Bob Marley’s Spiritual Rhetoric, the Spread of Jamaican Culture and Rastafarianism

Music is an art form and source of power. Many forms of music reflect culture and society, as well as, containing political content and social message. Music as social change has been highlighted throughout the 20th century. In the 1960s the United States saw political and socially oriented folk music discussing the Vietnam War and other social issues. In Jamaica during the 1970s and 1980s reggae developed out of the Ghetto’s of Trench town and expressed the social unrest of the poor and the need to over-through the oppressors. The 1980’s brought the newest development in social and political music, the emergence of hip-hop and rap. This urban musical art form that was developed in New

The first communication concept relates to empathy and empathic communication, both Bob and Ziggy Marley display this throughout their music. Empathy defined by Julia T. Wood, “is the ability to feel with another person, to feel what she or he feels in a situation. Our feelings tend to be guided by our own emotional tendencies and experiences” (78). In the fullest sense, this implies putting yourself into the other person’s shoes, to experience their life, so that you really understand and feel; pain, anger, frustration, joy, spiritual uplift and happiness. Bob Marley is empathetic in nature, he is “someone who appears to speak for the people. It is his music, his life story, his worldview and the way he carries himself -- he seems like an extension of the people and their leader. He seems like a sort of Cultural Senator, a man who represents his people” (Toure 2017). Bob Marley expresses empathy throughout his song “Get Up Stand Up,” by giving us examples of what life was like in the 1960’s in Jamaica. Paying close attention to the words and the connotations associated with those words, we can get an idea to what was going on during that era. From the beginning, reggae was political, as the work of Bob clearly attests. When he chants, “Get up \ Stand up \ Stand up for your rights!” you can feel how important this issue is to him. By translating this one lyric, you can imagine the details of his experiences and the emotions associated with them. The lyrics of this song relates to the struggles and inequality of the society and the harsh realities of a post-independent Jamaica. Nearly the entire song has a political slant to it in some shape or form. The political unrest which was taking place at the time was extremely intense, this song urged people to raise and stand up and fight for their rights and to be proactive.

When you hear the name Bob Marley what do you think? I know I thought of the Rasta movement and the colors green, yellow and red. I thought of a symbol being abused to justify the smoking of cannabis. But if I was to tell you that Bob Marley may be one of the most influential political activists of all time.

“From the shantytowns of Kingston, Jamaica, to the cobblestones streets of Great Britain, reggae music was a powerful and liberating voice for the poor and oppressed. In the last thirty years, reggae stars Bob Marley, Burning Spear, and Alpha Blondy have sung “redemption” songs- messages of human rights and universal love in a “Babylonian” world of civil unrest, political instability, and economic collapse”(Bays, King, and Foster, 2002, p. XI). Bob Marley was the most famous reggae artist to bring popularity upon the music; selling over 20 million records worldwide. His songs such as “One Love” and “Redemption Song” were inspired by the effects of oppression upon blacks in Jamaica. Marley's persona for unity and peace among people throughout the world was an inspiration for Jamaicans. Most blacks in Jamaica during the 1960s suffered from economic hardships and racial discrimination. This in turn marked the beginning of a religious movement called Rastafarinism where reggae music was an element that distinguished Rastafarians from the rest of society. According to Chang and Chen, British colonial authorities and the local establishment viewed Rastafarians; forthright espousal of black unity and pride, and their unconventional appearance and customs, as threats to the existing social order. (Chang, Chen, 1998. p.26) Reggae music allowed blacks to have pride of their culture and not limited themselves to the demeaning social orders in

Furthermore, reading this book gave me a further clarity, yet a narrow view of Marley’s life. How could the impact Bob Marley’s, in addition to Reggae’s contribution, to the elusive question [“What does it mean to be human?] be contained in a few hundred pages? It cannot. The elements of being human are similar to nature and the vast complexities of science. Series of overlapping webs, which include: learning through means available, cultural identification, and the infinite quest for beauty, are all too

