Reggae musician Joseph Jo Mersa Marley, Bob Marley’s grandson, has passed away.
According to sources, the specifics of Joseph’s death are unknown, but he passed away on Tuesday from asthma-related complications. Joseph is better known in the music industry as Jo Mersa.
After spending his early years in Jamaica, Joseph Marley, the son of Stephen Marley, enrolled at Miami Dade College to study audio engineering.
Jo Mersa discussed his songwriting skills in an interview with the Jamaica Gleaner in 2021 that was timed to the release of his second EP, “Eternal,” which included Melii, Black-Am-I, Busy Signal, and Kabaka Pyramid.
“In all honesty, it depends on the vibe because sometimes you will have a tune or idea, like a whole tune is in your head but no beat, and other times, you have a beat and no tune,” he said. “That’s for me, of course. I can’t speak for everyone. Some songs I am able to finish in a night, and some take longer.”
“May he find Eternal Peace as we mourn his loss during this season of goodwill,” Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness wrote in a tribute to Joseph “Jo Mersa” Marley following his death on Tuesday
His grandfather was a pioneer in the reggae movement and known for songs including “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright,” “Get Up, Stand Up,” “Is This Love,” “I Shot the Sheriff,” “No Woman, No Cry” and more.
Bob Marley died in 1981 of melanoma at only 36. He had 11 children with seven different women.