Bob Marley: The Final Interview (1981) | His Last Words to the World!

Back in the early 50s and early 60s, you were playing a different type of music, where it was Little Anthony and the Imperials, Impressions. You were into that kind of suits and concert and everything. What were the major influences that sort of pulled you from that to the present spiritual and political state that you're in now? What are the major influences that sort of pulled you out of that into the present state you're in now? Going with Rastafari, you know, the guys. When you check, you're not telling me what I'm saying. We're just searching, you know what I mean? Come over and start searching and you'll find His Majesty. Okay, what's reggae and what is the woman's position in the Rastafarian movement? Does she have input? Yeah, but I was thinking about more in terms of... I'd like to ask you about the woman's position in the movement. I mean, do you have a lot of input or do you feel like you're more domestic? Is that your input? Well, in the beginning, the woman has always been the domestic one. She's the one that takes care of the children and takes care of her husband. But we find that we have a talent and we have a work to do. So apart from taking care of children and taking care of the host, we have to fulfill that talent that God has given to us. Like us being on the road now, you know, as sisters, we leave our children behind and it's fulfilling our talent. Okay, thank you. On the same subject of women, there are a lot of, you know, brothers and sisters who have questions that we see you quite a bit. We see Todd, we see Cliff. We're wondering, are there some female reggae artists that we will be able to see coming? She can read books and sing. She's an individual singer. In your present album that you've just released, Survival, there seems to be a lot of personal things that have happened in that and some tragedies that have happened. What sort of inspired you to write the lyrics in the present album? Pressure of the time, you know. The pressure of the time that God directs. I survive by the time though. And, you know, the situation of my wife, I like that. Okay, I'd like you to tell us a little bit about your paper, Survival. Some people have an idea one time, they want to make a farm club. The children, you know, had a farm club these days, you know, and then started selling metal and paper. So, the reason I try to denounce that, most of the time they don't want to write about us, you know, or else they don't want to write about themselves. So, I try to write about my paper. So, if you want to hear what people are saying, you can hear what the rest of them are saying. In the Rasta movement that Haile Selassie is no longer with us in the physical form, what at the present day is the movement and the energy and the force that keeps the Rasta movement going at this point? Well, the question is, is that, you know, I have two sons, Shem and Japheth, you know, and they're from Africa. His Majesty our father, when we start to find out who he is, he is Jesus Christ. He's called the mother of the Bible, you see, because he was Jesus. So, that's who I deal with. So, when His Majesty, you know, except for himself. So, what is happening today, you know, what is happening today? Who made the laws of what is happening today? Some of them died from the 18th century, but the people I'm seeing are not from the same 18th century. You hear what I'm saying? No, you know, His Majesty depends. His Majesty is God Almighty. What I'm showing you right now is image worship. What I'm showing you right now is image worship. You know, worship the image. I'm dealing with the consciousness of where the world consciousness of the people is. So, when I'm wanting to come forward, I'm not everyone. So, the movement is stronger because the consciousness is coming. You know what I mean? Some people think God will be a big red cloud. They just wake up and see the big red cloud, you know, what is inside. You can check it out on the earth too, you know. Some people say His Majesty, blah blah, boom boom. You can check it out on the earth too, you know. Some people say His Majesty, blah blah, boom boom, and whatever else they know. The idea and the philosophy where you rule by law. How long that guy died? Some of them died from the 17th century. Some of them are still new. It's Christ's time, you know. So, he's just under the weight of consciousness of where he got healed. Would you say that Marcus Garvey has a lot of lines within the movements? I don't say I was a prophet, but Marcus Garvey tell you that you must look to the east for the king, when the king come. And you can touch His Majesty. Come on, you know, and then I see it. From them time to death. Jesus could have come last time. He could have come during this time. Marcus Garvey, you know, up to now, Marcus Garvey prophecy going forever, you know. There were a lot of things Marcus Garvey say, and a lot of it come to pass. Some still live. I never want to see it. Maybe get more, more stronger, you know, in reality. I never think when I say them time happen today. I never want to see it well played. Okay, this is kind of personal. I'd like to know about the assassination attempt on you. I haven't heard anything about what the government is to do with it. And I hear that your song, Ambush, is like directly related to that experience. And I'd like to know what, what is the government? I haven't heard anything else. No one's been apprehended. Ambush is, you know, Ambush make us stronger, you know. Everyone knows to his majesty, why I live. So, you know what I mean? I can't really do it in a different way. We need a little help, but I deal with it. It's true where I live. Since