Bret Michaels made a surprise appearance on the American Idol season 9 finale wearing a T-shirt with the image of the late great Robert Nesta Marley. A former frontman for rock group Poison he performed the band's hit song "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" with finalist Casey James. Michaels, who won this season's "Celebrity Apprentice" show last Sunday, suffered a brain hemorrhage in April. He was hospitalized again May 20 for what doctors called a "warning stroke" and diagnosed with a hole in his heart.

Bret Michaels (wearing Bob Marley Tee)and Casey James started singing Poison’s “Every "Rose Has Its Thorn"
Photo source

Bret backstage with his "One Love Bob Marley" T-shirt

I don't follow idol like I used to but this was Simon's last show. Lee Dewyze emerged winner beating out Crystal Bowersox who got second place.

BTW Bob Marley's Facebook page has over 4 million fans. If you want to be one of them click HERE.

According to The Jamaica Observer:
THE Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) has created an exhibition honouring musicians who performed at the Apollo Theatre. Included in this exhibition is a plaque loaned to the Smithsonian Institute by the Marley Family.


Photo source

The plaque, which is on loan to the Smithsonian Institute for the next three years, was given to Bob Marley for selling 100,000 units of the Survival album in Italy.

In addition to the plaque, the display features items from other musicians including Miriam Makeba, Afrika Bambaataa and Mongo Santamaria. After the Smithsonian display ends, the Apollo exhibit will travel to the Charles H Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit and then the Museum of the City of New York. The plan is to have the plaque at the Bob Marley Museum in Jamaica upon its return from the Smithsonian.

This latest laudatory acknowledgement of Bob Marley's global significance has been a street in Nigeria being named after him in January of this year in celebrations of its 48th year of independence.

Marley has been placed in the company of Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and sport heroes Jay Jay Okocha, Kanu Nwankwo and Mary Onyali, all of whom have streets in Nigeria with their names.

It is also understood that the film, Africa Unite, is having a premiere at the Real Life Pan-African Documentary Film Festival being held in Ghana from May 16 - 20.

Africa Unite has been rated a masterfully executed film by Stephanie Black that is at once a concert tribute, the Marley family travelogue, and humanitarian documentary, igniting the screen with the spirit of the world-renowned reggae icon.

One of the founders of the festival, Awam Amkpa, who is also a professor of Drama and Film at the New York University in the USA, is reported to have said that the festival was to inspire Africans to document their own histories while exchanging film vocabularies, methods and contexts with film-makers from other continents.

Source

On a previous post I mentioned that Ky-Mani Marley was at issue with co-writer of his autobiography, Dr. Farrah Gray whom he asked to make some changes as regards the book. It seems they have smoothed over the issues as Both men are heavily promoting the book tour. In addition the title has been changed. It now is Dear Dad: The Marley Son Who Persevered From The Streets To Prominence.




Monday March, 22nd
SOBs
Varick Street New York, NY 10014-4809
For More Information call 212-571-4526




Wednesday, March 24th
Barnes and Nobles
Las Vegas
1:00 PM


Thursday April 8th
Barnes and Noble
Kendall Village West
12405 N Kendall Drive, Miami, FL
7:30pm-9:00pm


Sunday April 10th
Barnes & Noble
Waterworks Mall
926 Freeport Road Pittsburgh, PA
2:00pm-3:30pm

Friday, April 16th

Borders Books
Dearborn, MI

7:00PM

Sunday, April 18th

Barnes & Noble
Lennox Town In Columbus, OH

2:00PM

Tuesday, April 20th
Barnes & Noble Eton Collection
Woodmere (Cleveland) OH

7:00PM

Thursday, April 22nd
Borders
Alameda/Oakland, CA

7:00PM

Tuesday April 30th
Barnes & Noble The Grove
Farmers Market
189 Grove Drive, Los Angeles CA
Suite K30
7PM

To find out when Ky-Mani will be in your area visit his Facebook page.

The Bob Marley ONE LOVE Celebrity Football & Celebolympics held in aid of Charity on Ash Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at the National Stadium boasted many celebrities supporting the cause, one of which was DENYQUE.

DENYQUE was invited to participate in the Female 100m race which also included Ann-Merita Golding, Amelia "Milk" Sewell, D'Angel and Timberlee. The Supεяwomαn blasted herself down the tracks, leaving one of her competitors falling to the track and into "Pieces" and others "Can't Breathe". She finished in first place ahead, far ahead of second place Ann-Merita Golding and D'Angel in third place.

