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Bob Marley: One Love – The Movie. The Man. The Music. The Message.

M. Peggy Quattro 5 Comments
From 1976 – 1978 * Almost Killed to Life in Exile to Movement of Jah People

By M. Peggy Quattro

Opinion

Like millions around the globe, I eagerly awaited the debut of the Bob Marley: One Love movie. Paramount Pictures took it on! A 70++ million-dollar budget! Wow! Reggae gone Hollywood! Yet, as intriguing and well-put-together as the movie trailers appeared, many fans were left wondering … Wait! What?

I’ve watched One Love four times. Four times! Each time noticing something new, something not true, a disjointed timeline, events that never happened. Judging by the barrage of questioning comments on social, I know I’m not alone. From 1976 to 1978, we’re immersed in Bob’s Hollywood story world. Locations with stories created by screenwriters and coached by the Family.

Bob Marley

Understood, it is not a documentary. On the flip side, it’s a biopic. Claimed to be “based on a true story,” the biopic offers a creative version of a person’s life. An emotional and entertaining portrayal to hopefully engage audiences. Here, there are soppy scenes with mother, father, teen Bob, and Rita, of course.

So Bob Seh: “You should know and not believe”

This movie left me feeling Bob never got the profound radical story he deserved. Perhaps when interpreting a deceased icon’s life, the storyteller should not fabricate stories because they don’t like or don’t accept the truth of that life. Truths should not switch to untruths when it suits the situation.

I get a bit ruffled when I see One Love tagged as a “biography.” It isn’t. A decent biography will contain only facts and tell how the person really was. This story does not do that. Bob Marley fans do not want to see their musical messenger, their Rasta rebel, be made lesser than or greater than he truthfully was. I don’t feel Bob would either. Bob’s life is the story. Sometimes truth is better than fiction. His fans deserve to know what’s fiction and be made aware of it outside the theater.

I’ve seen on social that folks look forward to this review. Jah know, some will like it, some will not. Nuh mattah. I’m a long-time insider and a major Bob disciple.

Continue reading Bob Marley: One Love – The Movie. The Man. The Music. The Message. →
ReggaeReport.com Exclusives!

GANJA REGGAE of the 70s, 80s, & 90s for 420

M. Peggy Quattro

GANJA REGGAE of the 70s, 80s & 90s 
20 of the Best for 4/20

Okay, let’s be blunt. The celebration of 4/20 has a long and storied history. It apparently took 20+ years for the original “4:20 dudes” to be given credit for their undeniable contribution to the  “day of marijuana” title and tale.

A northern California group of friends—known as the Waldos—would gather at 4:20 p.m. to smoke a “doobie” next to a wall on their high school campus. They’d whisper 420 to each other as the Waldo’s secret code for marijuana. That catchy number was picked up years later by the Grateful Dead and High Times magazine and 4/20 was soon catapulted into the stratosphere, thus becoming the global code for “let’s smoke a doobie” day.

Jamaican artists were always on board with smoking a doobie, or, as they called it, a spliff. There have been hundreds ‘pon hundreds of “ganja” tunes recorded since the 60s. The Rastas, in particular, have been growing and smoking ganja before those Cali teens were out of diapers. 

Rastas have long preached of “herb” being “the healing of the nation.” And now, with medical marijuana stores, cafés, and products sprouting up around the world, it seems that, hell yeah, they are right. Big up, our number one cannabis crusader Peter “Legalize It” Tosh! Boom!

Maybe you “want to have Kaya now”? And you’re here to listen to some of the best-of-the-best Ganja Reggae songs. So, in honor of 4/20, we’re offering 20 of the best Ganja Reggae songs for your smoking pleasure. This hand-selected roster of your favorite singers, groups & DJs covers the 70s, 80s & 90s eras of Reggae music. So, “light up your spliff…light up your chalice” and enjoy the ride!

 

 

 

 


Click here for some fun 420 Did U Knows! 

Song Title Artist Year
Legalize It Peter Tosh 1975
Tired Fe Lick Weed a Bush Jacob Miller 1975
Free Up the Weed Lee “Scratch” Perry 1978
Kaya Bob Marley 1978
International Herb Culture 1979
Gi Mi Di Weed Jigsy King 1980
Marijuana Johnny Osbourne 1980
Sinsimilla Black Uhuru 1980
Pass the Kouchie Mighty Diamonds 1981
100 Lbs of Collie Cornel Campbell 1982
Pass the Dutchie Musical Youth 1982
Sensee Party Eek-a-Mouse 1982
Police in Helicopter John Holt 1983
Herbman Hustling Sugar Minott 1984
Pass the Kushumpeng Frankie Paul 1984
Under Mi Sensi Barrington Levy 1985
Under Mi Sleng Teng Wayne Smith 1985
The Herb Tony Rebel 1988
Sensimilla Sugar Minott 1990
Jamaican Collie Charlie Chaplin 1991
One Draw Rita Marley 1993
Bob Marley, ReggaeReport.com Exclusives!

Reggae Artists Remember Bob Marley from 1984

M. Peggy Quattro 1 Comment

In 1984, we asked performers & personalities this same question:

What Was the One Thing That Impressed You the Most About Bob Marley?