his majesty is gone, we can't do it yet. If we're relating to the music, where specifically did the reggae beat itself come from? Just playing music for just gaiety, for just merriness, and just, you know, without no consciousness. It comes up as a consciousness. When you say reggae, it's like you say rasta. So, it's music to liberate your mind. I love the music right now. Actually, I speak directly to the people instead of carrying them around in fantasy or showing them something else. Fantasy is the thing right now, you know. The more you can go into fantasy, the bigger you'll be in the fantasy world. Rasta music deals with reality, things that you must confront. I've heard reggae music described by an African artist as African rhythms with Jamaican feeling. Does that seem to? That's almost like what I just said. Okay, about music. I was in Ghana this summer, and everyone loves the Wailers. They just love them. But it's really hard to get music through your albums there because it's so expensive. And I was talking to Neville earlier, and he's told me that you're establishing a base in West Africa. Are you touring there also? Yeah, I'm gonna try. I don't really do Okay. We're really looking forward to it. When you're composing your songs, where do your greatest revelations and stimulations come from? Do you know? A lot of people might say, do you get it riding on the bus? Do you get it when you're late at night or when you have herb and you're feeling good? I mean, revelations come. Why? Through God. How do they come to you? It seems that the inspiration is my instinct. If you want a certain message at the time, go to the people. Some kind of inspiring and bring out the right message. So I have to give time. Because the feeling of survival right now, I feel is very relevant, you know, to the time. And that's why I have to try and keep doing it. I can't either go in the studio and just make up, you know, something to sell. But I'm confused with that right now. So I'm trying to find an alternative to that. Some people say that revolutionary music can only come from within a revolutionary movement. And so we have a song like Zimbabwe, which you guys are, you know, maybe over here, but it's about an African country. What do you say to that? People are telling you that, you know, you're not doing physically in that generation movement. Therefore, you know, you can't write music about it. You know what I'm saying? Soon we'll find out who is the real revolutionary. You can't say that. You can't say that. Some people, you know, in their studies, they'll bring this to my attention and say, well, ask him, you know, what does he think of it? Are they doing anything towards revolution? Are they doing anything towards revolution? I'm asking. We don't even have the credit to do that. You know, we don't want to tell no one. So I'm talking about African struggle. You see, you know, Jamaica, you know, black people reach Jamaica. But you know, they know how the Australians just choose slavery. So when you're in Jamaica and I talk about Africa, when you're in the West and you speak of Africa, like maybe even seven years ago, it was terrible. Now you know that? You know what I mean? You could even talk to one black man about Africa. I'm telling you, they're not fighting Africa. You know his majesty, if it wasn't for Isla Selassie, they wouldn't be in Africa. If it weren't for Europe, I wouldn't change the name so much. You wouldn't have no Ethiopia. See? So I'm not talking about any revolution. I want to tell you, every revolution must, if they want to win the revolution, they must win it with Rasta. You can't win the other way. Because if you win the other way, you're going to fight again. When you're Rasta, you're no more one. If you study the lyrics to the song War, you see what his majesty had to say about it. And if you can base your life on that philosophy, then you become Rasta. If you can base your life on that philosophy, then you become Rasta. I can help you. I feel you become a Rasta automatically when you discover yourself, when you find what you're living for, and what man's purpose is on this earth, you know? And start living in that direction, then you become a Rasta. And in the past, the media has always presented leaders to us and have told us, this is our leader. Do you see any Blacks in the world today who you could truly say are real leaders for Black people? The leader has come already, Lord. And the leader won't be among us, like a man who comes and says he's a leader. Truth, all it says is leader. You want the army to know, to develop, to step towards that direction. But I'm going to be a leader already. I want to be a leader. See, it's a rule, it's a government thing. It's a government thing, it's not real. You know, this is a tricky topic. I know it from the beginning. But since this is a good thing, you know, so it's better for us to keep it. So as the majesty said, that's what we have to agree with, because any man come with any leadership business, he's going to have, I think, an opposition. So we're dealing with the truth, through roots, through revelation, to reveal the truth. So you don't have a leader, you're just dealing with the truth. You have people who let go of this, you know what I mean, to get things together. Because Joshua Nkrumah is putting up a heavy fight right now. He's one of the only people putting up a fight. Joshua Nkrumah, like in England right now. Yeah, you know, because that's one of the main problems in life, you know, this thing. South Africa, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, anywhere around there. As soon as that is straightened up and everyone knows where that is, then we know we're moving somewhere. But until