Bob Marley (1945 - 1981)

Bob Marley was born Robert Nesta Marley in a small rural village in Jamaica and rose to become the most popular and beloved reggae artist in history. Standing a mere 5' 4" Marley was a charismatic sensitive soul who had a gift for translating the pain and politics of suppressed people into uplifting songs of deliverance. Like a messiah from the third world, he delivered messages of love and unity and pushed the underground sounds of reggae music into the world stage. Born of mixed heritage - his father a Jamaican born white man of British nationality and his mother a black Jamaican - Marley was ostracized as a child and struggled to come to terms with the duality of his racial identity. His conversion to the Rastafarian religion, a faith originating from early Christianity and Judaism in Egypt and Ethiopia, helped him find truth in a world filled with injustice and racism. Influenced by popular African American groups like Curtis Mayfield's "The Impressions", Bob Marley joined with childhood friends to form The Wailers, singing 'ska' and slow tempo 'rock steady' songs. The group dressed in matching suits and maintained the clean-cut look reminiscent of Motown groups of that era. After becoming a Rastafarian and reforming the group years later as "Bob Marley and The Wailers" Marley began to emerge as a prophetic musician promoting peace and higher consciousness.

At 32 years old, Marley was diagnosed with skin cancer on his toe and refused amputation because of his religious beliefs. In just four short years, cancer had consumed him, spreading to his brain, liver, lungs, and stomach - killing him at the age of thirty-six. Bob Marley is one of the most successful artists to come from the Caribbean and is revered as a legend of reggae music and the Rastafarian faith.

"None but ourselves can free our minds"

Guiltiness

Pressed on their conscience. oh yeah.

And they live their lives (they live their lives)

On false pretence everyday -Each and everyday. yeah.

These are the big fish

Who always try to eat down the small fish,

Just the small fish.

I tell you what: they would do anything

To materialize their every wish. oh yeah-eah-eah-eah.

Say: woe to the downpressors:

They'll eat the bread of sorrow!

Woe to the downpressors:

They'll eat the bread of sad tomorrow!

Woe to the downpressors:

They'll eat the bread of sorrow!

Oh, yeah-eah! oh, yeah-eah-eah-eah!