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Reggae superstar Julian Marley has come to the defence of Jamaica's most revered musical genre, dismissing assertions that reggae is dead.

Julian, the son of reggae icon Bob Marley, said that claim is outlandish, arguing that the demand and love for the music made popular by his father remains strong across the globe.

"A dem mek it look like reggae music dead, but reggae nuh dead, because when yuh go out in the world yuh can see dat reggae music is alive," Julian said in an interview with THE STAR last week.

Many music watchers have opined that the music genre, which gained became popular during the late 1960s to '80s, has been experiencing a decline. Some have argued that low album sales is an indicative that reggae's vibrancy has slowed.

Recently, popular music producer Cordell 'Skatta' Burrell, writing on his Instagram page, questioned whether enough is being done to preserve reggae on the island.

"Where are all the artiste with the beautiful vocals? I know, for sure, these music are being created; however, they are not celebrated nor highlighted by the masses. Drum and bass/one-drop music, the same music Bob Marley and the legends created, is no longer the music rising to the forefront," Skatta wrote.

He added: "Young aspiring reggae artiste [are] no longer getting the break, no new reggae songs [are] hitting the local charts and creating mass movement among music lovers. Since Romain Virgo, Chris Martin, Chronixx, Protoje and a few others, it's like one-drop music isn't as important to the culture as it once was."

Julian Marley, when asked to comment on the subject during a recent interview with THE STAR, said the music form remains vibrant throughout the world.

"Reggae music is alive and through reggae music, it brings the consciousness and awareness and upliftment that break down the walls of oppression. It's a feared music; suh dem really mek it look like this music is dead because a dat and give props to some other music. But when yuh go out there, is reggae music mi hear. When mi come a Jamaica and wi a do our own ting, mi see di place 'ram up'. Suh reggae music is alive and a we affi know dat," Julian Marley said.

Similarly, producer Alexx Antaeus, who along with Julian won the 2024 Grammy for Best Reggae Album, for their project Colours of Royal, reasoned that reggae's existence and reach should not be viewed through the narrow lens of one-drop music. He said the genre has birthed other, and its offspring should also be viewed as reggae.

"Reggae is far from dead. If it wasn't for reggae and dancehall, we wouldn't have afrobeat, Reggaeton [and] Dembo, because it's the roots of dancehall and reggae music that gave birth to all these other styles. So reggae is very much alive and it's evolving," said Antaeus.

He added: "When people think of reggae, they only think of Bob Marley, who is the master, but there's more to reggae."

Julian Marley chimed in and said, "Reggae music is so vast that we have to love each part of it, the one-drop is just as alive as the Dembo beats, it just depends on the song."