The Great Bob Marley

“Bob Marley - Marley - Documentaire - Nederlands ondertiteld,” is a video detailing the life of Bob Marley. It talked about the birth, the lifestyle, and the career of Bob Marley. Bob was born of a mixed race of people, because of that Bob experienced separation and he felt as if he had no true place. Bob was not born of wealth; therefore, he grew up poor and challenged. His family lived in poverty and he was forced to live in his circumstances good and bad. As Bob evolved he learned that he had a talent that was music. He soon decided his place in life and he found his purpose. Bob believed that he was a man of God, who purpose was to provide life in music.

Although he may not have got to reach his full potential because of his death from melanoma at 36, Bob Marley’s legacy still lives on to this day. From being a poor child since birth to becoming a million dollar superstar, his life took a complete 180 degree turn. With his Rastafarian roots & tragic death, Bob’s journey was definitely one to follow and one millions will never forget.

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.

Even though Bob Marley seems to reference the bible, his religion was officially Rastafarian. Rastafarianism is a religion that is indigenous to Jamaica and is heavily influential on reggae culture. Rastafarianism is a hybrid religion that combines Christianity, mysticism, and Black Nationalism. Rastafarianism is of both colonial and postcolonial experiences. Rastafarianism developed in the 1920s and 30s in Jamaica while being surrounded with depression, racism, hierarchy discrimination and poverty. The Rastafarianism message was that of black pride which described freedom from oppression and the hope of returning to Africa one day.

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.

Bob Marley was reggae’s foremost practitioner and emissary, embodying its spirit and spreading its gospel to all corners of the globe. His extraordinary body of work embraces the stylistic spectrum of modern Jamaican music - from ska to rocksteady to reggae - while carrying the music to another level as a social force with universal appeal. Few others changed the musical and cultural landscape as profoundly as he. As Robert Palmer wrote in a tribute to Marley upon his 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.”

Bob Marley was one of the most influential artists through global culture .he passed on May 11, 1981. Since then his music and culture have made him a legend, through his huge list of accomplishments from his music which was based on oppressor social changes and still allowing his listeners to forget their problems and dance. He was later inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame in the year 1994

Marley never got to go home for his farewell concert and his cancer was aggravated by the exhausting trip from Germany to Jamaica. A national hero to Jamaica, the Jamaican Government presented Bob Marley with the Order of Merit, as well a year before his death he was awarded the Medal of peace by the United Nations. At the National Arena in Kingston more than 30,000 people came to his memorial to mourn the death of a beloved musician. In 1994 he was finally immortalized in the music industry by being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. While it’s been decades since Bob Marley sang his last song, his music and values still live on through the legacies he left behind. His fight for human rights continues through the Bob Marley Foundation, which helps people living in developing

Bob Marley was born on February 6, 1945 in Saint Ann, Jamaica to a young black mother and older white father. In his childhood, he met a friend Bunny Livingston, who inspired Bob to learn to play guitar since both had the same love interest for music. Later, Livingston’s father and Marley’s mother became implicated, and they all started to lived together for a time in Kingston. Now that Marley and Livingston were living together, they began to dedicate much of their time to music. Under the guidance of Joe Higgs a Jamaican singer these two young boys took a class. During this time, both of them met another student of Joe Higgs, Peter McIntosh (later Peter Tosh) who would play an important role in Marley’s career.

Throughout the years, a lot of different music genres have emerge, with these music genres also comes a variety of artists. Nowadays, music has become very important for a lot of young people around the world, and not only music but also the artists, which are a big influence in their lives. Two of my favorite music artists are, Bob Marley and Frankie Ruiz, I really enjoy their music and I also admire them greatly. What makes Bob Marley and Frankie Ruiz unique for me is the the music genres they sang, the life style they had, and their looks.

The music industry in Jamaica is one of the most influential in the world. Popular music genres such as reggae and dancehall was both originated in Jamaica. Likewise, rap and hip hop was stated by a Jamaican, called Kool Herc. Bob Marley is also a famous music artist from Jamaica. His music played an important role in many movements in Jamaica and all over the world. The most famous one is the fight against apartheid in South Africa. Dancing is also important in Jamaica. A famous proverb in Jamaica, is that “those who can’t dance, blame it on the music”. In all african countries, music and dancing is really normal and it’s like this in Jamaica too. It is normal to dance on the streets in public and have fun, while listening to music. By all means music and dancing is undoubtedly important for Jamaica and the culture is mostly based around

Charles Eames once said, "Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se." The idea that everything is connected somehow, which Charles Eames is meaning, is applicable to any topic, concept, object, or idea. Relating two things is not as difficult as it may seem, if the time and thought is given to do so, and the correlation between them is where the importance is found. Because everything is connected, simple topics like musicians, leaders, stores, blenders, and love can all be too, but it takes time, thoughts, and effort to see that.

Bob Marley grew up with a mind set like no other he did not fear anything. This is proven by the way he stood up for himself during violent times in Trenchtown in street fights. And the way he still was able to perform after someone attempted to assassinate him. Despite the fact he was bandaged up, he was able to strum his guitar and battle through the pain with a smile.

“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 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.