Hot 100 First-Timers: YG Marley Shines With Debut Single 'Praise Jah in the Moonlight'

The legendary Marley family has yet another Billboard Hot 100 hitmaker as YG Marley makes his debut (Feb. 10) with “Praise Jah in the Moonlight.”

The song, which Marley self-released on Dec. 27, debuts at No. 74 with 6.2 million official U.S. streams — up 59%, as it continues weekly gains — in the Jan. 26-Feb. 1 week follow-up, according to Luminate.

YG Marley (real name: Joshua Marley) is the grandson of the late Bob Marley and the son of Rohan Marley and Ms. Lauryn Hill – the latter of whom topped the Hot 100 with “Doo Wop (That Thing)” in 1998 .YG is the sixth member of the Marley family to reach the Hot 100, following Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Ky-Mani Marley, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley and Skip Marley.

Here's a look at every song by a member of the Marley family (except Hill) to chart on the Hot 100, listed chronologically:

Title, Artist Credit, Peak Position, Year:
“Roots, Rock, Reggae”, Bob Marley and The Wailers, No. 51 (1976)
“Tomorrow People”, Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers, No. 39 (1988)
“Good Time”, Ziggy Marley and The Melody Makers, No. 85 (1991)
“Avenues”, Refugee Camp All Stars feat. Pras with Ky-Mani, No. 35 (1997)
“Gotta Be…Movin' On Up”, Prince Be & Ky-Mani, No. 90 (1998)
“Welcome To Jamrock”, Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, No. 55 (2005)
“Chained to the Rhythm” Katy Perry feat. Skip Marley, No. 4 (2017)
“Bam,” Jay-Z feat. Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley, No. 47 (2017)
“Praise Jah in the Moonlight”, YG Marley, No. 74 (2024)

Perhaps surprisingly, Bob Marley, as noted above, had only charted one song on the Hot 100 before his death in 1981: “Roots, Rock, Reggae.” However, it holds the record for most No. 1s – 19 – in its 30-year history Advertising signReggae Albums Chart. Plus, the LP's greatest hits Legend: The Best of Bob Marley and The Wailers has spent 820 weeks counting on the Billboard 200 (today ranks at No. 57, after peaking at No. 5 in 2014)—the second-longest charting album in the survey's 58-year history, behind Pink Floyd's The dark side of the moon (988 weeks, between 1973 and this January). His influence resulted in several Hot 100 chart entries with songwriter billing, however, thanks to covers, samples or jams of his songs, such as Eric Clapton's “I Shot the Sheriff (No. 1, 1974), the Warren G Sheriff's 'I Shot the' (No. 20, 1997), 50 Cent's 'Window Shopper' (No. 20, 2005) and Rihanna's 'Redemption Song' (No. 81, 2010).

“Praise Jah” contains a sample of the 1978 track “Crisis” by Bob Marley and The Wailers. As such, Bob Marley is credited as a co-songwriter on the track (along with YG and Hill). It marks his first appearance on the Hot 100 since writing James Blunt's 'Stay the Night' in 2011. This song interpolates Marley's 1978 classic 'Is This Love'.

As for Hill, she has three Hot 100 hits: “Doo-Wop (That Thing)” and two that peaked in 1999, “Ex-Factor” (No. 21) and “Everything Is Everything” (No. 35 ).

“Praise Jah” debuts ahead of release Bob Marley: One Love (Feb. 14), the Reinaldo Marcus Green-helmed biopic for the late picture. YG performed the song on several of Hill's tours last winter, helping build interest leading up to its official release. The buzz hit TikTok, where the song became a soundtrack over 150,000 clips until today.