. “As a writer I’ve learned that there are certain elements to making a hit record. The chorus is the most important part of a song so coming up with a catchy hook is crucial, so using my voice to mimic certain sounds like a cop car siren (Mrs. Officer) made it that much catchier.

On another note Bobby’s lane often involves bedroom activities, Bobby V delivers “Humming,” a tune about the thrills sex will provide, while “Alter Ego” describes how Bobby V transforms into another person during lovemaking sessions. Bobby is the ultimate ladies man, but on the flip side is a dedicated family man “I would like for people to get to know the real me. I’ve yet to open up like that. I graduated from college, I go to church on Sundays, and when I’m at home I love to hang out with my family.”

Love remains a focal point of Bobby V’s music because of its therapeutic qualities. “I think love brings happiness to everyone, I’m all about bringing love into peoples lives through my music. The reality is its rough out there in the real world and love helps us get through some of life’s biggest challenges”

Elsewhere, “Last Call for Love,” produced by Big Fruit (“Beep”), focuses on the scene as the club shuts down, while “Nobody” is a part two of sorts to Bobby V’s No. 1 hit single “Slow Down.” Like “Slow Down,” “Nobody” was produced by Tim & Bob and focuses on the allure of a particular woman. “If I can’t have this particular lady, I don’t want anybody else,” Bobby V reveals. “Sometimes when you have that special somebody in your life and you might be going through it, you still want her and you’re not settling for anybody else.”

Not settling into a particular sound, Bobby V stretches his creative wings on the airy, auto-tune assisted “Freaks Come Out” before delivering “Heaven,” a gorgeous slow song that salutes the woman of his dreams. “She’s like your angel and it feels like she fell straight from heaven. She’s everything you look for and everything you desired. It’s like God really sent her to you.”

From virtually any angle, Bobby V’s career seems to be heaven sent. Bobby scored a hit when he was only 15 years old with as one-fourth of the 1990s R&B group Mista, with “Blackberry Molasses,” a tune produced by Organized Noize (OutKast, TLC) that became a Top 20 R&B hit. Even with this success, Mista dissolved. Bobby V then enrolled at Clark Atlanta University, where he graduated with a communications degree and developed a keen business sense.

Reintroduced in 2005 with “Slow Down,” Bobby V quickly reignited his career. His debut solo album, 2005’s Disturbing Tha Peace Presents Bobby Valentino, earned the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. He then sang the chorus on Ludacris’ hit “Pimpin’ All over the World” and toured in 2005 on the blockbuster Scream tour.

In 2007, Bobby V returned with Special Occasion, which featured the Timbaland produced hit “Anonymous,” and Rodney Jerkins produced “Turn the Page” His third album, 2009’s The Rebirth, featured the hit “Beep” and was the first album released on his own Blu Kolla Dreams imprint, in conjunction with Capitol Records which debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard Hip Hop and R&B chart.

As Bobby V’s career continues expanding, he makes a point to give back to those who are less fortunate. Through his Bobby V Foundation, the singer encourages people to value and to pursue higher education.

“I had the opportunity to go to college and graduate. That accomplishment is something I am very proud of and one nobody can take away from me. Through my foundation I want to give kids the same opportunity.”

With a string of hit singles and albums, a burgeoning record label and a charitable foundation inspiring the youth, Bobby V is ready to give his fans another album that thrills them as much as it entertains them. “Through this album I want my fans to feel like my entourage. I want them to walk every step of the way with me until we reach the top”.

Danielle Ellegood Chance is following