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Elijah Marley, grandson of the reggae legend Bob Marleythrilled the paying tribute crowd Jo Mersa Marley on his birthday recently.
On March 9, The The family of the late, great reggae legend Bob Marley held a tribute concert to mark the birthday of the late singer and relative Joseph “Jo Mersa” Marley at Nine Mile in the parish of St. Ann's of Jamaica. Among a star-studded line-up, one figure captivated the audience – Elijah Marley, Bob's 12-year-old grandson and son of Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley.
With his father and uncles behind him beaming with pride, Elias sang and the audience erupted in cheers during his performance. Young Marley is featured, having previously showcased his skills at Bob Marley's 77th birthday celebration on February 6, 2022, at the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston.
The highlight of this “Roots 77” The showcase (which also featured live performances from the likes of D'Angelo) was Elijah doing a cover of Stephen Marley and Capleton's “Rockstone,” singing lead as he played the drums. He also wowed the 3,000 audience members with his rendition of John Lennon's iconic song 'Imagine' and even covered country music star Blake Shelton's 'God Country', adding his own twist to it.
The Jo Mersa Marley tribute concert also featured notable artists such as Kabaka Pyramid, Spragga, Christopher Ellis, Lutan Fyah and Black Am I. Jo Mersa Marley was on his way to becoming an established artist carrying the family legacy as firstborn son of Stephen Marley, starting with his debut EP Comfortable in 2014. He had released several singles that moved the needle on the reggae scene, including “Burn It Down,” a collaboration with his brother Yohan Marley that was released in 2019.
31-year-old Jo Mersa Marley died in December 2022 after being found passed out in his car in a parking lot in Miami, Florida. The The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner's Office would later determine the cause of death as “acute asthma exacerbation”, with rhinovirus/enterovirus infection listed as the main cause.
Rest in peace Joe Mersa Marley.