Skip Marley has returned with his first new single since 2022. Produced by Rykeyz, the club-ready “Close” finds the Kingston native interacting with reggae history by interpolating the hook from Maxi Priest’s 1990 chart-topping hit “Close To You.”
“It’s modern, but it pays homage to Maxi Priest. I loved the idea of bringing this great song to the new generation,” Marley says. “On one hand, I’m reminiscing about a girl. For me, there’s a bigger meaning too. The song hints that I’m back and about to begin another chapter.” “Close” arrives with a music video by director Gabriella Kingsley, which premiered on BET Soul and the Paramount Times Square billboards. It follows Marley’s recent sold-out headlining European tour and is the first preview of Marley’s next era, with more new music and tour dates to follow.
Marley, the grandson of the late Bob Marley, has received Grammy nominations for Best Reggae Album (2020’s Higher Place) and Best R&B Song (2019’s hit H.E.R. collab “Slow Down,” which made Marley the first Jamaican-born artist to top the Billboard Adult R&B Songs chart). He’s also been up for Soul Train Awards, NAACP Image Awards, and iHeart Music Awards and has appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Late Show with James Corden, Good Morning America, and TODAY.
In 2017, Marley co-wrote and featured on Katy Perry’s multi-platinum single “Chained To The Rhythm,” a top-five hit on the Billboard Hot 100. This year he covered “Exodus” for the soundtrack to the Bob Marley biopic One Love.
Listen to Skip Marley’s “Close” now.
