Bob Marley, his original name was Robert Nesta Markey, was a songwriter and singer born in Jamaica. He was born on February 6, 1945 and is considered one of the pioneers of the reggae industry. His career as a musician has been marked by a blend of rocksteady, ska and reggae (Onyebadi, 2017). Bob Marley mainly applied distinctive and fluid styles in songwriting and vocals. He was a global ambassador for reggae, an opportunity that saw him produce and sell over twenty million records throughout his musical career. This record has led him to the position of the most influential and international superstar ever to emerge in the third world. He met his death in 1981, on May 11, while in Miami, Florida (Dunkley & Shonekan, 2018). Reggae music includes songs sung mostly by Rastafarians who usually sing about normal events regarding politics, social issues, love and religion. The music is often accompanied by popular instruments such as the trombone, saxophone, trumpets, guitar and drums. Bob was the son of a white father and a black mother and spent most of his years in St. Ann Parish. He struggled with poverty while in Trench Town, Kingston, a situation that attracted his admiration and love for reggae music. He met many friends who introduced him to music, including Joe Higgs, Peter Tosh and The Wailers. One of the albums he produced with the Wailers is The Wailing Wailers created in 1965 (Bannister, 2019). The album focuses on a single love and brings people together behind a united struggle. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Most of Bob Marley's songs were inspirational, revolutionary, and hope-oriented. In one of his popular songs, "People Get Ready", he expressed the idea of unity. The use of words such as “One goal, one God, and one destiny” reflects the words of Garvey who called on people to maintain peace and also live in harmony (Onyebadi, 2017). This song asks people to express love for each other and help others in times of difficulty as they are one. From the song, Have mercy on those whose possibilities are diminishing.' In the lyrics, Bob Marley asks people to help others since God is one and everything that people accomplish should generate love, care and kindness. “No woman no cry” has a message of love, compassion and respect for all mothers, sisters and wives. The song acknowledges the kind of pain the mother goes through based on her true story while living in Trench Town. In this song, Bob sings, "in this future, and you can't forget the past, so dry your tears, I tell you, No woman, don't cry, little darling." Bob was referring to the hard life and hypocrisy of government officials who forced mothers to work hard. He uses harsh words in this song to warn people who make the lives of mothers and children difficult and who go against what they promise. Buffalo Soldier is another Bob song that shows the revolution for humanity. Because he is a Rastafari, he compares himself to the 10th Calvary of the US Army who fought in the Civil War alongside the Union Army (Onyebadi, 2017). Because he has dreadlocks, he identifies with the other Buffalo Soldiers who helped the Americans win the war. He calls on Africans to be like the buffalo themselves for their courage and determination to end the colonial yoke of oppression. He said he was "already fighting on arrival to survive." This means that black people had to rise up and defend their status, dignity and freedom. Finally, Redemption Song invites listeners to redeem themselves from slaverymental. He sang the song after he was diagnosed with cancer. He said that “No one but ourselves can free our minds” (Bannister, 2019). This means that while humanity can liberate its body, the mind is the sovereign and sole ruler of happiness. He calls on people to realize that they are destined to be slaves to men who know how to use their brains. Bob's mother, Cedella Marley, was 18 when she gave birth to him. The rural community of Nine Miles shaped Bob Marley's life, especially on the grounds of St Ann, which is home to many cultural norms and customs for residents. Bob's father was Norval, and Captain Marley's family vehemently opposed his marriage to Cedella. Bob first saw his father at the age of five, who at that point was brought to Kingston to tell his nephew where he had begun his education, but was later called back by his mother. Bob grew up under the mixed heritage of a black mother and a white father. His father, however, was not very involved in Bob's life, but supported the family and died when Bob was ten years old. Poverty proved too much for Bob to drop out of school and pursue a music career. Around this time he met a friend, Bunny Wailer, who supported his dreams and together they formed the album "The Wailers" in 1973. The Wailers were later signed to Chris Blackwell's Island Label who later released two career-shaping albums Bob's musical. . He became a global brand, especially when Eric Clapton recorded for him a cover of his best song of the time, "I Shot the Sheriff". Furthermore, in 1976, Marley became a very well-known reggae artist in the United States when his "Rastaman Vibrations" placed eighth in the top two hundred Billboard charts. His album, Exodus, also became the best-selling of the 20th century, as reported by Time Magazine (Alleyne, 2019). In terms of the political climate, the 1970s were a critical time in Jamaica's politics. The period between the 1970s and 1980s was a time of political tension and uncertainty which saw a brutal war between two parties and the killing of many Jamaicans. Bob has always been involved in peace concerts and gave comforting lyrics to his fellow countrymen and women. The continuing changes in the political climate in Jamaica between Marshall and Massop saw Bob organize various protests and peaceful events to mobilize the country for peace (Bannister, 2019). He managed to rally the Prime Minister of the time, Manley Michael and his opponent, Seaga Edward. Bob's albums were produced at different times with different meanings. 