DENYQUE is also racing up the UK Reggae Top Ten Charts where her single "That Place" produced by Don Corleon on the Feelings Riddim is currently bubbling hot at Number Two (#2). The chart is aired weekly on Diverse FM located in Luton, United Kingdom and is hosted by Lady Diamond every Wednesday. The song was released on January 22, 2010 and in less than a month, the song is at the top of the charts and aiming at the Number One (#1) spot.

The Supεяwomαn continues to strengthen her stride within the music business and is expected to surpass many goals and expectations in the upcoming months. With new singles, upcoming performances and a tour of the United States in her wake, DENYQUE is aiming to the stars through music.

February 6th is a special day for fans of Reggae as it is the birthday of the King himself, the legend that is Robert Nesta Marley.

Instead of doing the typical bio and info that just about anyone reading this can Google and find out for themselves, I am just gonna provide some links so you can visit some Bob Marley official sites. Seen?

OFFICIAL BOB MARLEY SITE
Log on to this site to read about Bob, join the official mailing list, get links to Bob Marley children sites, listen to music and lots more!

BOB MARLEY ON FACEBOOK
Any vocalists or bands out there, you can email a video of yourself performing any Bob Marley song to marleysites@gmail.com and they will post on (Cover) Fridays. So don't sleep on that opportunity, alot of people check it out. Good luck!

MARLEY COFFEE
Started by Rohan Marley, you can purchase coffee named after Bob Marley songs and get souvenirs like mugs etc.

MARLEY RESORT
Based in Nassau Bahamas

CATCH A FIRE CLOTHING
Based in LA run by Karen and Cedella Marley

TUFF GONG WORLDWIDE
Log on to this site to check the wide catalog of music

TUFF GONG BOOKS
Read books published by Tuff Gong

“Dear Dad: Where’s the family in our family, today?”-the story the Marley family apparently doesn't want you to know."is a semi-autobiographical book about Ky-Mani Marley's life released on Amazon.com earlier this week. I say semi as he had help from an outside source, and also because it seems their is bad blood between him and the co-writer Dr. Farrah Gray. I remember when I interviewed Ky-Mani for Caribbean Maco, he spoke of growing up in the ghetto in Florida. Life was not glitz and glamour, he did not even want to sing-at first anyways.

Well like I said the book is out, but he is not happy about what's inside. I think maybe it's a case of Ky-Mani just pouring out his heart (what some people may see as airing out his dirty laundry) and now he doesn't want the rest of the world to see. Maybe some of the information is damaging to his siblings, with whom he has a good relationship now. He issued the following statement about the issue:

I’ve done many things that I am not proud of. I have turned what was largely a destructive lifestyle and turned it into a constructive one. I chose to share my story with the hope that many may be moved to something more positive by the end of the book.

I partnered with a gentleman, Dr Farrah Gray, who I grew to have a great deal of respect for. My journey writing the book was initially very easy and I thought we had built a relationship of respect if nothing else.

During the final edit of the book, I spoke with my sister, Cedella, and I advised Dr Farrah Gray that some changes had to be made and until the changes were made, I was not willing to do any promotion for the book. I could NOT support and promote something that is not 100% mine and that I believe in. Dr Gray apparently thought that by turning something that was written from the heart into something seemingly malicious was going to benefit him in some way.

I did not mean to hurt anyone... The book was only to tell my story, as I know it... What I was led to believe while growing up. The book was not an attack on my family! I love my brothers and sisters more than anyone can know.

I did not expect that Dr Gray would have been unprofessional and malicious in twisting my words or using things that were discussed in confidence to create controversy in an attempt to sell a book.

I did NOT authorize him to make any changes to the cover of my book nor do I condone any of the captions he has written!

At this point I do not know if the content of the book has been altered in any way due to the fact that I have not communicated with Dr Farrah Gray in over a month because he has neither accepted nor returned any of my phone calls.

Damn, son. It's kind of late to unwrite the book. Will let you guys know how this develops.

Big congratulations to the Marley brothers Ziggy and Stephen who each won a Grammy at tonight's award show- Ziggy for Best Children's Album and Stephen for Best Reggae Album!


Marley Brothers (L-R) Ky-Mani, Julian, Ziggy, Damian and Stephen.
Photo source

This Grammy won for his Family Time album which features noteworthy stars such as Paul Simon, Willie Nelsoon, and Toots Hibbert marks his fifth such award.

Younger by four years, ziggy's brother Stephen won his seventh Grammy with his Mind Control-Acoustic. This album is a follow up to this 2007 album Mind Control.

