By Odeisel

At a time when musicians seem to stand for nothing unless they can get face time on a telethon or if everyone one else is behind something, it is extremely important that we remember and honor those that stood firm in the face of scrutiny for ideals that they believed in. In honor of what would have been his 65^th birthday and in honor of Black History Month, Planet Ill celebrates the life and legacy of Robert Nesta Marley.

Born of mixed heritage on the island of Jamaica, Marley would learn firsthand how cruel people can be when you are different, getting ridicule for being half Black from one side and half white from the other. Those fires forged a man of fortitude with the ability to look within for the strength to persevere.  You can read his biography anywhere on the web. But here is where we let you know what it really means to be about something.

Jamaica is a country where opposing political fractions don’t fight with words and legislation.  They fight with bullets. Following it’s separation from England, the country’s political parties have constantly warred for supremacy; often erupting in violence that wrought terror in the streets. Then Prime Minister Michael Manley had organized the Smile Day concert with the express purpose of creating peace between the political parties and curbing the violence. While some were concerned that it was a political move on Manley’s end, Marley and his band agreed to do the concert. It almost cost him his life.

While rehearsing in his home for the impending show, unidentified gunmen drove up and fired shots glancing his wife Rita in the head, hitting his manager Don Taylor several times, and hitting Bob himself in the chest and elbows with flesh wounds. Doctors advised Marley that the removal of that bullet would have caused paralysis in his arm so he left it in and actually performed at the concert two days later. It’s a story that would make the biggest Tupac fans tip their hat to him.  When asked why he performed under such tumult, Marley answered, “The people who are trying to make this world worse aren’t taking a day off. How can I?” Without most of his Wailers, who went into hiding, following the assault, Marley performed in front of over 80,000 Jamaicans.

The quest for peace and his unflinching desire to reach for the best in humanity reflected in his lyrics lift artists like Bob Marley higher than “musician.” The words push past your moving ass and hit you straight in the heart. Third world poverty and oppression by Western powers was something he could not stand silent against, and while perhaps that situation has not changed, Bob Marley stood firm and was counted. How many artists today would have the temerity…unless of course they saw everyone else do it.

Events like the Haiti earthquake and the Katrina floods almost force people into action in a musical chairs rush to be counted as one who added to the cause. But behind catastrophe is the abject poverty despair, economic disparity and literacy issues that plagued these places long before disaster. Artists and true legends like Bob Marley never needed earthquakes to unearth the tragedy of human condition.

Below are Planet Ill exclusive photos of Bob Marley’s home, which is now a Jamaican Protected National Heritage Site. Now enclosed, towards the side of the home is where gunmen advanced on Marley and his friends. They have never been found.

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