Jean Lowrie-Chin
Euphoria filled the air as we joined the throng to celebrate Bob Marley’s 80th birthday at Emancipation Park. The concert was laced with television interviews with the legend himself, who dropped lines such as, “Possessions make you rich? I don’t have that kind of richness — my richness is life forever.” We could see his ‘forever’ in the fans of all ages, dancing and singing along to his music.
His ‘forever’ echoed from the stage with surprising acts like Jah Fabio and Antidoping from Mexico as well as Nonpalidece from Argentina declaring their love for Bob Marley and Jamaica. We heard the clean creations of Aza Lineage, Warrior King, and Bushman, taking forward the icon’s legacy of lyrical wisdom. We embraced Bushman’s appeal to our broadcast media to refrain from carrying vulgar lyrics, noting that the “bleeps” do not help, as young people will mentally fill in those blanks.
The Julian Marley we saw and heard was an impressive artiste, matured from his earlier years and projecting his father’s charisma. A Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) release quoted him on his recent tour with brothers Ziggy, Ky-Mani, Stephen, and Damian: “What we all walked away with was how our father’s music was really a godsend. Despite the passage of time, it still resonates with audiences in a powerful way…” Grandson Skip Marley, son of Cedella Marley, had the young ladies in the audience mesmerised with his love songs, reminiscent of Marley’s Turn Your Lights Down Low. They honoured Marley’s genius well.
This led us to ponder Marley’s challenging lyrics calling out hypocrites and ‘talking blues’. From Timothy White’s biography of Bob Marley, Catch A Fire: The Life of Bob Marley, we learn of the early trials of young Marley when he was sent to Kingston from Nine Miles, St Ann, for what his family thought would be a better life with a wealthier side of his family. He lived with and did chores for an elderly woman. When he was sent by her to Coronation Market, he saw a friend of his mother and tearfully begged to be sent back to Nine Miles. He was taken back to St Ann where he enjoyed harmonious family life until he moved to Trench Town as a teenager. White related the marginal conditions under which Marley lived, including the ragged bed which was provided for him at Clement “Coxsone” Dodd’s studio.Marley’s lyrics on inner-city living and society’s indifference to the poor’s suffering may have moved some in authority, but certainly not enough. At an event held last week, former Trench Town resident Owen “Ity” Ellis bemoaned the conditions of the community made famous by Marley in Trench Town Rock and
No Woman Nuh Cry. These are laden lines:
“… I remember when we used to sitIn the government yard in Trench Town
Oba-obaserving the hypocrites
As they would mingle with the good people we meet.”
Such conditions there and in other poverty-stricken communities became a breeding ground for gangs, attracting desperate young people from fractured families. I give Prime Minister Andrew Holness credit for being one of the most vociferous leaders in condemning gang violence and Project Star, brainchild of Keith Duncan, for giving us hope for a more peaceful and equitable future. Let us have faith and realise Marley’s Redemption Song:
“But my hand was made strong,
By the hand of the Almighty
We forward in this generation, triumphantly.”
Source: Jamaica Observer
Jamaica Highlights 