Paramount’s highly anticipated biopic One Love, depicting the life and music of reggae legend Bob Marley, has exceeded expectations with a stellar $80 million global debut.
The film’s portrayal of Marley’s journey has struck a chord with audiences worldwide, surpassing box office projections and affirming its status as a cultural sensation.
According to Deadline, Bob Marley: One Love has earned an estimated $80 million in its opening week, with $29 million generated from international box office sales. Despite initial doubts from critics, audiences have embraced the film’s depiction of Marley’s life and legacy, joining together to celebrate his music and enduring influence.
The success of One Love highlights the universal resonance of Bob Marley’s music and message, transcending borders to unite audiences globally. With compelling storytelling and captivating performances, the film captures Marley’s essence and the profound impact of his music on generations of fans.
The documentary “Bob Marley: One Love” performed exceptionally well at the box office, surpassing Sunday’s domestic projections with a three-day total of $27.7 million and reaching $51 million over six days. This success underscores the enduring appeal of Marley’s work and his remarkable talent, despite the finite amount of content available following his death. According to an analysis by the Megaways-Casino analytics team, Marley’s streaming figures on music platforms contribute significantly to his legacy’s financial support for his heirs. For instance, on Spotify in the past month, Marley’s tracks were played 12,526 times, with his most popular song “Judge Not” accumulating 4,516,237 streams, translating to approximately $18,064.95 in revenue. However, his popularity on YouTube Music is even more pronounced, with over 4 million subscribers to his channel and the track “Sun Is Shining” amassing 78,653,199 streams, equating to $137,643.10 in earnings.
Boosie Badazz is a big movie fan, as evidenced by his recent controversial rant about The Color Purplepushing an LGBTQIA2+ agenda. But a lot of that fandom doesn’t have to manifest in backlash-worthy ways like that. Sometimes, it can be as simple as your choice of outfit to go see a particular flick, and his drip for the Bob Marley: One Love biopic was certainly on-brand. Moreover, the Baton Rouge MC donned a Rastafarian hat and a dreadlock wig, in addition to a yellow sweatshirt and shoes, when he went to see the film with his daughter on Wednesday (February 14).
Furthermore, this was the same day that the Kingsley Ben-Adir-starring movie released, and this take on the iconic reggae legend has mixed reviews so far. While Boosie still hasn’t dropped his review and his take on the whole thing, maybe his infamy surrounding his takedown of The Color Purple will sadly deter him from speaking his mind on this new flick. He even claimed that folks bullied him over these bigoted takes, and while we can’t say folks are wrong to do so, it’s just discussion at the end of the day. Maybe the 41-year-old wants to turn a new leaf.
After all, Boosie recently and shockingly argued that he’s not homophobic, which might sound odd considering some of his previous comments. “I just never agreed [with] what they was pushing on the younger generation, and I spoke on that,” he told Cam Newton. “And I spoke about a couple more situations that made a lot of people turn on me: the Dwyane Wade situation. But I have gays in my family. How can I hate a gay person? My assistant, who brings in millions of dollars to me, is gay. And I just got— I want that to get off my status. I’m not like that.”
Meanwhile, the Trill Entertainment affiliate also recently made headlines for his take on the Super Bowl halftime show. Whether it was Usher and Alicia Keys’ embrace or the fantasy of having R. Kelly perform, he had a lot to say about it. We’ll see what’s the next viral and bizarrely engaging pop culture crossover we get next from this creative. On that note, stay posted on HNHH for the latest news and updates on Boosie Badazz.
Without question, Jamaica’s greatest export is reggae music, as embodied by the genre icon Bob Marley. Even if you’ve never had the fortune to visit the Caribbean country, Marley’s influence can be felt around the globe. Regardless of the genre, the late musician’s groundbreaking discography is the undercurrent for some of the world’s biggest acts, including Burna Boy, Bruno Mars, Janelle Monáe, Nas, Stevie Wonder, and The Police.
In Paramount Pictures’ biopic Bob Marley: One Love, starring Kingsley Ben-Adir (as Bob Marley) and Lashana Lynch (as Rita Marley), audiences are reminded of Marley’s musical greatness. However, the overlooked takeaway from the film is the cultural significance of reggae music. Born out of multiple diasporic sounds (mainly ska, rocksteady, and calypso), its mento (folk) core is what curated the art form into a calling card specific to the people of Jamaica.
As was the case for hip-hop, reggae’s rise had everything to do with its alluring instrumentation as well as the profoundly political and social commentary heard throughout each record’s lyrics. Somewhere along the way, that rebel spirit has been lost (or at least on the mainstream front). So, how did the genre go from Bob Marley And The Wailers’ 1977 version of “One Love” to Drake’s “One Dance” in 2016? Similar to the music itself, the answer to this question is quite layered. The decentering of religious obligations, commodification of Jamaican culture, and leniency of gatekeepers have all contributed to the erasure of reggae music’s social & political commentary roots.
