How Did Bob Marley Influence People

He says that the British ‘stole’ Africans from their homeland and their families for their own good. The line ‘fighting on arrival, fighting for survival’ indicates two ideas about the soldier; first, they were sent to war as soon as they arrived and second, they were not only in a war for the U.S government but also for themselves. They faced with racial discrimination; they would paid less then a white soldier did and experience a greater threat when captured by the Confederate Army then a white did. He somehow correlates buffalo soldier with Rastafarians. Buffalo soldiers had crimped hair which gave them their name, whereas Rastafarians are best know by their hair style -dreadlocks. The 2 group have one more thing in common; ‘their histories were never been adequately told’ (Smith 18). On the following lines ‘if you know your history, then you would know where you are coming from’ Marley is trying to point out the importance of Africans at the wars that U.S Army had involved, and how they played an important role at establishment of U.S government. In his essay, Smith said that Marley sees the poverty in today’s society as the modern version of the slavery culture that

While many artists can reach the level of musical icons during their recording time, a few continue to remain relevant after they have died, and even fewer can touch peoples hearts and souls with as much power today as when they were alive, Bob Marley is one such artist. As Robert Palmer wrote for Marley’s induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, “ No one in rock and roll has left a musical legacy that matters more or one that matters in such fundamental ways.” A few years ago while I was at a fast food restaurant, there were two women behind the counter, one younger and one older. While waiting for my order I overheard the younger woman confiding in the older woman about some life issues that she was going through at the time.

Bob Marley and his reggae style music have not only reined supreme throughout Jamaica but also throughout the entire world. Marley’s music, style, philosophy and Rasta pride have, overtime, become a culture itself. Through his Reggae style music he advocated love, peace, hope, and unity and sought to promote equality among people in Jamaica and around the world. Primarily, his music was based off of life and love and eventually the messages in his music began to shift to correspond with the political violence occurring in Jamaica at the time. From the beginning of his career to the end, his music was heavily influenced by the Rastafarian religion.

Bob Marley is without a doubt one of the most inspirational songwriters the world has ever known. Contrary to popular belief, most of Marley’s writings were not ganja anthems, but hopeful songs about redemption, social injustice, spiritual strength, and perseverance in the face of seemingly impossible odds. Included here are my selections or Bob Marley’s 10 most inspirational songs.

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 this portion of the paper I will be focusing on Bob Marley and give an introduction to who he is, how he learned his music and how he became famous.

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

“Me only have one ambition, y’know. I only have one thing I really like to see happen. I like to see mankind live together – Black, White, Chinese, everyone- that’s all” (Bob Marley). Bob Marley’s main goal was to bring people together through his music, and influence everyone he could to become a better person. Throughout Bob Marley’s music career, he didn’t know what kind of artist he wanted to be until later in life, and once he knew what kind of artist he wanted to be, he reached out to people and made many people enjoy reggae music and really understand the message in his music, which was not to hate or discriminate because we are all equal.

Rastafari is an African religion that is still relatively new. The religion was developed in the 1930s in Jamaica after Haile Selassie was named the King of Ethiopia. The followers of this religion believe that Selassie is God and that he will return all of the black people displaced from slavery and colonization to Africa. Bob Marley’s music and success helped spread the religion. The Rastafarians believe that black people are the chosen people of God. Some of the religious practices in the religion include smoking and inhaling marijuana. The purpose of the marijuana is to increase a person’s spiritual state of mind and awareness. Most Rastafarians have long

Bob Marley is a name most people know but his accomplishments and dedication to music is often overlooked. Bob was more than just a reggae artist, he was an inspiration to the country of Jamaica. He was a role model to the poverty stricken island and gave hope to many people. Bob was born on February 6, 1945 in his grandfather's house. He was the son of a poor farm girl and a British naval Captain. Soon after his birth Bob's father, Norval Marley, left his mother. He remained responsible and provided financial support and occasionally came back to see them. In the 50's a depression hit Jamaica and Bob followed his mother to West Kingston also known as Trenchtown. It was in Trenchtown were Bob's love for music began.

Rastas believe that Selassie the I is the Jesus that Christianity speaks of with his “hair of wool, whose feet were like unto burning brass”. Rastas worship Jah and we participate in rituals and chanting as well as following the laws of Divine Power throughout our daily life. Rasta believe in the power of doing good and being blessed and so forth, we believe in power of doing evil and being punished. As the Rastas say, “Life is everliving” is the reward for following the word of the bible. Rasta say that blacks are to blame for their own shortcomings because they strayed away from the holy and divine way of living that was given to them in the Bible. Their enslavement and life ever since has been a punishment from Jah for their sins. “The scriptures are fundamental to Rasta world view. We do not look on the Bible as the ‘the good book’ ---everything has good and evil in it. Over time, the bible has been altered from its original state. For political and economical reasons, things have been edited out and different concepts and explanations patched in –especially by the translators of the Kings James I of England. Therefore, the Rasta is particularly selective about what they believe from the scriptures. Generally, Rastas point to the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Song of Solomon, Isiah, Ezekiel, Timothy, Corinthians, Hebrews and Revelation to

“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

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.

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.

Like in the earlier years, it can be seen in this story that Christianity was the most dominant and highly accepted religion in Jamaica. Having contrasting beliefs and practices, individuals would be shunned and ostracized. The author illustrates this idea by showing how Darren’s passionate beliefs in Rastafarianism had resulted in him being kicked out of his house. He was told to “never to come back until he had given up that Rasta foolishness.” Today, the Caribbean has become religiously diverse with a tolerance for different