The message an artist delivers can be a double-edged sword depending on the artist and the frame of mind that went behind of the making of the song. Many artists can convey a peaceful message when facing society. For example, artist Bob Marley constantly promoted equal coexistence that has been referred to time and time again as to how music can encourage a more accepting society. On the other hand, some artists believe that reaching social stability is with aggressive, physical movements that require backlashing at all oppressors. This destructive state of mind can cause more harm than good,

     The people of Jamaica have no influence on the daily economic decisions that affect their lives. For almost 25 years, Jamaica has been able to keep a very small percentage of its national revenue because of agencies like the World Bank and IMF. While other big name countries continue to grow economically, these

A song that contained a strong and powerful political message was performed by a legend that has entertained generations of music lovers. The legend of Bob Marley is well known through his inspiring songs, one such song was called “War”. Bob Marley himself gained inspiration for this song from then Ethiopian leader Haile Selassie who spoke at the United Nation in 1963. During this speech, he focused on the main idea of equality for all humans throughout the world. With this, Bob Marley turned the words of a man he truly admired into something quite beautiful. The song “War” speaks about the necessity for humans to treat each person with dignity and to uphold the true meaning of morality. If this philosophy is not adopted by every nation

Marley was born on the North side of Jamaica to a white Naval Officer Norval Marley and his mother Cedella Marley. When Bob Marley was young, his father Norval dropped him off at a elderly couples home in Kingston Jamaica, it was that last time Marley would see his father as he never returned. Moreover, Marley spent roughly a year and a half in Kingston which would prove to have a lasting impact on his life. While in Kingston, Marley was drawn to the vast musical culture and immersed himself within it. Furthermore, he experimented with instruments and reggae music in general. In his youth, those around Marley knew he was special as they believed he had magical powers and that he could tell fortunes. He was constantly asked to read palms, but after his stint in Kingston Marley changed. When people would ask Marley to read their palms he would respond by explaining to them that those days are over and that he is now a musician. (Dorsey, 1998).

     The land of Jamaica is very small. The total land mass area of the island is 4,243 square miles. Stretching 146 miles from east to west and at its furthest points north to south, approximately 51 miles (Encyclopedia Americana, 2001, P 670). Within this area, the land is

The purpose of this content analysis was to compare and contrast how two artist of reggae music from different eras developed their movement and how they each had a different style. The two artists examined are from the same family, they are father Bob Marley and son Ziggy Marley. We examine how they both essentially had a different voice yet still held onto the roots of reggae. Extensive research was done on their backgrounds, their upbringings, their environment, and belief systems. It was important to gather research about what reggae means to them and what voice they wanted to portray to their audience. Much of the literature gathered was through the internet, using the campus library online database. The sources gathered from the online database were; magazine articles, music encyclopedias, interviews and academic research articles and journals.

The paper discusses how Marley’s music changed society by mainstreaming the ideas of black resistance, social justice, racial equality, and anti-colonialism to the baby-boom generation and generations endlessly onward. The paper will outline the historical background of reggae as well as the social cause to which it became attached by the work of Marley. The paper submits that reggae, ultimately, became the chief means of expressing the angst and dislocation felt by many within the African Diaspora. Finally, the paper will offer a critical analysis of one of Marley’s works, “I Shot the Sheriff”, and will explain why this signature work is a classic instance of reggae speaking out against injustice and the prevailing power structure.

In Jamaica at the time Bob was viewed as a mystic and prophet, and was

Bob Marley and the Wailers produced songs of hope and freedom that related to the wars happening between Vietnam. The song "War" by Bob Marley and the Wailers impacted the world. These reggae musicians were the

Reggae music was a big part of Jamaican culture. Many artists practiced the style of reggae and some of the artists like Bob Marley influenced and showed people internationally all about this music. It originated around the time that Jamaica was being attacked by European countries like Spain and native people being taken into slavery. Bob Marley was born after the time of slave trading but whites still effected the native people and this is how he got his inspiration for his music.