This is the fourth time in the last five years that a Marley has won the award. Last year there were no Marleys nominated and Burning Spear won the Best Reggae nod.

Brother Julian's Awake was also up for Best Reggae Grammy, his first nomination.
Interestingly, their father Bob has never won a Grammy. In 2001 he got a lifetime achievement award and this year, his 1973 album "Catch a Fire," was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Ghetto Youth’s International, organizers of the annual Bob Marley concert Smile Jamaica, have announced that the 2010 staging of the celebration of the King of Reggae’s birth would have to be called off, due to numerous circumstances.

Smile Jamaica spokesperson Norman Bryan, said yesterday that while the organisation was looking forward to staging the concert after “there are some extenuating circumstances that just cannot be ignored, and there’s no way we could proceed with the concert bearing them in mind.”

He added that the Marley family will still be celebrating Bob’s birthday and honouring his legacy in private.

Bryan also said that the Ghetto Youth’s International would be redoubling its efforts to make a 2011 staging possible.

“Ghetto Youths International will continue spreading the message of the Hon. Robert Nesta Marley, and we will be definitely putting our heads together to make 2011 the year Smile Jamaica returns from its hiatus.”

Smile Jamaica saw its historic birth in December of 1976, when it was held at the National Heroes Park in Kingston. The event took place a mere two days after gunmen almost ended Bob Marley’s life, and he was recuperating in the Blue Mountains. It was there that Marley magic reigned supreme yet again, as an injured Bob agreed to perform one song for the 80,000-strong throng of patrons. That one song turned into a magical 90 minute performance with Marley and the Wailers.

Is reggae superstar Bob Marley bigger than Jesus? That's debatable, but the music legend who died 28 years ago is about to challenge Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson for the title of richest dead celebrity.

Some of the merchandise available on the Official Bob Marley online store.

Toronto-based private-equity firm Hilco Consumer Capital has struck a management deal with the Marley estate, which is expected to generate worldwide annual sales in excess of $1 billion by 2012. That seems like a huge number, but by some estimates the Marley name, sound, and image already generate as much as $600 million in pirated merchandise."Marley is a strong global brand," says Mickey Goodman, a professional marketer and professor at New York University's Stern School of Business. "He enjoys a high level of awareness, and people feel positive about his music."




The Exoudus album was voted in 1999 by Time magazine as the greatest album of the 20th century! Still making Marley some dough!


Major licensing agreements for the Marley brand are about to be launched in two key areas: consumer electronics -- including headphones, docking stations, and speakers -- and health care, which will likely feature skin-care products and herbal supplements. Also in the works, according to Hilco, are deals for a Marley-branded calming beverage, a video game similar to Guitar Hero featuring Marley's songs, and a chain of restaurants celebrating the music superstar.


Could this be commercial overkill for the Rastafarian whose spiritual songs about social injustice, hope, and redemption have become anthems for billions of fans, from Marrakech to Tokyo, and will it alienate them?"This is not just about money," says Jamie Salter, Hilco's chief executive. "We have to believe in the people and products we partner with." Salter adds that the Marley estate will have final say on all business ventures, and that charities will figure into the overall mix of Marley branding.



Licensing of dead celebrities is an industry that has exploded in the last decade, thanks in large part to the proliferation of websites and blogs devoted to their memory. Typically, an estate receives 10% to 15% of gross proceeds from a licensing deal, which in this case will be divided between Hilco and the Marley family.The artist who created such reggae hits as "One Love," "No Woman, No Cry," and "I Shot the Sheriff" fathered a total of 13 children, some out of wedlock, and it's not clear how many are included in the estate.

The Marley Resort in The Bahamas

Salter declined to explain how proceeds will be divided between his management company -- which also has an equity stake in a number of high-profile brands, including Polaroid, Sharper Image, and fashion label Halston -- and the Marleys.However, at a conservative 10%, licensing fees from $1 billion in annual sales should pull in about $100 million for Hilco and the Marleys. That tops the latest figures reported for Presley ($55 million), John Lennon ($15 million), and Jimi Hendrix ($8 million).Michael Jackson -- who is worth more dead than alive with an estimated $90 million in earnings in the last 12 months -- appears to be Marley's nearest rival for the richest-dead-celebrity crown. However, much of Jackson's reversal of fortune is due to a sharp spike in the sales of his albums and merchandise in the weeks following his death, as well as the one-time success of "This Is It," a film documenting rehearsals for shows he never performed at London's O2 arena.

