Happy 70th Birthday to the legendary King Bob Marley
- Thread starter Abdi
- Start date
one of the greatest artists of all time
Krazy
Rifle weh taller dan palm tree
And its still is perplexing WHY HAVENT BLACK AMERICANS EMBRACED CARRIBEAN MUSIC MORE if we all SUFFER THE,SAME,ISSUES AS BLACK FOLKS???
agreed with the entire post, but especially this. i'm also from a carribean/black american heritage so i've seen both sides of the coin. to be honest i think black americans have a difficult time connecting with those from other countries and cultures. even within the states, black people from different regions have challenges finding common ground. i think part of it because there is no strong unifying cultural heritage so when people from different countries come through with very strong cultural heritage and beliefs it can be difficult to connect/relate. it's also a two way street though, my caribbean family has said and done some things that weren't always positive towards black americans.
in the musical sense the challenges with bob marley gaining more acceptance/approval with black americans came from a few angles. motown was really heavy at the time and the industry was changing. there just wasn't a lot of room for outside talent. ability to relate was a challenge...the stigmatism of rastafarianism...since most black people had no clue what that really meant, but they associated it with weed and a weird spirituality. keep in mind most black americans are christians. language barrier was another. even though bob didn't sing in really heavy patios he still had enough of a heavy accent to make it a challenge for people to understand. the artist of the time were welcoming enough, but the industry had enough to deal with just trying to grow and maintain. bob was really a niche player on the scene.
all that said, it was only matter of time before he started getting the recognition he deserved...outside of the hippies and college weedheads who just like the vibes. dude was a musical genius and a pioneer who used his music to create political and social awareness/involvement.
....damn just realized that's a wall of text...lol
Mortal1
Superstar
There was a period in my life when I really concerned him my overall GOAT dude album has some masterpieces Catch A Fire, Exodus and Uprising are some my favorite albums of all time.
RIP to the GOAT
RIP to the GOAT
sdizzle
Pro
Happy Birthday Bob! 
kingest_kong
Pro
One of my fav songs ever
"...but my hand was made strong, by the hands of the almighty, we forward in this generation, triumphantly"
Interpretation of richness gem!
Happy birthday to the GOAT
True Legend, blessed us with classic music
Give thanks for the King of Reggae, blessed earthstrong.
An interview with Bob and Jacob Miller from 1980. this is for people who think Bob was soft
I bet most people never heard him swear
Bob used to kick ass in his young days. They used to call him Tuff gong cause of that. He called his label after that.
He really died to young. Apart from the great music he made, the man was full of knowlegde and wisdoms.
I love Latina women
Veteran
happy birthday bob 
When you lusten to artist like bob marley and peter tosh you realize BlackMusic nowadays has no feeling, no purpose
They had black uplifting songs that today's audience lack. The deity known as Bob Marley had black people of the Caribbean filled with black pride.
Happy Birthday to Robert Nesta Marley who influences talented artists of today.
Your just saying something that is NOT TRUE...
And this is coming from myself being the son of a Carribean mother and Black American father...
It was a CULTURAL CONFLICT between black americans and Carribean folk i.e (jamaicans...trinidadians. ..and all west indians) during the 70s
I remember as an,old head Black Americans calling yardies Derogotory names like BANANA BOAT N1GGAS..COCONUT HEAD
and black women didnt like dudes with dreads cause they thought they were NASTY DIRTY
THIS IS REAL TALK...IVE WITNESSED AND EXPERIENCED THIS SHYT!
back to the subject...
Bob Marley and Island Records constantly tried to make inroads into the black media and to no avail was unsuccesful at every front Audio...Print...and Visual....
BOB MARLEY WAS NEVER ON SOUL TRAIN!!!!
Thats because at that the time BLACK AMERICANS didnt quite grasp west indian culture moreso the militant rasta themes that BOB MARLEY and PETER TOSH were bringing. .
While Bob and Peter and the rastas was talking Get up stand up and fiyah pon babylon (the establishment)
Most black americans was assimilating into middle class life following the civil rights era of the 60s
This politicaly charged music DIDNT appeal to the black audience of America who felt in the words of the Jeffersons "MOVING ON UP" So to speak
Thats why Bob Marley anti materalsim themes appealled more to the rebellious hippie like college kids who were into antiestablishment music like Rock.
And Bob had a problem with that as displayed in that autobio CATCH A FIRE where he was inviteted to perform in Madison Garden NYC by a group of investors which included the owners of urban megastation WBLS fm the first home of hip hop on Commercial Radio
Bob was receptive to performing but couldnt help but Ask the station owner why WASNT HIS MUSIC BEING PLAYED ON WBLS format???
The owner whom was an african american business by the name of Percy Sutton couldnt Answer the question....
And its still is perplexing WHY HAVENT BLACK AMERICANS EMBRACED CARRIBEAN MUSIC MORE if we all SUFFER THE,SAME,ISSUES AS BLACK FOLKS???
AT the same time, what islanders were bumping and embracing Fela Kuti, whos message was 10x more militant than a watered down Bob Marley!!!