[citation needed] Stephen and older brother Ziggy – Bob Marley's two eldest sons – were directly mentored into music by their father and performed alongside Bob Marley and the Wailers at the 1978 One Love Peace Concert in Kingston, Jamaica, 1979 Reggae Sunsplash in Montego Bay and at Zimbabwe's independence celebrations in Salisbury, Rhodesia (Harare, Zimbabwe) in 1980.

After Bob Marley's death, the Melody Makers continued with Ziggy taking over as the group's leader, composing songs such as "What a Plot" in 1982, as well as "Lying in Bed" and "I Met Her on a Rainy Day" in 1984.

Stephen played a mostly background role, as an instrumentalist, songwriter, and co-producer; but performed the lead vocals on some songs such as "Keep On", "Postman", and "One Good Spliff".

Another Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers song written and fronted (lead vocals) by Stephen was "Tipsy Dazy" featured in the soundtrack of the 1997 Hollywood film Anaconda.

In 1999, Marley produced Chant Down Babylon a remix album of Bob Marley's music, modernised to appeal to a modern audience, featuring hip-hop, R&B and rock stars including Lauryn Hill,[5] Erykah Badu, Guru, Busta Rhymes, MC Lyte, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Chuck D, and The Roots.

[6] After spending many years in the background as a producer, and backing big brother Ziggy as a Melody Maker, Marley finally became a solo artist, releasing the albums Mind Control (2007), Mind Control Acoustic (2008), Revelation Part I: The Root of Life (2011), and Revelation Part II: The Fruit of Life (2016).

Mind Control, which featured the single "Hey Baby" featuring Mos Def peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100, while Revelation Part I: The Root of Life reached position 92 and "Revelation Part II: The Fruit of Life" peaked at position 129.

In its Mind Control album review published on April 13, 2007, the Austin Chronicle wrote: In reviewing Revelation Part II: The Fruit of Life, Jon Pareless, writing in The New York Times on July 20, 2016, noted that: On April 3, 2017, Marley and Pitbull performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, playing their single, "Options".

[10] His son Yohan Marley who greatly resembles in looks and voice also began his venture into music with brother Joseph’s song “Burn it Down”,[11] releasing his biggest single to date “Goodbyes” on November 24, 2020.

[13] On 27th December 2022, his eldest son Jo Mersa Marley was found in Miami-Dade County, Florida, unconscious inside his vehicle after reportedly suffering an asthma attack.