Bob's son Rohan is in charge of Marley Coffee, yet another product using the Marley Brand

But the danger of operating the Marley marketing machine in overdrive is that it could irreparably harm the natural mystic's image. Some brand experts now view Elvis as more of a caricature than icon as a result of overexposure.For Sanjay Sood, director of the Entertainment & Media Management Institute at UCLA, there's one question to ask: If Marley were alive today, would he want his name associated with a particular product? "A lot of artists would say 'no,'" says Sood. "Otherwise, they would have done it when they were alive."Presley's estate, which is managed by New York-based CKX, launched a line of clothing that turned out to be a bust. (CKX also controls the Muhammad Ali brand and has an equity stake in the company that produces the "American Idol" television show.)More recently, Lennon's widow Yoko Ono has licensed her husband's song "Real Love" to be used by JC Penny (JCP, Fortune 500) in television ads, and she's given Ben & Jerry's ice cream permission to release a Lennon-inspired flavor called "Imagine Whirled Peace."Salter of Hilco says the Marley brand has a long way to go before reaching saturation, noting he also considered doing business with the Dean Martin, Marilyn Monroe, and Jimi Hendrix estates, but settled on the Rastafarian from Trench Town, Jamaica, because that's where he says he saw the biggest potential.There has never been a better time, it seems, to be a dead celebrity -- or perhaps, more precisely, the heir to a dead celebrity's name. Dont't!

Hiers to the Marley Empire: Ziggy, Stephen, Julian, Ky-Mani, Damian
Source

According to The Jamaica Observer:

The authorised Bob Marley documentary will still premiere in Germany for Marley's 65th birthday amidst reports that production was stalled due to changes in directors.
Photo source

"It is in the post-production stages and shall premiere at the Berlin Film Festival next February," Janice Allen, film manager at Jamaica Trade and Invest (JTI), told the Observer. "We are still in discussion as to when it will be premiered in Jamaica."

JTI had facilitated the acquisition of documentation needed to commence filming on the island, including licences, and permits Allen said.

The Berlin Festival is one of the world's leading film festivals. Founded in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978.

US media reports last month stated that Silence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme was the second major director to leave the project, following Martin Scorsese. Scorsese directed the iconic Bob Dylan documentary.

"I am not aware of that," stated Allen, who was briefed by Cinecom, the local arm of the production team.

US producer Steve Bing has been working closely with the Marley family in order to portray the life of the reggae legend, who is referred to as the Che Guevara of music.

Allen said that the documentary was important not only to the Marley family but to Jamaica as it would "tell how he impacted the world".

JTI helped facilitate the 99 films made in Jamaica over the 2008/9 fiscal year, which was a 20 per cent decrease over the previous year. Even with the reduction, these projects earned six per cent more at $480 million. Indeed, more money was made from fewer films but many projects were foreign-based and their profits would have been repatriated. The number of persons employed remained stable at some 2,000 persons.

Film projects include feature films, television commercials, television productions, music videos, documentaries, television series, concerts, festivals and special events.

Source

You know I must give it up to Bob Marley's kids. They have all taken up the mantle and created ventures that will not only bring them some mulah, but will keep Bob Marley's name forever in the business and media forefront. There's Tuff Gong Clothing, The Marley Resort in the Bahamas, The Bob Marley Museum and of course the various musical ventures of his children Julian,Damian, Ky-Mani and Stephen. Well Rohan Marley is adding one more company to the Marley Empire: Marley Coffee.


Say what???? Well it's not that far fetched really. It's natural, grows in Jamaica, and it tastes good (I hope...lol). And hello we already have the jingle/tag line "Stir It Up"courtesy of Marley senior.

So like I was saying Rohan Marley is the brains behind this venture. He is Bob's son with Janet Hunt and father of Lauryn Hill's five kids. He started the Marley Coffee brand with his friend Shane Whittle.



There are several blends, some playing on the names of a few of Bob`s more popular tunes. There is Mystic Morning Wake Up Coffee Medium Roast; Simmer Down Organic Swiss Water Decaf; One Love Organic Ethiopian Yirgacheffe; Lively Up! Organic 5 Bean Espresso Blend and Jammin Java Organic Bold Full City Roast.

marleycoffee.com
myspace.com/marleycoffee

Ziggy Marley is catering to the kiddies, check out this article from Billboard.com:

Ziggy with wife Orly and their children three-year-old daughter Judah and baby Gideon,2 at the 1st Annual T.J. Martell Family Day held at The Los Angeles Zoo on March 29, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.
Photo source

Children's music is dominating Ziggy Marley's melody making these days -- both for himself and on behalf of his father, Bob Marley.

