Bob Marley is a Jamaican singer and songwriter as well as a committed Rastafari who is best known for his blending of ska, rocksteady, and reggae music. Throughout his short life Bob Marley was able to contribute a great deal with his reggae music, and throughout all the time he has been gone people still use his music as a measuring stick for all other reggae music. This was because during his time as an artist he was able to create a type of reggae music that was not heard before in Jamaica, or any part of the world for that matter. The 1970’s was when Bob Marley & The Wailers started releasing his popular music, primarily his album Exodus, and increased the popularity of Rastafarianism though the high vibe he created with the mix of reggae, soul, and blues.
“Though raised as a Catholic, Marley became interested in Rastafari beliefs in the 1960s, when away from his mother's influence. After returning to Jamaica, Marley formally converted to Rastafari and began to grow dreadlocks.” (Wikipedia) Throughout the 60s Marley travelled around with The Wailers recording purely reggae music in Jamaica spreading Rastafarianism. After an attempt on his and his wife’s
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“The sense of longing that drives “Waiting In Vain” derives, too, from the fact that Marley wrote the song during a period of self-imposed exile in England.” (Hall) Hall points out that at this time Marley was in a love affair with a Cindy Breakspeare, who is who he wrote the song for. We can hear it in this song and all the rest of the songs of the album Bob Marley singing very casually, not trying to reach his falsettos, to make the songs easier for everyone to sing along
The way he used nature in his everyday life and he didn't need much to keep him happy. He could let others see the world through his nonconformist ways through song. He was just happy to be living the life he was given without a worry in the world. That's why I think Bob Marley fits into the Transcendental concepts of nonconformity, simplified Life, and importance of nature. Although he started off Christian I think Rastafarian made him into the man he was. I can't imagine what kind of things he would've done if he didn't die at such an early age can
Robert Nesta Marley, musically known as Bob Marley is Reggae’s most iconic and transcendent figure, “Get up, Stand up,” is a song that demonstrates elements of transcendentalism. The song explains about how people should not live their lives expecting to go to heaven after dying. Rather, they should have a purpose in their lives. The song also talks about how people should stand up for their morals and follow what they believe rather than believing others. Bob Marley chose to encourage people to depend on their beliefs and not let others to negatively interfere with their lives. The song also criticizes religious hypocrisy and instructs listeners to make their own choices.
African music has had a major influence on Cuban culture beginning in the early 1550’s through slave trade. Thousands of slaves were brought to Spain in the 1400’s and eventually migrated to Cuba. Since these “Ladinos” were accustomed to Spanish culture and language, they easily were able to get by in Cuba and even escape slavery. As a result, Slave owners in Cuba brought more slaves directly from Africa. In 1526, a Royal Decree allowed slaves to buy their freedom, resulting in increased interaction and ethnic mixing among Cubans and Africans. All aspects of both cultures began to blend, especially among working class Cubans and Africans. Music became a common bond between the two groups
If one were to look back into the world’s history, one would find that an important and consistent element is the world of music. Music has presented itself in various forms throughout its spread and through our identification of its magical realm, people have been fortunate enough to come across a means of relation. Whether it is blues and reggae or rap and pop rock, there is music out there for everyone. Music can serve as a stabilizer for some, a relaxant to others, and to many a form of inspiration.
There are several possible explanations for the rapid growth of Rastafari. One major factor in its expansion was the emergence in the late 1960s of reggae music, a derivative of American rhythm and blues and Jamaican ska. Reggae helped spread the philosophy of Rastafari to the wider Jamaican audience and the world. During that period of time, Bob Marley and the Wailers were the principal popularizers of reggae.
Reggae music is a meaningful channel for social change. Reggae music portrays resistance to oppression, it is a symbolic action, part of a nonviolent revolution. It is a type of rhetoric; a method of communication designed to influence and persuade. It is a message with a purpose, it represents a crystallization of fundamental issues. Reggae music asks the listener to reconsider our daily lives and to hear the cry of the sufferer, because so many people are suffering. The lyrics and music of Robert Nesta Marley gave reggae music international recognition. Bob was a charismatic performer who truly stands out as a prophet. There is clearly a prophetic overtone to his lyrics yet he was only given the prophetic status after he died. His lyrics operate on a deep level, yet they typically relate to everyday occurrences. Bob's music was and is a powerful force to ease the pain of life in the ghetto. He embodied a feeling of empowerment, and encourages all listeners to 'chant down Babylon'.
The term Ska is used to describe a style of Jamaican popular music between 1961 and 1965 as noted by Kenneth Golang, a traditional ska band consisted of piano, guitars, bass, drums, saxophone and brass.
I am not going to waste your time by writing exhaustively about how and where Reggae began for three reasons: 1) you definitely know; 2) you have read at least 25 papers before mine with explicit and redundant descriptions of the birth of Reggae; and 3) I don’t think that much else matters for the purpose of this paper besides the reason behind the formation of Reggae culture. Karl Marx once said, “Jamaican history is characteristic of the beastliness of the true Englishman,” which alone designates causation for a raging revolution. Jamaica was stolen, pillaged, exploited, cultivated, massacred, raped, and defecated on by the British empire. With its social darwinistic institutionalized racism ...
...which led to a huge milestone in their career. Bob Marley’s role model , Ernesto Che Guevara had a huge influence on Bob Marley’s outlook on life as well. “It seems like Marley accomplished through Art what Che Guevara tried to achieve through politics and force”. Marley saw Guevara as an inspiration to never give up. Although Coxson led the band to success they felt that this wasn’t enough. Marley and the ‘Wailers’ started their own music label , ‘Wail ‘n Soul’ . Bob Marley had left for Wilmington to earn money in order to support the band financially. The ‘Wailers’ were part of a religious sect Rastafarian which was apparent in their music. “Marley and the band wrote about how Africans have been suppressed by the oppression (downpression of the white race. This influence can be scene in lyrics of two of Marley's songs, Buffalo Soldier and Could You Be Loved.”
Wilson, Basil “The politics & culture of Reggae music” The Caribbean-American Magazine v. 24 N. 1 p. 25, 2/28/2000
Marley was born into Jamaica’s poverty and it is where he developed a strong love of reggae and became a Rastafari. Reggae, evolved from another musical style called Ska in the late 1960’s, is considered the voice of the ‘oppressed’ peoples. Many reggae lyrics are politicalised and centre on themes of freedom and fighting for it. (Cooper, 2014)
Music is “The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre” ( Farlex, Inc 2013). Caribbean music has its own unique history, is very diverse with each island having its own unique genre of music. With so many different types of music out there and different performing artists these artists are looking for ways to make money by becoming popular.
from the first and third beats of a piece of music, to the second and
The origins of reggae can be traced back to the late 1960s in Jamaica. The term reggae more properly denotes the musical style that evolved out of the earlier genres like Ska and Rocksteady. Larry And Alvin’s ‘Nanny Goat’ and the Beltones’ ‘No More Heartaches’
King, Stephen; Jensen, Richard,(1995) Bob Marley's "Redemption Song": The rhetoric of reggae and Rastafari Journal of Popular Culture 29.3