The true beauty of music is that it connects people through its various messages and rhythm. With music, unlike many other things in the world, is that there is something for everyone; fitting for all tastes and backgrounds. A world without music would be a painful one indeed.
Today marks what would have been the 74th birthday of reggae sensation Bob Marley. Robert Nesta Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter who became an international musical and cultural icon, blending mostly reggae, ska, and rocksteady in his compositions. Since his passing on May 11, 1981, Bob Marley’s legend looms larger than ever, as evidenced by an ever-lengthening list of accomplishments attributable to his music, which identified oppressors and agitated for social change while simultaneously allowing listeners to forget their troubles and dance.
One of the 20th century’s most charismatic and challenging performers, Bob Marley’s renown now transcends the role of reggae luminary: he is regarded as a cultural icon who implored his people to know their history .
“Don’t gain the world and lose your soul.” – Bob Marley #BobMarley #Brekko #Goteana pic.twitter.com/zxWXdGoOkP
— mojezz (@mojezzkabro) February 6, 2019
It’s well known that Bob Marley loved the game of football. There are dozens of pictures around the Internet of him playing ball with friends, and he’s been quoted saying, “Football is freedom, a whole universe. Me love it because you have to be skillful to play it.
In the same breath, no individual in history is more closely linked to smoking marijuana – or “herb,” as it’s called in Rastafarian culture – than Bob Marley. He loved weed and made no apologies for it. He was a staunch believer of the plant’s meditational, spiritual and healing abilities, and strongly opposed to the “political forces” that tried using marijuana as a vehicle for oppression, and to keep certain groups of people out of the societal mainstream.
Among his greatest hits include ‘Three Little Birds”, “No Woman No Cry”, “Wait in Vain” and Redemption song.
Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds!” The pan-African consciousness, progressive political ideologies and deep spiritual convictions heard in Bob Marley’s music were derived from his firmly rooted commitment to Rastafarian beliefs and its attendant lifestyle.