On Friday, May 10th I met a very smart guy whose name I forgot to take note of. We immediately clicked and he told me something that stuck with me that day and got me thinking for the better part of the night and throughout the next days till when I decided to write this article. He said “Massa look all these great people them weyy don change game for any sphere of music, look if they di ever live long”, he then went on to quote men like Fela Kuti of Nigeria, Michael Jackson of the USA, Da Green of Nigeria, Doug Saga of Cote D’Ivoire and finally Bob Marley of Jamaica.
The 11th of May is set aside as Bob Marley day. On this day, people all over the world who fell for the reggae style and sound initiated and showcased by Bob come together to commemorate his very short life. And Cameroon wasn’t left out of this celebration. The grain de locs festival at Stade CICAM, Douala was one in many of the events organized nationwide to commemorate this day.
I attended this festival and when I got there, I felt a little out of place as almost everyone was dressed in some Bob Marley t-shirt or some Jamaican flag-coloured cloth. The whole placed looked like a Bob Marley church and I immediately started to wonder why people will be worshipping this guy.
I did some research and I came to understand that Robert Nesta Marley is the man responsible for what is known today to most of us as reggae music. With his band The Wailers, Bob Marley changed the way people looked at Jamaican music, giving it worldwide exposure and acclamation with titles like; “One Love”, “Redemption Song” and "no woman no cry". These songs set the pace for what reggae music sounds like today. It was, therefore, no surprise to me when the crowd at Stade CICAM got all emotional as these songs were performed live at the grain de locs festival. From what I saw there, I can say with no fear of contradiction that Bob Marley made timeless music which grew into a whole movement and because of that, his legacy will always live on!
Another thing that struck me as I decided to look into the person of Bob Marley was the strength of the message his music carried. Reggae music isn’t only about the instruments but it comes with a mantra of mental emancipation. This mantra was stated clearly by Bob Marley in the world famous “Redemption[MT1] Song”. “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, no one but ourselves can free our minds”.
Well, whatever Bob was taking, but if it is that thing that permitted him to see such things and so them in his music, then it was definitely the good stuff, With that statement, Bob Marley made it clear what it will take for Africa and any other oppressed population to grow. He pointed out a truth, which will never be refuted, If Africa in general and Cameroon, in particular, is in bondage, it is because the majority of our population is still subject to mental slavery and the only persons who can show us the light is ourselves.
Bob Marley was also a deeply spiritual man. He was honoured and respected in the Rastafari community and his music soon became a channel through which the Rastafari message was preached. One of the Rastafari practices that has been largely exported to every part of the earth is the smoking of marijuana, otherwise known as “ganja” among the Rastafarians( followers of the Rastafari faith). They believed that smoking marijuana helped them to go into deeper meditation and Bob Marley shared this belief.
Everything about Bob Marley came out as new and exciting. He wasn’t the first to have dreadlocks or to dress in green, red, gold and black, but he is the only reason why you see many persons in Cameroon and all over the world who have nothing to do with Jamaica do so. Bob Marley by his music, lifestyle, and philosophies opened the eyes of many persons to the importance of spiritually in self-emancipation. He was a Pan-Africanists who believed that all persons of Black flesh were one and in many ways had more potential than they were made to believe.
Bob Marley is dead, he has been dead for 38 years, that is longer than his life. Yet, Bob Marley is still in the hearts of many, his music still makes people burst into tears and the impact of his philosophies is still being felt everywhere in the world. He can also be credited for the popularity of reggae in the world. He exported the music with a whole dress code and kind of language attached to it. The guitar carrying guy with seemingly unkempt dreadlocks born in his grandfather’s farm in Nine Mile, St Ann Parish. Jamaica lived a very short life. Short but meaningful filled with impact and responsible for exporting Rastafari culture and practices to the ends of the earth and so uniquely through his music.
It is important for each of us to ask ourselves what we will leave behind as legacy when we bow out of this life for good. What would our lives have meant to the persons around us? What contributions would we have brought to this earth? These are the meaningful questions that should guide our daily activities and oversee our interactions with each other. I still don’t understand even now why the good ones seem to always go earlier. But then I begin to wonder if very long life is even of any importance. But what I know is that none of us is too young to make a difference and that a real difference in this world will never grow old and thus will never know death!
Long Live Robert Nesta Marley today and forever!
Emmanuel Asafor