Bob Marley‘s grandson, Joseph ‘Jo Mersa’ Marley, has passed away at the age of 31.
According to RadarOnline, Mersa was found unresponsive in his vehicle on Tuesday (December 27). While an official cause of death has not been confirmed, Florida radio station WZPP is reportedly claiming that it was due to an asthma attack.
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Like his legendary grandfather and his father, Stephen Marley, Mersa made a living off his musical talent. He launched his career in his early 20s with 2014’s Comfortable EP that featured fellow reggae artists Jemere Morgan and Wayne Marshall. He also appeared on many of his father’s songs and was popular on the festival circuit.
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Mersa’s second album, Eternal, arrived last year and featured the likes of Melii, Black-Am-i, Busy Signal and Kabaka Pyramid.
The late artist’s Instagram page showed he was steadily working until his passing, with multiple flyers for shows standing as his last few posts. The comments are now filled with prayers and well wishes from fans and peers.
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Late last year, the Marley family worked with Guild to gift DJ Khaled a Madeira A-20 guitar – which Bob Marley himself used at home when he was writing songs.
“DJ Khaled, we are excited to this new guitar with you,” a personal note from the Marley family read, as seen in a video posted to social media. “As someone who has an appreciation for Bob Marley’s life and music, we want you to be the first to play the Guild guitar.
The note continued: “Based on Bob’s at home songwriting, this song inspired songs that helped unite the world and we hope it gives you inspiration as well.”
The We The Best mogul thought it would be a good idea to put the guitar to use and share a video of him playing it. But being a guitar novice, the result was less than musically pleasing – leading to Khaled being roasted by Bob Marley fans far and wide.
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HipHopDX sends our condolences to the Marley family.
