As a resident of the state of California, Ziggy Marley has had the "privilege" of experiencing the new Trump era first hand, and with 'Rebellion Rises' declares himself ready for the revolution. That being said, Ziggy immediately adds: "Every song speaks to the rebellion, but the word "love" is also in a lot of them. Love is the foundation. This entire album is a message to the best side of humanity. It's a rallying cry and encouragement for us to stand up. When we do, our actions will be felt. We will change the direction of this world instead of what we see happening today. We will make it better, but we have to do more. We have to take a stand. We have to get more active. No matter what the fake leaders say, we're going to love one another first.". That last part is of course a reference to opener 'See Dem Fake Leaders', immediately one of the highlights on 'Rebellion Rises', and with statements like: "See dem fake leaders. In the place of power they sit, from religion to politics. Riding a wave of fear, starting fires, they don't care, making enemies out of friends...", or: "Some people live in their bubbles; some people live behind their walls. Some people taken for granted, some people taken advantage of...", clearly meant as a criticism of the current president of the United States. Apart from Ziggy, his son Gideon also makes an appearance on 'Rebellion Rises', debiting some lines of spoken word in 'The Storm Is Coming', a song Ziggy penned after a telephone conversation with his brother Stephen, who, at the time, was preparing himself for the hurricane season in Miami, with: "Rebel in a disguise, must find a way. Harambe, ah me say harambe!" also containing a nod to Rita Marley's hit of the same name. For 'World Revolution' he gave Samuill Kalonji a chance, a Kenyan intern he ran into at the offices of his record label. Finally, brother Stephen makes his vocal contribution in the 'Circle Of Peace'. On a side note: all vocal arrangements for 'Rebellion Rises' are the work of Kenya Hathaway, daughter of the troubled but brilliant vocalist and pianist Donny Hathaway. Even though on this album there's a definite focus on more sturdy songs than was the case on predecessors 'Fly Rasta' and 'Ziggy Marley', which reminded us of: "...the politically correct repertoire from the shows of Up With People.", the track list of 'Rebellion Rises' once again contains a number of well-intentioned but slightly corny songs like 'High On Life' or 'I Am A Human'. As Ziggy Marley releases go 'Rebellion Rises' is definitely a better vintage, but Ziggy will be Ziggy!