Download Bob Marley: The Life and Legacy of Reggae's Global Icon AudioBook Free
"We don't have education, we have inspiration; if I was educated I would be considered a damn fool." (Bob Marley) "If there remains any magic, it is music." (Bob Marley) In terms of raw recognition, Bob Marley sold over 20 million albums in a brief career that got him around the globe as, "[T]he first international superstar from the so-called third world", however the voyage from anonymity within his own culture to reigning as, "[T]he defining figure of Jamaican music" was a circuitous and dangerous one. After giving home at age 14, Marley's avenue skills helped him, "[G]ain a foothold in Jamaica's chaotic music industry while skillfully navigating politically partisan violence that abounded in Kingston through the 70s." His exaltation of the reggae form, couched in the Rastafari, became a musical instrument of order and a haven for often directionless youth in Kingston and other communities of Jamaica. Beginning with a lot more lighthearted ska style, Marley drew fellow Jamaicans as kindred spirits with the addition of communal commentary to the lyrics. As these popular dance strikes were infused with melodies of faith, the weightier genre of reggae surfaced. Marley would become, "[O]ne of the genre's most favorite artists." Towards the outer world, he's by far the most iconic individual associated with the form and the time. As the just distractive components of ska fell away, "[I]nto the slower, bass-heavy reggae sound", the associated depth of his communication lifted him above being a mere entertainer, and his fellow Jamaican youth turned to him for communal truths.
