Bob Marley‘s grandson, Jo Mersa Marley, has died at 31 years old, a rep for the musician confirmed to Rolling Stone on Tuesday. His cause of death has not yet been released.
Born into reggae music royalty, Jo is the grandson of Bob Marley and son of Stephen Marley, whose impact on the genre and the music industry as a whole has spanned decades. Other notable members of the Marley family include Ziggy, Sharon and Cedella Marley.
Since the news of Jo’s death, the Prime Minister of Jamaica Andrew Holness took to Twitter to share his condolences, writing, “My heartfelt sympathies to Joseph’s friends and associates and to the Reggae music fraternity and fans everywhere.”
This is truly sad news; sending strength to the Marley family at this time.
Repost/video credit @Babsy_grange :
I am deeply saddened by the news that artiste Joseph Marley, son of Reggae star, Stephen Marley and grand son of Reggae super star, Bob Marley has died. pic.twitter.com/OsXQKYOKEi
— Andrew Holness (@AndrewHolnessJM) December 28, 2022
The politician added, “His untimely passing at the young age of 31y.o. is a huge loss to the music as we look to the next generation.”
In a follow-up tweet, Holness wrote, “May he find Eternal Peace as we mourn his loss during this season of goodwill when we celebrate with family and friends our love for each other.”
Following in the family business, Jo was a reggae and dance hall musician. In 2014, he released his debut EP, Comfortable, and in 2020 he released Everlasting (Remixes). The Jamaican-born artist’s last body of work was with Eternal, a seven-track EP.