that is come and go, talk and talk, it won't really happen. No leader can do anything, you know, because that's really a stumbling block right now. I know a lot of Africans that come from different parts of the world, whether born on the continent or not, come to America and they look at so-called Black Americans, and a lot of us seem to be hung up into materialism, Hollywood, and things like this. How do you view the Black American in terms of making contributions to the revolution? Marcus, you have to come to America and get a book of six million Black people every day. Besides the Black people in America, His Majesty Henry William Seymour, and some Americans, you might find one or two, but you have a lot of talent and you're solid. You get the right time. He's going for the actual currency. As far as I see it, at the same time, I can't tell some Black people who call themselves, because they are here working for their money, and their big house, and their car, and their insurance, and their death benefits. They say, I'm going to live here and be fat, and work, and retire, and die. So you can't even be with them people. You can't even be with Africans, you know, and they're going to change the spot now that you get up on the skin. You know, so we're looking for people who know it, with the mark of the Almighty upon their heart. I'm sure there are a lot of revolutionary-minded Black Americans, but they are powerless without the mass of Black Americans being conscious. The only way they can do anything, mentally, spiritually, or physically, is if they have the people behind them. One thing you have to remember that, as Black people, our gift is wisdom and knowledge, and that's been hidden from Black people for a long time. So we now have to be aware of that fact and start to use it, because it's our natural talent. So that's part of, you know, the whole thing, is to know what your talent is and search for your roots, you know. Because the deeper you go, the further out you can reach. The unity that I inspire. We strive to our unity. Yeah, we don't necessarily want war, you know what I mean? But if the only way you can get your freedom is to fight for it, then you have to fight. If you corner a rat, he's going to stay there and escape for a while, but after a while, he's going to jump you, you know? And look how small he is. So, people. So we must remember at the same time also that we're not talking about war. We're not talking about just guns and bayonets and bombs and missiles and other things. We're not talking about earthquakes, lightning and thunders. You know, all the things that cannot work in the war, you know, the spiritual war. So when you talk about war, we carry a gun and a knife on us. We're dealing with a higher divinity. Vibration. The Rastaman vibration, which is lightning, earthquake, because the earth, they come back with what it wants, you know, fix us, you know. Because man is trying to be as powerful as God. Pan-African struggle, because they're very, everyone is very, I see a lot of influence from the West there. I mean, people are worried about acquiring wealth so they can get their Mercedes. And those people are not, they're running the countries, and they're not concerned about pulling the movement and bringing up the masses. Well, the first thing you have to do is get your pan. This pan-African thing is a mix-up thing, you know? The African thing we're dealing with now. Well, you know, you see, God said, I shall gather my children from afar and from the ends of the earth. It's not even, so you see, just like how Israel crossed the Red Sea and come all in places up, we have to cross it again. History must repeat itself, you know, because God lived. See? So forget about this pan business. Pan-African. Not pan-Africa. I mean, Africa, Ethiopia. What do you feel about Ethiopia now after Haile Selassie? Oh, after he left Ethiopia. So you don't, what's your affinity for the rulers there now? One almighty ruler. You see, you know, you mustn't watch pen, you know, because my tongue is a pen after a ready writer, you know? Don't watch the black and white thing, you know, that thing on the paper there. It's coming from a spiritual conception, the heart. You know, so God is, God will be forever and ever. When Haile Selassie is gone. He's gone. Rastafari. You know, who don't like it, just drop dead. Ethiopia fall in a position, Ethiopia is in a position now, like when Christ was on the cross, like Christ was crucified between two criminals, right? One on the left and one on his right. You know, if you take it, the roots man is being crucified. One on his left and one on his right. You don't know if he must go left. You don't know if he must go right. And there's no way right in front, you know? So that's why I'm into Ethiopia now. I'm playing to third world country. Talk about war between left and right. Left, right. There's a problem for food and left, right. There's a problem for food. And when it comes to war, you know, everybody wants to help. Right now you have half the world starving, you know? No one helped Ethiopia during the famine in 73, 74. With the drought. But everyone helped when the war started. Somalia. There's no world of fear. They don't help starving people. And I think what I'm going to say is to them people around this area. I will go to the school, school and study this university business. Most of them come out of it more confused than anything else, you know? Because they come out of it like this. Yeah, but yeah, but it's life. Never, never, never went to this school. Hey, it's Rasta. Never born Rasta man. You have some brother and sister, some guys really who go to school and tell about, oh, I've been studying this and I'm this and I'm