Here’s what they said, as seen in V2#5 1984:

“…Bob’s very great…his music is different from all the rest of Reggae musicians…and well put together.” ~Ansell Collins

“…it’s just him…just the man, really… you know, the man.”  ~Beres Hammond

“…a hard-workin’ man, him work for what him have in life, really…and he’s a good singer and good writer, and I respect everything him done…him pave the way for every other artist in Jamaica.”  ~Gregory Isaacs

“…his talent… for me, it was his talent.” ~Jimmy Cliff

“..Bob was a great man…he appreciated people and they related to him…he was a champion of the people…a selfless person…he cared on an international scale for the poor, black and suffering…this was the essence of Bob.”  ~Cindy Breakspeare, Miss World 1976

“… a cool runnings man… just cool…that was one of the things I admired.”  ~Lloyd Parkes, bandleader

“…it’s his range…on one hand it was religion, on the other hand, he was a lover… you know, one has a heavy message, the other you could dance to…” ~Perry Henzell, writer/director The Harder They Come

“…he showed people how to move from poverty to riches… (as in) how to move from Babylon to the Promised Land…”   ~Tony King, Jamaica Tourist Board, Kingston

“…it’s how he was a leader…he had a platform and he stood strong…(and) he allowed me to be creative.”  ~Donald Kinsey, guitarist

“…his song “Smile Jamaica” for personal inspiration…(because) I smile a lot!”  ~Andrew Henry, Kingston Publishers

What impressed you the most? Tell us in the comments below!

 

ReggaeReport.com Exclusives!

420 Day DID U KNOWS…

M. Peggy Quattro

DID U KNOW:

Definitions and meanings:

  • The word “ganja” came from India, referring specifically to the buds of the flower…  
  • Sinsemilla originates from the Spanish words “sin” (meaning “without”) and “semilla” (meaning “seed”) to literally mean “without seeds”…
  • THC is the psychoactive agent in cannabis that gets you high…
  • CBD is the non-psychoactive part of cannabis noted for its medicinal properties…
  • Sleng Teng (a slim spliff) is the name given to one of the first computerized riddims created by Wayne Smith & Noel Davey on a Casio keyboard & released as “Under Mi Sleng Teng” in 1984…
  • The term 420 was begun in the late 70s by four NoCal high school stoners who would link up at 4:20 p.m. to smoke a doobie by a campus wall…
  • Different names for cannabis are weed, ganja, grass, mary jane, MJ, kush, spliff, pot, chronic, herb, kaya, tea, skunk, dagga, collie, to name a few…

Continue reading 420 Day DID U KNOWS… →

Garnet Silk, Interviews, Legends & Singers - All, Read by Volume/Issue/Year, Read the Music! Magazine Articles & More! - All, Vol 12-1994

Garnet Silk – An Interview at his Kingston Home 1994 

M. Peggy Quattro 1 Comment

This interview was held on January 13, 1994, at Garnet’s Kingston home. The visit was as warm and memorable as the 27-year-old singer himself. Tragically, by year’s end, Garnet perished in a fire alongside his mother at his childhood home. I cherish my time spent with this humble, delightful, kind human being who possessed childlike joy and a smile that touched everyone he met. Rest in power, dear soul…your music, message and memory live on.   ~M. Peggy Quattro

Garnet Silk – A Son of Ethiopia

By M. Peggy Quattro      V12#2 1994
Words in double brackets [[ ]] signify updated 2020 material ~MPQ

Garnet Silk at Home, Kingston 1994The highly anticipated return of Garnet Silk to the performing stage was purposefully planned to coincide with the birthday celebration of his good friend, DJ Tony Rebel. On January 15, 1994, Rebel Salute was staged in the cool and lovely city of Mandeville, situated in their home parish of Manchester, Jamaica.

In July 1993, following his doctor’s orders, the popular singer/songwriter took a needed hiatus from his rigorous performing and recording schedule. The reason given: exhaustion. [more later in this interview]

The Early Days

Garnet Silk exploded on the Jamaican music scene in 1991 and soon became the most in-demand performer on the island. A steady stream of shows and performances, tours and recordings throughout ‘92 and most of ‘93 took its toll on the performer. To begin the new year, and a new era in his dazzling career, Garnet Silk appears rested and ready to resume his appointed rule as musical message giver.

Garnet Silk
Garnet with photo of HIM Haile Selassie, his inspiration for life

Every song released by Silk in the last two years has attracted rave reviews and considerable airplay in Jamaica and abroad. His unique vocal styling and charismatic presentations have him marked by music industry personnel and fans alike as the “next Bob Marley.”

At Garnet’s Kingston Home

I recently had the pleasure of visiting and interviewing the serious yet mild-mannered Silk during rehearsals and preparation for his triumphant comeback performance at Rebel Salute. This interview is part of the comeback. Continue reading Garnet Silk – An Interview at his Kingston Home 1994  →

Legends & Singers - All, USA Reggae

Toots & the Maytals Awarded Reggae Grammy Posthumously

M. Peggy Quattro

THE TOUGHEST

By Kevin Jackson, Jamaica Observer

Second Grammy win for Toots and The MaytalBy Kevin Jackson, Jamaica ObsERVER

Toots RIP by Lee Abel

March 15, 2021 – Singer Leba Hibbert is overjoyed that Got to Be Tough, the last studio album released by Toots and The Maytals, won the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album yesterday.

The event was held virtually at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The band’s leader was her father, Toots Hibbert, who died last September due to complications from COVID-19.

“This is so bittersweet. He died and didn’t get to accept the award himself. However, we are celebrating his win and we are grateful,” Hibbert, who also provided back-up duties for her father, told the Jamaica Observer shortly after the announcement

“This signifies more recognition to my father’s work and more fans. This is a great record and the songs speak about the times that we are living in. I’d say his win is historical,” she added. Continue reading Toots & the Maytals Awarded Reggae Grammy Posthumously →