Silasia Rastafarai: Robert Nesta Marley and the One Love Philosophy

Bob Marley

By Hakeem Babalola

I
admire and love Bob Marley for what
he “stands” for – equality!
For a man or woman to be born
great, his or her story must reflect
that of an archetype. It must have a
powerful and ever growing
resonance that embodies among
other themes: political wisdom,
metaphysical and artistic insights.
The story of a legend won’t
complete without gangland warfare
and periods in a mystical
wilderness.
To be born great means to enjoy an
icon-like status more akin to that of
the rebel myth of Che Guevara than
to that of a pop star. To be born
great means to survive an attempt
to be silenced. To be born great
means to perform in front of 80,000
crowds with bullet wound two days
earlier. To be born great means to
be simple despite the stardom. To
be born great is Bob Marley.
From humble beginnings, with his
talent and religious belief as his only
weapon, the Jamaican prophet
applied himself unstintingly to
spread his prophetic message
through music.
If any one person was responsible
for breaking down the barriers
between reggae elitism and the pop
world, Bob Marley was the man.
Prior to his appearance in the
singles chart with “No Woman No
Cry” in 1975, reggae chart
successes had been more of a
novelty. After Marley nothing was
ever the same again. He became
the best-known reggae artist of all
time.
Birth & Career
He was born in St Annes, northern
Jamaica, on February 6, 1945. His
mother was an eighteen-year-old
black girl named Cedella Booker,
while his father was Captain Norval
Marley, a fifty-year-old white
quartermaster attached to the
British West Indian Regiment. Young
Bob grew up in the rural suburbs.
He quit school because he had only
one ambition: music. It was the only
way for him to be Bob Marley. The
inclination in young Bob kept
inspiring him toward the greatness
of his short life. He began his career
in 1961, creating a huge following
throughout the West Indies.
His first record, Judge Not, came out
in 1962. And in 1963 he formed the
Wailing Wailers with friends Bunny
Wailer and Peter Tosh. They
released their first single “Simmer
Down” during the last week of
1963, according to bobmarley.com.
By the following January it was
number one in the Jamaican charts.
During this period he met a young
girl, Rita and on February 10, 1966,
they got married.
Hardship
After growing up in the rural island
district of 9 mile, Bob Marley had
experienced hardship first hand. He
was determined to give voice to
those suffering hard. “He had
strong feeling about watching
people being oppressed,” said
Cindy Breakspeare, a longtime
companion, “Bob wanted to see a
change”. Although the music
industry almost drained his spirit,
he had managed to put the Wailers
on hold. He then moved to the
countryside with his family, and it
was there that he developed
Rastafarian, said his widow, Rita
Marley. Rastafarian fundamental
message of black unification and
empowerment rests on the street of
Jamaica.
Meanwhile, since gaining
Independence from Britain in 1962,
his country, Jamaica had become a
nation divided along ideological
lines. Conservatives and Socialists
traded power in often blood
atmosphere, creating poverty
among the people. There was heavy
fight in the street with armour. And
to survive in the ghetto, one had to
support the party in power.
But Bob Marley saw Rastafarian and
not politics as salvation. He spread
the words to campaign for a
change. People see the song, “Get
Up, Stand Up” as the rise of a
legend. Marley was taking the
element of his religion into an
international pop music. “Get Up
Stand Up,” said Wayne Jobson,
reggae expert, “is the song through
which Bob transcending from
reggae to Rasta leader – a song to
inspire and empower. It may be the
ultimate freedom fighter song of all
times”.
As a true prophet, he warned us of
certain things that bound to engulf
us. For instance, he predicted so
much trouble in the world. “The way
things are going,” he sang.
“Anything could happen [because
they] don’t care for me, don’t care
for you”.
And are we not witnessing the
trouble now?
“Until the philosophy [that] hold
one race superior against another
inferior is finally and permanently
discredited and abandon…
everywhere is war…me say war. And
until there’s no first-class citizen
and second-class citizens of any
nation, until the colour of man’s
skin is no significance than the
colour of his eyes…me say war. Until
the basic human right is equally
guaranteed without regard to race…
me say war. Until that day when
African continent shall not know
peace…me say war. Rumour of the
war! War in the east…war in the
west…war up north…war down
south. War…war…war”
Maybe we should recommend this
particular song to the United
Nations. The track should be played
each time the member nations
gather in its New York haven.
World hit
By 1967 his songs were being
recorded by other stars, including
Jonny Nash who had a worldwide hit
with Stir It Up. Bob Marley real break
came in 1974 when Eric Clapton
recorded and released his song “I
shot The Sheriff”, as a single. It
toppled the charts around the
world, including the USA. Stir It Up,
