Sharon Marley backs Westmoreland storm victims with new Island single

Recording artist Sharon Marley has put out Island and wants whatever revenue the song generates—even modest sums—to assist residents of Westmoreland who lost housing when Hurricane Melissa tore through parts of the island, leaving many without roofs, especially parents with young children and older adults.

Speaking on national daytime television, she described packing barrels for relief but feeling she needed a broader appeal through music. Proceeds from Island, she said, should reach people there still trying to secure shelter.

Marley called the companion clip her simplest shoot to date because she stayed home while an artificial-intelligence workflow supplied the likeness. Her marketer proposed the approach; Marley recounted asking whether viewers would see her on camera and being told a stand-in figure could carry the scenes while she reviewed edits remotely. She urged thoughtful use of the technology and noted Jaysley Art handled the visuals. She accepted wardrobe choices she might normally reject so audiences would focus on the song’s message.

Her sisters Cedella and Erica sing on the recording alongside her, reuniting voices from decades with Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. Marley reflected on lifelong shyness, remembering her first major appearance around age sixteen at a University of the West Indies venue where she cried backstage until attorney Diane Jobson reassured her, after which she stepped onstage and performed.

She praised Ziggy’s recent release Morning for Bob, saying material held back roughly forty years now surfaces emotionally and moves her to tears; she linked hearing his openness to personal healing. Marley added she still struggles to hear Redemption Song without crying.

She said refurbished Tuff Gong Studios looks impressive online and planned weekend rehearsals there ahead of an engagement she referred to as Kingston Market, predicting pride from their father were he alive. Her children, she reported, encourage her simply to create while they manage surrounding demands.