First, you must examine Marley, the man and musician, to dissect why he’s revered around the globe. The person behind those poetic pieces was a spiritually rich man far before his tangible wealth set in. In journalist Vivien Goldman’s 2006 The Book Of Exodus, she recounted one of her many conversations with Marley before his death, where he detailed his faith journey into Rastafarianism. Having a vision of Jah (God) in 1966 while living in America prompted him to return to Jamaica “with a clear vision” of his life’s purpose. Marley’s unwavering tether to his religious obligations led him to inherit the moral responsibilities of a messenger.
Reggae or, as he referred to it, “the king’s music” (quoted by Timothy White in his 1983 biography, Catch A Fire: The Life Of Bob Marley), each time Marley touched a microphone, his duties were to lead his people toward’s God favor pushing back against the wickedness in the world. With Dancehall being the dominant sound coming out of Jamaica presently, long gone are the days when reggae acts could break through for simply speaking truth to power. To borrow a line from the 1993 film Menace II Society, ‘Don’t nobody wanna hear that sh*t, Sharif.’ Well, unless you count Koffee (the youngest musician to win a Grammy in the reggae category). That’s not to say that rising stars Byron Messia, Jada Kingdom, or Dexta Daps don’t sprinkle spirituality into their music. It’s just not their primary focus. Nor does it pick up steam outside the country’s parishes in days past.
The commodification of Jamaican culture has played the most significant role in the erasure of reggae music’s social & political commentary roots. Globalization is a b*tch. As quickly as Marley’s music traveled, so did the industry’s urge to convert this newly found popularity into a steady income stream. From labels’ rush to extract reggae’s musicality (native instruments, production techniques, etc.) to companies’ mass production of “Rasta-inspired” tchotchkes, an influx of items hit the market to give those obsessed with the country’s superstars a piece of Jamaica on-demand.
We’re not talking just about the white tourist wearing tams with faux dreadlocks (zatavi) crocheted into them. Most certainly, it includes non-natives cosplaying cultural ambiguity. This ushers in the music industry question equivalent of whether Black folks can or can not be racist. So, can Black people appropriate other sectors of Black culture? When you boil it down to semantics, the answer is no. But are Black people (including bi-racial or multi-racial) often seen exploiting Caribbean cultures in stereotypical ways? The answer is, without a shadow of a doubt, yes. Is reggae music a monolith? No. But it’s okay to admit that we’re losing the plot.
Rihanna’s 2005 “If It’s Lovin’ That You Want” to 2009 “Rude Boy” pipeline isn’t precisely how reggae music was intended to evolve, but does that mean it should be stripped from the rolling credits? Drake’s “One Dance” is inspired by reggae music. This development is a game of telephone set to music where the subject matter drastically changes, and the instrumentation refuses to give in to eroding. What happens when the money means more than the message? I don’t know. Ask hip-hop.
Its gatekeepers were the last line of defense in reggae music to retain its social & political commentary roots. Unfortunately, their leniency inadvertently contributed to the genre’s now dull bite. When talking about music families, there’s no one above the Marleys in reggae. Starting with the paternal figures to the children and now grandchildren (hi, Skip), several generations of the Marley bloodline carry the torch both in the booth and label boardrooms. Other key players, including producers, songwriters, DJs, and more, continually fuel the genre’s progression on the ground in Jamaica.
Still, as far back as the 1990s, the barrier enforced based on socioeconomic upbringing nearly pushed Sean Paul out of music. In a 2022 documentary with Vice, Paul confessed that during the early days of his career, he desperately wanted to make “cultural records” that spoke to the economic and living conditions of Jamaica’s ghettos harkening to reggae’s foundation. However, producer Jeremy Harding (one of the most impactful music professionals in reggae) advised against it. “[Harding] was like, ‘You know nobody believes you. You know that, right? You’re not the person that will be able to ‘preach.’ So, why don’t you sing about who you are… sing about girls. Sing about parties.’”
Ultimately, Paul’s success doing so helped kick off Dancehall’s international resurgence in 2000 (so thanks for that). Still, now the public is left to fantasize about what artist Paul could’ve been if given the space to craft the art he originally intended. In the same video piece, Harding shed further insight into the divide in Jamaica on who can be the vocal authority in reggae.
