Art and politics are often intertwined. Latest example of politically active music is heated controversy around M.I.A.’s latest video Borders. Still, even when art is not explicit and robust in its statement against current status quo, it is almost always somehow a reaction to the time and space the artist lives in. This takes us to the greatest artist of our time.
Bob Marley was a hero in a classic mythological way. His departure from this world happened when his vision of One World, One Love, inspired by Rastafarianism, started inspiring the whole universe. Island Jamaica crated an artist who transcended all the categories, classes, confessions through combination of modesty and wisdom. Natural mystic, the biggest son of Jamaica and probably the biggest star ever that came from the Third World, represents metaphysical and artistic epiphany of resistance against political repression.
When Bob formed The Wailers in 1965, he said it was because the kids are crying and screaming when they are asking for justice. Songs like Put It On, in which Wailers thank God, unite religion, romance, sex and revolution without any exaggeration. Wailers were reading Bible, newspapers, they have watched BBC and put everything in their philosophy, congruent to the space and time they were living in. Mission was to explain political situation to the people who don’t understand why the world looks the way it does.
‘’The day when you stop chasing is the day when you won the race’’
‘’Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery. No one except ourselves can free our minds’’
The protest came from the music. It could be heard what people want by listening to what Marley was singing about. Politics and music are inseparable, they both send a message. Bob Marley had a street reputation and credibility that all political leaders missed while being obsessed with power relations. Marley’s music spoke about the suffering of both white and black people. He asked questions such as why did God create a human being.
‘’Who are you to judge about life that I am living? I know that I am not perfect and I don’t live to be perfect. Before you point finger at someone else, make sure your hands are clean’’
During the two years he spent in England, Marley gained a more global perspective. In that period, he was in relationship with Miss Of The World and dedicated the most beautiful songs from Exodus to her. Time magazine claimed Exodus as the greatest album of all time. It was a global demand for peace, love and human rights. His curls represented his freedom. Unfortunately, he died without them.
‘’Live for yourself and you will live for nothing. Live for others and you will live again’’