Marley is prepping for the May 5 release of "Family Time," an album of what he refers to as "family music" that includes originals as well as covers of Woody Guthrie's "This Train" and the Jamaican children's standard "Hold Em Joe," along with two spoken-word pieces by actress Jamie Lee Curtis. Other guests include Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Jack Johnson and Toots Hibbert along with his mother Rita Marley and sister Cedella Marley. His three-year-old daughter Judah, who Marley calls his "muse" on the album, appears on the title track.

He'll follow that with the June release of a set of Bob Marley song's, revised and remastered with a children's audience in mind.

"I never really thought about doing music for children before," Marley, who's donating proceeds from "Family Time" to the Chepstowe Basic School in Port Antonio, Jamaica, tells Billboard.com. "I kind of realized why I'm being led into this world of family/children's music is because we have to speak to the children now. The children have the open-mindedness. They're going to grow up and make the world a better place, so it's them we have to have some kind of discussion with.

"So this is what this record is about, really, is the beginning of a discussion with children and families to make the future a better place for...the 'world' family. But it starts with our own families."

Marley hopes to continue that dialogue with the Bob Marley album, for which he took the original masters of eight classic songs and revised the instrumentation and arrangements, even using some of his father's alternate vocal tracks."It's a very different vibe," says Ziggy, "but still real Bob. It's not like fake Bob. It's still the real Bob...It's Bob singing and I'm playing, like an acoustic session almost. Anything I did on this record is soulful and musical. There's no gimmicks. I'm keeping true to the spirit of my father, to the spirit of his music."


Marley, who left the sibling group the Melody makers to go solo in 2002, will be on the road this spring and summer with 311 but hopes to "double up" and play special children's and family shows during the course of the tour. He also predicts a reunion of the Melody makers in the near future, though he adds that "I'm not sure when or what yet.

.

Source

Time Magazine photographer, David Burnett (left), showing Jamaica's Ambassador to the United States, Anthony Johnson (second right), one of the 40 photographs of international reggae star, Bob Marley. Looking on is Christopher Murray, Director of the Govinda Gallery.

Photo source

Right now at the Govinda Gallery in downtown Washington D.C visitors can get a look at some rare photographs p iconic reggae legend, Bob Marley.

The exhibition is entitled, Soul Rebel: An Intimate Portrait of Bob Marley. It comprises some 40 never-before-seen photos taken by Time magazine photographer, David Burnett.

He first photographed Marley at his home in Jamaica in 1976, and continued to document him and The Wailers on the "Exodus" tour of Europe in 1977.

Also included in the exhibition are compelling images of The Wailers, Peter Tosh and Lee 'Scratch' Perry.

The exhibition was declared open by Jamaica's Ambassador to the United States His Excellency Anthony Johnson,who invited Mr Burnett to mount the exhibition in Jamaica next year for the third staging of Reggae Month in Feb. to coincide with Marley's birthday (Feb. 6th)

The exhibition will be on display until March 28, 2009.

House of Marley is the name of the new company created in hopes of preventing unauthorized use of Bob Marley's image. So basically anyone who wants to use Bob Marley's image for profit, will have to pay and get permission from the Marley family who will be licensing his image and likeness.

According to the Wall Street Journal Hilco Consumer Capital has invested some $20 million for half of the company. in a joint venture with the Marleys. The House of Marley will sell the rights to produce products under the brands Bob Marley, Tuff Gong, Catch A Fire and One Love. There are plans for a Marley Lager, coffee line, headphones, snowboards, posters, screensavers and many more products. The deal was reportedly signed on Feb. 5th, the eve of what would have been Bob Marley's 64th Birthday.

The 16th Annual Bob Marley Movement of Jah People Caribbean Festival presented by 103.5 The Beat and Rum Bum,takes place at Bayfront Park in Miami on Saturday Feb. 28th. The festival will this year honor Cedella Marley Booker Marley's Mother. She passed away last year.

Scheduled to take part are: Stephen “Ragga” Marley * Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley * Julian Marley * Ky-mani Marley *

With Performances By:
Buju Banton * Capleton * Sizzla * Collie Buddz * Tessanne* Jahfe * Jean P Jam * Finley Quaye and more!

