Staffrider Vol.3 No.4 Dec-Jan 1980 - DISA

• Bob Marley is theblack prince of reggae.He is a third worldspokesman expressingthe suffering and defianceof black people through theseductive rhythms of reggae. 'Garvey. According to Garvey, the whitepeople have their own white gods. 'Wenegroes believe in the God of Ethiopia.'Rastafarians are essentially peaceloving,they don't eat meat or drinkalcohol. They grow their hair intodreadlocks following the instructions ofthe Old Testament. Locksmen are thewarriors of Ethiopia. A central elementin their spiritual belief and ritual is theingestion of ganja. The most importantexponents of reggae music are Rastafarians.The ex-Prime Minister of Jamaica,Michael Manley, says of Rastafarians:*Look around you and see what colonialismhas done to a displaced people.Man has a deep need for a religiousconviction and Rasta resolves thecontradictions of a white man's God ina colonial society. They're a verybeautiful and remarkable people.'Bob Marley is the black prince ofBob Marley at Rufaro, Zimbabwe Independence Celebrations, photo, Paul Weinbergreggae. He is a Rastafarian, prophet of anation, and inspiration to musicians allover the world. Bob is a third worldspokesman expressing the suffering anddefiance of black people through theseductive rhythms of reggae. His songsare anthems of violence and love,repression and liberation.Emancipate yourselves from mentalslaverynone but ourselves can free our mindshave no fear for atomic energy'cause none of them can stop the timeHow long shall they kill our prophetsWhile we stand, aside and lookSome say it's just a part of itWe 've got to fulfill the bookWon't you help to singThese songs of freedom'cause all I ever heardRedemption songsRedemption songs . . .— Bob MarleyMarley grew up in a ghetto so heknows about poverty and the law of therazor. He was paid a total of £60 for hisfirst six singles. When British musicianEric Clapton recorded 'I Shot TheSherriff it became an international hitand Bob Marley became a householdword from New York to Salisbury. Bythis time though he was already a legendin Jamaica. ('I Shot The Sherriff wasoriginally entitled 'I Shot The Police'but was changed to keep Bob out oftrouble in Jamaica).In 1976 Manley's socialist governmentcalled a general election and Marleyagreed to appear at a mass rally insupport. But three days before the rallytwo limousines pulled in to a bandpractice session and sprayed the entireMarley clan with machine-gun fire. Bobwas hit in the arm and chest. A bulletglanced off his wife's head. Bob'smanager, Don Taylor, took five bulletsin the groin. Miraculously, no one waskilled. The band performed at the rallythree days later, some of them inbandages, and Manley was elected.In 1980, reggae returned to Africa47