Duppy Conqueror, Soul Rebel 400
years and Small Axe were not only
classics, but they defined the future
direction of reggae. The message
then grew more radical because I
Shot The Sheriff is the legend
moment of vengeance.
Bob Marley expressed in his songs
the sentiment of Jamaican
underclass whose patience of
corrupt officers had expired. Eric
Clapton blue rendition of I Shot The
Sheriff “made people to be aware of
this great song writer,” noted
Neville Gawik, former Art Director
Tuff Gong Records. He was
becoming a hero to the Jamaican
poor and considered a threat by the
ruling class.
Bob’s popularity didn’t go unnoticed
by Prime Minister Michael Manley.
Seeking to woo voters, he asked
Marley to orchestrate a non-political
musical concert for peace in
December 1976. Bob agreed. He
then came under dead threat for
appearing on stage with Manley, for
people saw it as endorsement of the
prime minister.
Obviously, Bob had a message to
fulfill. “He was a serious [but simple]
man who always set out what he
had to do,” says Bunny Wailer. Just
two days before the concert, “six
gunmen” went to his house. In a
flurry of gunfire, bullets hit Bob
Marley’s friends, Don Taylor and
Griffts. Rita, his wife, got bullet in
her head.
He himself didn’t escape assassin’s
bullet. Badly shaken, he was kept in
a safe house in the surrounding
Kingston Hill where he
contemplated his involvement in
the concert. Assassin bullets had
failed to silence Jamaican’s voice of
harmony and hope. He stood for the
truth. He was seen as a man who
could lead the world. His whole idea
was to demonstrate that peace was
more powerful force than violence
and if the show did not go on,
people won’t get the message.
Two days after the shooting, he was
bandaged but defied Bob Marley
took to the stage with bullet still in
his arm. Inspired by the non-
violence, Prophet Bob Marley
delivered a passion and moving
performance in front of
approximately 80,000 crowds. The
show was a triumph for a peace
crusader, but he still didn’t
understand why some people
wanted to silence him; after all, he
was helping people all over.
A realistic philosopher, he knew the
assassins might get their target
next time. He quietly left his
homeland the morning after the
show, while his wife stayed behind.
He set for London and put his
energy into recording.
Visit to Africa
He then returned in 1978 to play
the One Love Peace Concert in front
of Prime Minister Michael Manley
and then Opposition Leader Edward
Seaga. At the end of that year, he
visited Africa for the first time, going
initially to Kenya and then on to
Ethiopia, spiritual home of
Rastafarians. Rastafarian faith
considers Haile Selassie as a black
Messiah, and took their name from
Ras Tafari.
He was to return to Africa in 1980,
this time at the official invitation of
the government of Zimbabwe to
play at the country’s Independence
Ceremony. It was the greatest
honour accorded the band, and one
that underlined the Wailers’
importance in Africa.
Around the world
Around the world, Bob Marley is
seen as the Redeemer figure
returning to lead this planet out of
confusion. Some will come out and
say it directly: that Bob Marley is the
reincarnation of Jesus Christ long
waited by much of the world. In
such an interpretation of his life, the
cancer that killed him is inevitably
described as a modern version of a
crucifixion.
For example, some of my students
here in Hungary (15-year-olds) once
came over to me, and wanted to
know my opinion about Bob Marley.
“Uncle Hakeem, do you like Bob
Marley?” one of them said rather
than asking. “Sure…why?”
“Nothing…just I like listening to him
whenever I’m sad. There’s
something in his music that always
lift my spirit…” She needn’t go
further, for I quite understood her
sentiment. “It happens to me all the
time,” I retorted. They all laughed,
as we saw Bob Marley in one
another’s eyes.
. He was a
philosopher, a deep thinker and
visionary, a crusader and a genuine
prophet.
Humble to the
end
Yet
listen to him: “Me just a simple
man…a Rastafarian”.
He did not have 76 Jeeps or
whatever. He never siphoned
money like our politician “friends” in
a country once described as Giant of
Africa. I doubt if he ever used a #3
million custom watch like a Nigerian
governor.
Bob Marley was never pregnant with
money like our police friends or fake
pastors and bishops. Neither did he
use public money to build palaces
like the saint in Minna who is likely
to carry the wealth with him to
heaven – breaking a record
His departure from this world came
at a point when his vision of One
World, One Love was beginning in
some quarters to be heard and felt.
For instance, the Bob Marley and
The Wailers’ 1980 tour attracted the
“largest” audiences at that time for
any musical act in Europe. After the
European tour, Bob Marley and The
Wailers went to America. He played
two shows at the Madison Square
Garden but immediately afterwards,
he was taken seriously ill.
An ill-treated toe wound had
developed cancer. The doctor had
advised him to amputate the part
otherwise it would spread. Such
amputation was against Rastafarian
doctrine, and so he declined. The
prophet preferred to go home
complete.