Bob Marley

[Mr. B]

I'm currently researching him in context with the history of the Trans Atlantic Slave trade and had a few questions that came up along the way.

I'm curious to know what people think about Bob in terms of his place in popular culture, his iconography, political views, or whatever else you might think about him.

I think a response like "Bob is great" is ok, I just want to know why you think that way so maybe try and elaborate, we'll all be better off for it if you do.

I know there are tonnes of fans out there...so speak!

[Emmett]

i like bob marley, but i'm always struck by how he's the only reggae artist white people know, and is a total semiotic shorthand for weed and frat boys. he's on a 24/7 loop in the touristy coffee shops in amsterdam. i think this image is now devoid of any political context he might have hoped to be remembered in.

it might be kind of a cool experiment to ask people if they like reggae, and if they say yes, ask them to think of 2 reggae artists not named "Marley."

[Mr. B]

what I'm finding is that despite his saturation among western audiences he still carries an ideological weight in the third world.

I haven't found any sources to suggest otherwise, I've heard of people suggesting that he is very disliked in Jamaica but from what I've read he is a national hero. It could be the sources though...this is a problem I would like to address. Or maybe it isn't that they don't like Bob Marley but rather they don't like how his image has been bought and sold in the very structure that he opposed, fueling a tourist industry that perpetuates the problems rather than offering any solutions.

His posthumous popularity is very problematic but there's a major difference between how people perceive cultural icons 25 years after their death and what their image meant for their particular moment in time. I think that is probably the best way to understand Marley, in his own historical context, not just within the Rastafarian and Jamaican culture but also within the context of the African Diaspora.

His image has been appropriated at the expense of a valuable message.

[JymmyZ]

Who're we kidding? As IF most of us would even know there were any problems down south if it wasn't for people like Bob to sing about the shit they've been through. Sure, not everyone who hears him thinks of the trials that Jamaicans or others have been through, but we wouldn't even be talking about this if it wasn't for Bob and others raising awareness in the first place. It might not be what they wanted but there are others doing more than our petty complaining and even our little bit is a start. I'll sing Buffalo Soldier and smoke one up for them, and that's more than they'd likely get if there was no Bob to burn one down in the first place.

[le' Chaud Karl]

Bob is great

[le' Chaud Karl]

His posthumous popularity is very problematic .

Got some alliteration on the go

[gregsaint]

and if they say yes, ask them to think of 2 reggae artists not named "Marley."

Ooh ooh, I know! That dude who sang "Legalize It", ya! Whats his name again? Peter somethin'. Oh, and Shaggy, can't forget Shaggy. Ya! Reggae rocks! Woo! Pass the Dutchie!

[Mr. B]

how bout that Johnny Nash guy. I hear he's pretty good.

[Dopesick]

it might be kind of a cool experiment to ask people if they like reggae, and if they say yes, ask them to think of 2 reggae artists not named "Marley."

Do Damian and Ziggy count?

Haha, Bob is great.

[spotlite]

Brent, in regards to your comment about people saying he is very disliked in Jamaica I would have to say on behalf of my experience that is incorrect.

Mind you I was there for one week and staying a popular large all inclusive resort and my information is coming from the Jamaicans that worked there, or were "approved" vendors to be on the resorts beach.

They all used the phrase "One Love" lots in conversations about anything with them. They be like you know Bob Marely mon? One Love! No problem mon. And pretty much state they try to life their life like Bob Marely wanted to world to be.

When we said we knew who Bob Marely was they would be like "are you going to the museum? It's pretty good"

We did not go the museum... and they were not trying to sell us something to go. The museum was not part of any promotion on the hotel unless you went to the tour desk and asked for it.

There are of course many souvenirs for sale of Bob Marely in all forms. But looked like the majority of them were made in china. (sad) The sticker on the bottom gave it away most of the time! lol

We found a vendor one day that was hand craving necklaces of Bob Marely's face right there on the beach. We talked to him for awhile and then decided to buy one from him as he made it right there infront of us.

We only heard a Bob Marely song out there maybe once or twice.... The moreso played the "top 40" reggae at the pool, bar, etc. Taxi drivers were listening to the "top 40" as well... or reggae we never heard before.

Again this is only experience from a resort. We never talked to anyone in the towns about him.


I love Bob Marely, his music and his ideas. He has influenced me in a positive way to seek out more reggae artists that I like to even how I treat the people around me, this earth I live on, and my views. As bad as it is... I had no idea about what Will Smith said about him in the movie "I Am Legend" and hearing that made me appreciate him even more.

[Zayko]

I think there's mixed feelings in Jamaica.
Some people are probably a little sick of him, but others think he's a prophet.
His music certainly wasn't very traditional - recorded by UK producers with an intent to appeal to a broader world market.
It sure worked, and thus changed the sound of reggae.

[colloqui]

He was born of a white male plantation owner and much younger native Jamaican woman.

He encountered the same challenges growing up that any half caste individual does.

It is believed that the mentoring of local Rastafarian musician Joe Higgs had the greatest impact on Bob.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Higgs




Thank you for your contribution Mr. Marley, you speak for everyone.

[Mr. B]

Marley's Dad was not a plantation owner. There is some debate as to his exact profession but he never owned any land in Jamaica. The consensus among a number of Marley biographers is that he was a boat captain.

Marely's mother was not native. She was more likely a descendant from slavery, her father owned a piece of land on the hills of 9 miles in the parish of St. Anne's. Aboriginal populations on the island were wiped out by the Spanish a la disease and slavery well before the English took control of the island.

Colored individuals in Jamaica have a significant disadvantage when they live among the 90% black population. They are disliked and are not accepted. In the US, the "one drop" idea means that Bob would have been considered a black man, in Jamaica it was the opposite.

Joe Higgs was an influential figure.

2/3 ain't that bad, go wiki.

Timothy White, "Catch a Fire" New York: Owl Books, 2006.

Christopher John Farley, "Before The Legend: The Rise of Bob Marley" New York: Amistad, 2006.

[isum]

Bob Marley is a black friend for all white people.

[colloqui]

EDIT - See next page