that. And no school up on this earth teach about life. None. They come up more confused. They head cross turn and they hide them blind to the whole thing. And they will never know God. Because this thing is a prison, you know? This place here. It's a prison. Prison within a prison. I have a question directly to Neville. You came here, were you a Rasta when you were at UCLA or did you, I mean, how did you come to be in this movement? In the movement, through reality, like as a black man, always viewing black in a cultural way, searching for the true way. Like when I was here, I was in the Black Panther Party. I was marching up and down with Angela Davis. I was here during that time when black Americans was really dealing with something. Their voices were being heard. Like it kind of changed now. So at that time, like you had to be militant to survive. You never hear much talk about human rights. It was a struggle. Well, the struggle is still hard. There's no real change been made. So coming here, right, I find Rasta fully when I really leave here. After checking out Babylon, I really see what the university and the world have to offer. When I return home and I come here and check with them, God is the best answer. That material is the truth God made. But it's an inbound concept. Rasta, you find Rasta through searching for the truth. One truth. And it's just one truth you can't find. Now, I was able to talk to you about two, three years ago, and you were talking about we were talking about record companies and you were saying, I'm playing the music. But these white guys seem to be getting all the money. Has there been any moves in terms of blacks controlling the reggae industry? Well, I promise, you know, if there's any move this year, the blacks are making a record company or two. We have a BMA convention in Philadelphia, and we saw progress for black music because black people were able to come together from all parts of the world and exchange ideas and talk about how we can unify even stronger. So there is improvement. At the concerts, the audiences have changed. We have more blacks coming to our concerts now, which is what we would like to see. And although we're not into a color thing, we're into, you know, oneness. We still have to develop our own people. And BMA can prove that there is some progress being made. What direction do you see black music going in the next two, three, five years? Well, if disco dies, anything is possible. We're happy every natural day. There's no change, really, for black music, because black music is really born. The only thing that might change is the arrangements, but the tempo will still be the same. What I would like to see is something more hip being said, you know, because it's such a big group. Music is such a heavy vehicle. There are millions of people listening, and if we could teach them something, no matter who it is, Rod Stewart, anybody. You know, there's too much sex involved in music right now. It's not really teaching you anything other than what I would fear. The earth is occupied territory. The earth is the devil's territory. So, you know what I'm saying? Occupied territory. You know, the majority is the majority. So, we don't have any godliness about them now. I will start showing it up in this next decade, because I don't want to sound like a madman, but God is coming. No, but God is coming to judge. Yeah. I mean, who can't feel it? Don't feel it. Because, you know. This is why your music, like you were saying, when you were into the Temptations look, you know, the concave, I think now it's more... I don't know if it's concave or not. You know, if it all comes at the wrong year, I'm not going to do it. No. It's her hand, sister. Yes. Your music is much more political. And is this why it doesn't fit a message that needs to be said? Music is like international language. You write really nice songs about love ballads. The ballads you do. So it's just... Is it just a life experience that you're trying to relay? Yeah, because you remember the author. You know, it's me, not a book. In terms of understanding that the reality of our people's present condition, in terms of on the worldwide condition, in terms of their level of consciousness, being that it has been stifled by the lack of information through all forms of media, whether it be books from kindergarten to university level, whether all forms of music that come across the waves. And even now, right now, the true, genuine, what is happening in the world in terms of our condition is not played on the radio as much as it should be. So in terms of establishing a viable, you know, worldwide communication network that's viable to raise, you know, the African nation and our people, I think that these are some of the steps that all of us should be making conscious steps towards. And I definitely recognize the reality of survival as taking, in terms of the new newspaper, taking steps in that direction. I want to, not in full detail, but ask you in terms of what do you see as what can be done in your group's opinion as to enhance this, to bring it about rapidly? Interest from people outside. You know what I'm saying? Look what it is. It's not just, you know, if America didn't have Ethiopia, it's not just still having their capitalists. If Russia didn't have Ethiopia, it's not just still having their communists. the more I'm being self, some of them think I'm over-trying. Well, they're not over-trying. But I don't know what's in it for when they're serious. How do you feel to have a child born into this world and the first thing you have to teach them, well, if you want to survive, you have to be subject to this guy or you have to be subject to that guy, you know? It's not inspiring.