“As I started to work with Sean, we realized that we shared a similar background — the way that we describe it, we were Uptown kids,” he said. “So, the friends and family that we had around us were looking at us strangely. Like, ‘Why do you want to get involved with Dancehall? Dancehall is nasty, dutty, ghetto music?’ And at the same time, you’re struggling against the other side of the community, saying, ‘Oh, you shouldn’t be here because you don’t have a place in this music’ and ‘You’re not from the ghetto; therefore, you are not authentic.’”
“Everyone was challenging [me], [saying] ‘You can’t express for us,’” added Paul.
Yet, that same protective energy disappeared when given the breakout moment to promote Bob Marley: One Love during the 2024 Grammys; Ziggy Marley laughed along as host Trevor Noah poked fun at the Jamaican accent and many of their easygoing personalities instead of focusing on the richness of the culture.
What good are gatekeepers if they aren’t keeping the culture when it matters the most? You tell me. Are Afrobeats and amapiano tastemakers taking heed?
Where do we go from here? Nowhere. As with hip-hop, the damage is already done. A complete gutting would have to take place to undo what has been done, which economic players likely won’t let happen. In short, Bob Marley: One Love is a painstaking reminder of what was and how the decentering of religious obligations, commodification of Jamaican culture, and leniency of gatekeepers have all contributed to the erasure of reggae music’s social & political commentary roots.
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The Bob Marley biopic Bob Marley: One Love will open in theaters next Friday, but for now, you can check out the film’s soundtrack, which functions as a greatest hits, of sorts, from Bob and The Wailers. Meanwhile, the film’s release will be accompanied by Bob Marley: One Love (Music Inspired By The Film), a seven-song EP featuring contemporary artists like Kacey Musgraves and Daniel Caesar covering the reggae icon’s classic songs. The latest single from the upcoming release is the best so far, with Leon Bridges covering the ultimate track from 1980’s Uprising, “Redemption Song.”
As Bridges is an accomplished guitarist in his own right and has a honeyed whiskey vocal tone, the warmth of his cover could melt even the coldest heart. While it’s not a straightforward cover, the song’s nature as a clean guitar ballad means Bridges’ take is both familiar enough to evoke nostalgia for the original but unique enough to stand on its own.
Bridges is a few years removed from his most recent full-length album, 2021’s Gold-Diggers Sound, but has stayed busy since then, recording two EPs with Texas psych-soul band Khruangbin in 2020 and 2022, and collaborating with Miranda Lambert on “If You Were Mine” in 2023. If “Redemption Song” is the first sign of a possible new release from Bridges in 2024, we’ll take it.
Listen to “Redemption Song” above.
Bob Marley: One Love (Music Inspired By The Film) is out on 2/14 through Tuff Gong/ Island Records.
The soundtrack for the Kingsley Ben-Adir Bob Marley biopic Bob Marley: One Love is due for release the same day the film comes to theaters on Valentine’s Day, but today, we received another glimpse at the EP, which will feature contemporary artists’ covers of the Jamaican icon’s classics. Last week, Kacey Musgraves released a cover of the Wailers’ 1977 staple “Three Little Birds,” and today, Daniel Caesar offered a unique, soulful take on an underrated catalog classic, “Waiting In Vain.”
While the original version appears on Exodus alongside “Three Little Birds” and maintains the bright, midtempo roots approach of the rest of the songs on the album, Caesar’s version slows things down, taking a more mournful angle to the song’s plaintive messaging. With Daniel Caesar’s signature emphasis on bass-driven rhythm and pretty but sad synths, the cover strikes a suitable balance between the frustration and hope of carrying a torch for someone who may not feel the same.
Caesar’s far from the first artist to cover the Wailers classic; in 1993, jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour recorded a version with British reggae artist Maxi Priest, while in 1995, Annie Lennox also issued a haunting contemporary take (wearing Mickey Mouse ears in the video, no less) that featured in a number of early 2000s movies. (As I write this, I have been informed by my girlfriend that there is also an OPM — Original Pinoy Music — version by a band called MYMP — Make Your Momma Proud — and so I am including it here.)
Check out Caesar’s version of “Waiting In Vain” below.
Paramount Pictures has announced the forthcoming film, BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE. The film stars Kingsley Ben-Adir, Lashana Lynch, James Norton, Tosin Cole, Anthony Welsh, Michael Gandolfini, Umi Myers, Nadine Marshall.
The synopsis for the film reads:
BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE celebrates the life and music of an icon who inspired generations through his message of love and unity. On the big screen for the first time, discover Bob’s powerful story of overcoming adversity and the journey behind his revolutionary music. Produced in partnership with the Marley family and starring Kingsley Ben-Adir as the legendary musician and Lashana Lynch as his wife Rita, BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE is in theatres January 12.
