Bob Marley’s grandson Jo Mersa Marley, 31, has died

Joseph “Jo Mersa” Marley has died at the age of 31. The Jamaican-American reggae musician was found dead in his car on Tuesday morning (December 27). According to South Florida radio station WZPP, the cause of death is an asthma attack.

Like fathers, like sons

When Jo Mersa Marley was born in Jamaica on March 12, 1991, music was in his cradle: As the son of eight-time Grammy winner Stephen Marley and grandson of reggae icon Bob Marley, there was hardly any way around doing the same as his ancestors. He once described his childhood to the American “Rolling Stone” as follows: “I came home and tried to do my homework, but in the end I got distracted and stopped by the studio”.

As a young boy he was on stage with his father, his uncle Ziggy Marley and the family band Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. He finally moved to Miami at the age of 11. In 2010 he released his first song “My Girl”, followed four years later by a solo EP called “Comfortable”. He bundled features with reggae and dancehall artists like Busy Signal and Kabaka Pyramid on his feature debut Eternal in 2011.

Prime Minister and musician colleagues condole

Over the past few hours, numerous personalities have paid tribute to the deceased. Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness wrote on Twitter that he was “deeply saddened” by the news of his death and expressed his condolences to Marley’s parents Stephen and Kerry Marley. Marley’s death is a “great loss for music” and the new generation of reggae.

My heartfelt sympathies to Joseph’s friends and associates and to the Reggae music fraternity and fans everywhere.
His untimely passing at the young age of 31y.o. is a huge loss to the music as we look to the next generation.

— Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) December 28, 2022

Dancehall musician Sean Paul posted a picture of Marley to Instagram and wrote: “Rest in peace. My condolences to Stephen Marley and the entire Marley family, all his friends and fans.”

DJ Khaled posted another portrait of the artist and wrote: “Stephen Marley, my deepest condolences. My prayers are with you and your family.”

<!–

–>

<!–

–>