Reggae Month hails 76th birthday of king of the genre
Jamaicans walk in front of a mural of reggae singers Denis
Brown (L) and Bob Marley in Kingston, Jamaica. Associated
Press/Jorge Silva, fi le
Caribbean Life, FEBRUARY 5-11, 2021 11
The high point of Jamaica’s
cultural calendar coincides
with Black History Month and
was declared Reggae Month
in 2008.
Proclaimed by the island’s
Ministry of Culture, February
showcased the most diverse
platforms with spotlight on the
genre in films, foods, spoken
word, theater, fashion, music,
theater, health and wellness,
tourism and symposia.
From Feb. 1, the birthday
of Dennis Brown, the Crown
Prince of Reggae has been
annually regaled with leap year
presentations culminating the
shortest of the year.
Brown died in 1999 at age
42.
His fans lamented his
untimely passing on that July
1, a day the fraternity regard as
International Reggae Day.
This year, following a yearlong
celebration of Bob Marley’s
75th birthday anniversary,
Reggae Month goes into high
gear with a plethora of tributes
inclusive of the Feb. 6 birthday
commemoration of the King of
Reggae.
The events include a virtual
global birthday celebration
hosted by the Bob Marley
Museum, a Bob Marley tribute
live-stream by Stephen Marley
and a limited six-LP and a
three-CD set release of “Songs
of Freedom: The Island Years.”
SiriusXM’s new Bob Marley
Tuff Gong Radio channel will
also run specialty programming
on the day, tagged ‘All
Bob, All Day’.
Marley’s 76th will be celebrated
under the theme ‘Survival’,
the name of his 1979
album.
The Bob Marley Foundation’s
virtual event will be
held in lieu of the live annual
birthday celebration that usually
occurs at the 56 Hope Rd.,
Kingston-located Bob Marley
Museum.
A pre-taped 12-hour celebration
will deliver the usual fervor
fans are accustomed to feature
messages from the family.
A performance from Miami will
highlight the Marley brothers
as well as third-generation
Marley off-springs.
Not to be missed is a “Survival”
tribute collaboration
with performances from: Skip
Marley, Jo Mersa, Tifa, Kabaka
Pyramid, Agent Sasco, and
Tanya Stephens.
More Family Time with
Ziggy Marley; memorial tributes
for Frederick ‘Toots’
Hibbert and Betty Wright who
died last year and performances
from Papa Michigan, Richie
Spice, and Beenie Man.
The day will begin with a
morning ceremony which
includes the blowing of the
abeng and Nyabinghi drumming.
The culinary aspects will be
satiated with ‘In the Marley
Kitchen’ a presentation featuring
prominent chefs from
Jamaica.
Story-telling, meditation
and yoga, children’s sing-along,
tree-planting ceremony
and reggae jam sessions will
incorporate the rest of the
day.A
lthough COVID-19 restricts
crowd gatherings, ZJ Sparks
and Ity Ellis will host a virtual
jam session to provide a mix
of old and newly-recorded performances,
by Marcia Griffiths,
Capleton, Jesse Royal, and Koffee
.T
he virtual celebration will
be available on Tuff Gong Television
and its YouTube channel,
as well as all Ministry of
Culture, Gender, Entertainment
and Sport social media
platforms.
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