Reggae will be the music of the revolution. It’s as simple as that. Focus with me here. My understanding is that a rebel is someone that is unhappy with present conditions but has no plans for alleviating them. A revolutionary is unhappy with present conditions AND has a plan to make things better.

Of course, rap was proclaimed the revolutionary art form when it finally bubbled up from the underground. Sorry. Close but no cigar. Perhaps, rap does give voice to a minority that had none. However, even the credible rap artists (and we’re not talking the macho bullshit braggadocio that resembles the misogynistic metal bands of the early 80s) offer no solutions. Instead, much of it is bitching about social ills with no offer of a solution.

It all made sense about five years ago. Having the good fortune to see reggae legend Jimmy Cliff in concert was an apocalyptic moment. Yes, copious amounts of cannabis were ingested, but I have no doubt as to the validity of the opinions formed that evening. I declared it enthusiastically to my less than impressed cohorts, “Reggae WILL be the music of the revolution.�

The first thing to realize is that, and I am basing this on a tenuous and simplistic understanding of the fundamentals of the music, reggae is egalitarian. No one shines brighter than anyone else does. Instead, everyone compliments everyone else. Can you think of a Bob Marley song with a guitar solo? Or even a guitar line that stands out beyond the totality of the entire composition? I can’t.

And, to digress for a moment, Bob Marley is one of the greatest figures in music. Period. Perhaps he did not change the face of music like others that are more readily acknowledged as the pillars of the art form. However, he merits mention in the same breath as Elvis or The Beatles or Frank Sinatra.

Why? The man crossed boundaries. The most casual music fan might have scant exposure to reggae, but if they have, they will most certainly mention Marley. Ask someone about rock and roll and, depending on the age of the person questioned, you might receive an answer of The Beatles or Elvis or, even, Limp Biskit. The same is true of jazz or classical or country (aside: I suppose in country Hank Sr. would be the odds on favorite to be named). However, when it comes to reggae, the answer will be Bob Marley. He defines the genre.

And he defines the genre to those with a casual interest or exposure AND with those who are immersed in it. Hell, who has defined ANYTHING as much as this man in anything has? And at the root of the reverence for the man is are the reasons why, if there is a true revolution, the music that he defined will be the soundtrack.

Robert Nesta Marley. Born to a poor, young Jamaica girl and sired by a white British officer. The man started at the bottom and, as Patti Smith once sang, “Those who have suffered understand suffering.� By the time the man was 30, he was an international superstar and, to many in an impoverished Jamaica, a prophet and leader.

Listen to the music. It is the music of the downtrodden, full of hope and resilience, but without bitterness or desire for vengeance. And as a resident of Trenchtown, the man had as much right to be bitter or vengeful as any gangsta that has emerged from South Central L.A.

Ahhhh, but Bob was smarter than that. Violence begets violence. Hatred spawns hatred. The music that he created and gave the world was full of love…hope…optimism. Anybody remember those words? “Everything’s gonna be allright.�

Will everything be allright? Probably not. Let’s face the facts and look at the hand that the world is playing. It is a fuck lot easier to continue down the same path. Let’s be bitter and hate and try to take before it is taken from us. But if anything is going to change, it will only be by deviating from that destructive mindset. Yes, you were oppressed. Yes, you were mistreated. Yes, you were denied what was rightfully yours. Can you change the past? No. You can only change the future.

And can you change the course of the future with more anger and bitterness and hatred. Absolutely. Will it work? Hmmmm…history would offer no examples. Therefore, a new path needs to be chosen. Light. Love. Hope. Forgiveness. Reggae.

Unfortunately, Bob Marley is gone. It’s been more than twenty years now. I think that he would be disappointed with us. But, I have a feeling that even the nonsense that constitutes our modern world couldn’t dim his spirit. Find a picture of him. The ones where he is not smiling as if he is in on some grand cosmic secret, he has an expression of contentment and peace. The man knew something. He knew something that we would be well advised to seek out.

So, if the revolution…if a change is gonna come…it will have to be through a positive force…a peaceful force…a loving force. It will be something that Bob Marley, and to a lesser degree those who followed him such as Jimmy Cliff, offered to the world. Not ganja. Not dreadlocks. Love. Hope. Peace.