1973's "Catch the Fire" was introduced at a time when reggae was gaining traction. Being his first album he supervises. The literary term means to burn in hell. It was a hit album produced when Bob was living a life of misery and poverty. It conveys his negative perception of oppression and slavery. In the same year, Bob also produced another album called "Burnin". The most famous song from this album was "I shot the sheriff", which made the album a success. The songs in the album have given the country a great concern in social and economic matters (Cooper,2015). During this time, Kingston had a rural economy, and the influx of people due to the mail caused an economic and social imbalance. Most cities had become ghettos with absolute poverty and suffering. This hostile environment was the basis of most of the songs on this album, in which Bob Marley conveyed a message of hope and campaigned against harassment of ghetto families. Natty Dread is considered one of the best albums produced by Bob Marley. Contains one of the greatest songshit, "No Woman No Cry", which describes the poor life of Jamaica and the need to stand up to defend one's dignity. The album portrays a life full of hope and optimism in the face of challenges, encouraging his peers to help each other. The other album that was successful is "Confrontation", which mainly revisited the themes of oppression and unity. The album is about the life and teachings of Jah Almighty and how Jamaicans should have hope in their destiny and future. The album contains the most famous “Buffalo Soldier”, famous for addressing the determination and plight of black people (Onyebadi, 2017). Exodus is also a significant masterpiece that reflects on Bob Marley's life after he was attacked in Jamaica and was exiled to London. The album towers over the political intolerance of authority that encourages people not to fear. Bob Marley equally applies various stylistic techniques to convey his message. First, in Redemption, he uses images to make people understand the need to emancipate themselves from slavery to achieve freedom. He says that being free from the colonial mind will make the black person free and productive. Furthermore, Bob Marley uses all kinds of musical elements in his songs, such as mento, rhythm and blues. His songs mainly use mento, that is, songs sung in celebratory tones and hymns like those used in church (Onyebadi, 2017). Furthermore, one of the main aspects recognized in Bob's reggae are unusual rhythms such as "No woman no Cry". In 1978, Bob Marley also produced another album called survival. The album was produced together with the Wailers soon after 1979. The album contains songs that contain a relaxed and relaxed sound. The album contains a message of hope and unity among those who suffer. He calls on Africans to unite and emerge from the slavery of Babylon. For example, he states that “Africa unites because we are coming out of Babylon (Dunkley & Shonekan, 2018). This message signals the need for Africans to revolutionize and unite to defeat the enemy of oppression and suffering. In this album, Marley also appreciates African values and their role in shaping their history. Thus, Bob Marley is teaching blacks to distrust harsh social elements and fight for their freedom and emancipation. To further illustrate his 1979 burning album, Bob used the album to describe the oppression and mistreatment at the hands of the dictatorship. He says that 'This morning I woke up during the curfew, oh God, I was a prisoner too - yes! This means that the album aimed to awaken black people from being undermined by unknown people. In this album, Bob describes the need for Africans to rise up and face the men who wear brutal uniforms (apparently police officers). The message in the album is so strong and subtle as it calls on victims of oppression not to be vulnerable to the forces of brutality. The style in Bob Marley's songs is stylistically played using various voices, keyboards, bass, guitars and drums. . One of his best songs, like Buffalo Soldier, has many musical arrangements. The song also has various guitar work, but commonly there is the continued use of scratchy rhythms. He usually uses percussion instruments such as maracas, snare drum and washboard. While listening to his album, Exodus, he uses many guitars that provide single note, low melody lines that clearly correspond to the bass line. On stage in Pittsburgh in 1980, Bob Marley was already dying as he had developed malignant melanoma, which was incurable (Matnei et al. 2017). He was diagnosed with cancer a long time ago and had no time to live. However, in recent years, he had set a record in the spread of reggae music., 52(1), 56-79.
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