Magazine Interview with Bob Marley
20th April, 1976
Tuesday Magazine Interview with...
Bob Marley!
Robert Nesta Marley, one of the few major celebrities from a minority religious group, has now become the face of reggae music and of the Rastafarians. His style of African rock and reggae music appeals to everyone around the world, and he spreads awareness about his religion through his music. We at Tuesday Magazine sat down with Bob Marley this week and talked to him about about his religious movement and how he uses his music to relate to his community…
Could you give us some insight into the Rastafari beliefs?
“Being a Rasta means you know how to love, be in unity, spread peace and spiritual blessings. That’s the message that I deliver in most of my songs too. I sing for not just the Rastas, but for people of all nations, of all colors and all classes. Many people, when they think of Rastas, they only think of smoking ganja [weed]. Yeah, the herb is a sacred part of our religion, and those who accept herb, they accept Rastafari. But it's important to know that our religion is more than that. We believe in the beauty of natural things, we believe in unity, we believe in our messiah, Halie Selassie. ”
“Being a Rasta means you know how to love, be in unity, spread peace and spiritual blessings. That’s the message that I deliver in most of my songs too. I sing for not just the Rastas, but for people of all nations, of all colors and all classes. Many people, when they think of Rastas, they only think of smoking ganja [weed]. Yeah, the herb is a sacred part of our religion, and those who accept herb, they accept Rastafari. But it's important to know that our religion is more than that. We believe in the beauty of natural things, we believe in unity, we believe in our messiah, Halie Selassie. ”
Do you use your music to promote or spread awareness about your religion?
“The reggae music itself is part of our religious community, you know. I started off just making music for our community, to help and encourage each other. And one good thing about my music now is that since it is becoming worldwide, I can inform and spread awareness about our religion, and maybe people can even take in the good things from it into their lifestyles. In my songs, I support our religion itself, like the song 'Forever Loving Jah!' but I also make songs that reflect our values, such as 'One Love' and 'Positive Vibration'. Like I said, 'give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel all right'. I am proud to be teaching others about our beautiful religion."
One of the things that has made your music unique in the western world is your dialect when you sing. Could you give us some information about its origin and how it varies from standard English?
"Our way of dialect comes from Jamaican Creole. It came from English that African slaves spoke when they came to Jamaica. Us Rastafari took this way of speaking with pride and we added things to it, making a new dialect called Lyaric. One of the most important differences is the use of 'I'. We use 'I' instead of 'You' or 'We' because in our religion, I shows the connection between our people. 'You and I' is 'I and I' for us because we believe we are all equal under Jah [Halie Selassie]. Also, we use happier expressions when talking. If someone wants to say 'Dedicated' we would change it to 'livicated' to show liveliness. "
"Our way of dialect comes from Jamaican Creole. It came from English that African slaves spoke when they came to Jamaica. Us Rastafari took this way of speaking with pride and we added things to it, making a new dialect called Lyaric. One of the most important differences is the use of 'I'. We use 'I' instead of 'You' or 'We' because in our religion, I shows the connection between our people. 'You and I' is 'I and I' for us because we believe we are all equal under Jah [Halie Selassie]. Also, we use happier expressions when talking. If someone wants to say 'Dedicated' we would change it to 'livicated' to show liveliness. "
Do you think reggae music can be copied by someone who is not Jamaican?
"I feel you can.. but not completely, you know? Our music, reggae, is such a big part of our culture that it just flows in our blood, and so for others it can become very difficult creating it. Because with the song, there is a feel that is needed with it, and lots of great musicians know how important that is to have. Also when you really listen to it, reggae music tells you the truth about us Rastafari. So when you try to copy, you must be aware of many of these things, and be respectful about our culture."
Is the dreadlocks a part of your community?
"Yeah man. These dreadlocks are part of my identity, part of the Rastafari identity. One of our beliefs is to let our hair grow long and keep it natural, to relate to our African roots. It all comes down to respecting your body and believing in spirituality. When you can keep your hair like this, you are saying that you are not obsessed with your physical appearances and can turn your attention inside, into the spiritual world. One of my songs, Crazy Baldhead, is focused around hair. A 'baldhead' is an outsider in our community because they don't have the dreadlocks. In the song these outsiders are the white people coming to Jamaica, taking our things and looking down on us. Which is why in the song I say, 'Now you look me with that scorn, then you eat up all my corn'. So yeah, the dreadlocks also is meant to tell apart us from the rest and show our unity."
You often sing about political issues, like the song 'Get Up, Stand Up'. What inspires you to sing about these topics?
"I will sing about things if they seem unjust to me, I will stand up for my rights, and if I see oppression then I have to speak out against it, whether it is towards us Rastas or even Jamaicans or anyone else in the world. This belief is a part of our religion; that every man is equal and deserves respect and freedom. My songs on politics is not for popularity, but for human rights. In that song, I encourage others to actually 'Get up, stand up, stand up for your right,' and I talk about how our life is a blessing and everything has a worth in our life, especially our rights."
Sources:
"Yeah man. These dreadlocks are part of my identity, part of the Rastafari identity. One of our beliefs is to let our hair grow long and keep it natural, to relate to our African roots. It all comes down to respecting your body and believing in spirituality. When you can keep your hair like this, you are saying that you are not obsessed with your physical appearances and can turn your attention inside, into the spiritual world. One of my songs, Crazy Baldhead, is focused around hair. A 'baldhead' is an outsider in our community because they don't have the dreadlocks. In the song these outsiders are the white people coming to Jamaica, taking our things and looking down on us. Which is why in the song I say, 'Now you look me with that scorn, then you eat up all my corn'. So yeah, the dreadlocks also is meant to tell apart us from the rest and show our unity."
You often sing about political issues, like the song 'Get Up, Stand Up'. What inspires you to sing about these topics?
"I will sing about things if they seem unjust to me, I will stand up for my rights, and if I see oppression then I have to speak out against it, whether it is towards us Rastas or even Jamaicans or anyone else in the world. This belief is a part of our religion; that every man is equal and deserves respect and freedom. My songs on politics is not for popularity, but for human rights. In that song, I encourage others to actually 'Get up, stand up, stand up for your right,' and I talk about how our life is a blessing and everything has a worth in our life, especially our rights."
Sources:
http://www.jamaicanrastafarianlove.com/rasta-marley-reggae-music-the-fame-of-bob-marley/
http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6465429/bob-marley-birthday-70-protest-songs
https://listverse.com/2014/01/06/10-things-to-know-about-rastafari-beliefs/
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/bobmarley/foreverlovingjah.html
https://genius.com/1141380
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