Hosted by Princess and Lance’O

DJ Sounds by Gully Bank, and Jah Stream

To date, the Bob Marley Movement of Jah People has collected more than two million cans of food for distribution to the less fortunate. This year, the non-profit group Farm Share will collect the cans from the festival and distribute them to those in need.

Bayfront Park

301 Biscayne Blvd.
Downtown Miami, FL
Saturday, February 28th, 2009

Gates Open at 1PM

Ticket Price: $36.00 + taxes and fees – Advance (price is subject to change)

Plus four (4) cans of food or equivalent monetary donation (brought to the festival)

www.bobmarleymovement.com

Concert Hotline: (305) 740-7344

Scheduled for a March 10^th release, Re:Generation features a technology-inspired collaboration between Grammy winners Stephen and Damian Marley and American Jazz icon Nat King Cole.

Stephen Marley

The album, which has Coles daughter Natalie as executive producer,is scheduled for a March 10^th release. The hopes are that it will introduce a whole new generation of listeners to his music.

Distributed by Capitol/EMI, the album will feature artistes from various genres.

Damiean "Jr Gong" Marley

In addition to the Marleys, who cover Calypso Blues, the line-up includes American neo-soul sensation, Amp Fiddler, rap superstar Nas, hip-hop singers Cee-Lo and will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, as well as Latin jazz superstar Bebel Gilberto.

By the way, this use of digital technology is not entirely new to the Marleys. Remember the 1999 album Chant Down Babylon with 12 remixed Bob Marley songs featuring R&B( Erykah Badu), Hip-hop (:Lauryn Hill, Busta Rhymes) and even rock artists (Steven Tyler and Joe Perry of Aerosmith)?

Nat King Cole

Nat King Cole did have a previous digital album: Unforgettable which featured the remixed duet between Cole and his daughter Natalie.

The album sold seven million copies in the United States and won seven Grammy awards, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance.

Cancer deaths

Both Bob Marley and Nat King Cole succumbed to cancer at the height of their popularity.

Marley died in May 11, 1981 of melanoma as a result of an injury to his right big toe, sustained while playing football. He was 36.

Cole died of lung cancer on February 15, 1965 at age 45. It was rumoured that he was a chain smoker who consumed up to three packs of cigarettes per day, as he believed it gave him his soothing sound.

Happy birthday Bob Marley!!! Feb 6th saw the 64th anniversary of his birth. He died on May 11th 1981. Check out these videos below which are from documentary on his his with interviews with Bob himself:

The early days:


Talking about Jesus return to earth:


Talking about the curse of Ham:


Africa and ethiopia:


The legend:


To read about him, go to his OFFICIAL SITE

Jamaica kicked off Reggae Month with a service on Sunday Feb. 1st at the Fellowship Tabernacle in Kingston. Organized by the Ministry of Information Culture Youth and Sports, Reggae month focuses on the genre which originated in Jamaica. There will be concerts and simposia throughout the island and Reggae Industry Awards and Dinner at Jamaica.

Of course a lot of focus will be on Bob Marley's contribution to the genre. Though very much revered in his native land, he is still not a national hero. That is the subject of a discussion being organized by Zync TV and Street Hype Newspaper of New York at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts at 80 Hanson Place (corner of South Portland), Brooklyn, NY 11217.

Another event taking place in Feb. is the launch of the Soul Rebellion Concer Series. (see flier)

Should Bob Marley be elevated to National Hero status in Jamaica? Zync TV and Street Hype Newspaper of New York will host a discussion on the subject on Feb. 6th at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts at 80 Hanson Place (corner of South Portland), Brooklyn, NY 11217.

Shirley Maynier Burke, mother of politician Paul Burke, won a landmark ruling when the lyrical copyright of the song "Hoolignas" was transferred from Bob Marley and Studio One to her. The song was recorded by JamRec in the 60s.

She was credited with the original recording till other claims arose. Now she can claim royalties from 2002 up to 50 years past her death.

As for the beginnings of the song, Ms. Burke told the Jamaica Observer:
"Somewhere in the '60s there was a rude boy phenomena and I was then a member of the Jamaica Federation of Women and they wanted me to do a television discussion on the subject," . But I told them that they were preaching to the converted. We really needed to get a voice that the masses would hear, so I said 'why don't I write a song for Marley and the Wailers'. They didn't all approve. Anyhow, I wrote the lyrics, took it to Steven Dodd. The song was recorded, I got six copies of the record...,"

The ruling was done "by Consent" meaning that there was an agreement among the parties. The Marley estate did not contest.

Source