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Jamaican musician Jo Mersa Marley, grandson of Reggae legend Bob Marley, recently passed away at the age of 31.
News of his death was confirmed by a representative to Rolling Stone, but the person did not reveal the cause of his death.
Reportedly, Jo Mersa Marley was found unresponsive in a vehicle on December 27, according to streaming service TIDAL reports. Adding to this information, South Florida radio station WZPP reported that he passed away from an asthma attack.
As of writing, the location and circumstances of his death are unclear.
Twitterati pay tributes to Jo Mersa Marley for his untimely death
After news of Jo Mersa Marley's death went viral, netizens paid tribute to him on Twitter. Several users remembered the young musician and stated that he had "gone too soon," while others recalled his concerts and contributions in the music industry, asking others to celebrate his remarkable talent.
Brief background of Jo Mersa Marley's short career
Born on March 12, 1991, Jo Mersa Marley was a native of Kingston, Jamaica. The artist studied at Saints Peter and Paul Preparatory School there.
He moved to Miami at the age of 11 and attended Palmetto High School. Being the third generation of Bob Marley, he was always surrounded by music.
The artist has performed on stage with his father, Stephen Marley, as well as his uncle, Ziggy Marley, and aunts Cadella and Sharon Marley (their group was called Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers).
In 2010, Jo released his first song, My Girl, in collaboration with Bambaata. He released his debut solo EP Comfortable four years later, after graduating from Miami Dade College where he studied studio engineering.
In a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone, Jo Mersa revealed that he and his cousin Daniel Bambaata were often asked to perform the 1989 song by Medley Makers,’ Look Who’s Dancing.
While speaking with the publication, Jo Mersa Marley revealed what it was like to grow up surrounded by musicians.
“It was a very magical thing, seeing those people come around to the house and how the whole work process would happen. I would come home and try to do homework, but I’d end up getting distracted and go peek in the studio. You would always want to run in and run out to see what was going on.”
Further in the interview, Mersa stated that he was "still experimenting" and was planning to do "something new" with his roots.
In 2016, he collaborated with his father on the song, Revelation Party, from his album Revelation Part 2: The Fruit of Life.
Mersa last worked on a project in 2021 called Eternal, which featured artists like Black-Am-I, Kabaka Pyramid, and Busy Signal.
Jo Mersa is reportedly survived by his daughter and wife.
