That Mrs Latifa Chambers announced to the world that her husband, James Chambers has passed away.
Who is Latifa? Who is James Chambers?
They are one and the same.
Tokotaya?
I mean Mr and Mrs Reggae. Or you haven’t heard the news yet that reggae super star, Jimmy Cliff, born James Chambers, is no more? At least that is what Latifa, his wife, confirmed on her Instagram page, Monday, November 24. She said Jimmy passed at the age of 81.
Wow! May the good Lord grant him eternal rest.
Have you heard the news?
That what again?
That Jimmy Cliff was renowned for his singing talent and acting prowess. His hit songs include
HURRICANE NATTIE, his first single which was released when he was just 14 years old.THE HARDER THEY COME, MANY RIVERS TO CROSS and YOU CAN GET IF YOU REALLY WANT. Others include WONDERFUL WORLD, BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, a very popular Song worldwide. Then of course VIETNAM, STRUGGLING MAN, SITTING IN LIMBO.
He was conscious of his black heritage, a reason why he embarked on a musical tour of Africa in 1974…
Hope he had a good time in Naija?!
Abi he didn’t “branch” in our country?
He did and, o my! it was an adventure that landed him in jail.
What for?
No thanks to contractual disagreements with the promoters which landed both parties in court and a brief stay in jail. It was a nightmare which resulted in Jimmy Cliff’s lamentation of a song titled, THE NEWS (Have you heard the news?), a musical rendition of his travails in “our own dear Naija for show”. He saw “wen”!!
What a pity!
Pity indeed. The collateral damage caused by the fiasco is still being felt in the entertainment world. Many a foreign artiste would have to think thrice before going into a contract to engage in a concert tour of the country. Things may have changed recently with the whole entertainment world in a seemingly endless romance with Afrobeats and willing to come down to have a bite of the cake.
O ma se o! What a pity!
Have you heard the news?
Again? That kini se kinni? (that what and what?).
That Jimmy Cliff did not die like other famous reggae artistes.
How do you mean?
He died at a ripe (?) age of 81 which I consider a seamless passage to the other world where only the holy angels sing reggae without GANJA.
Spoke on! Do you still have the news?
Yes. Bob Marley died of Cancer at the age of 36, May 11, 1981.Africa was lucky to have Lucky Dube but unlucky to lose him to “car snatchers” on the street of Johannesburg at the age of 43, on October 18, 2007. Peter Tosh of the “equal rights and justice” fame, died at the age of 42, killed by “armed robbers” during an attempted robbery in his home,September 11, 1987. Death and the Reggae men! The harder they come, the harder they die. Who and what will put paid to this returning cycle of fatal stupidity?
You got it! Spot on! Seems the harder they came, the harder they fell in their prime. And the young stars have disappeared like meteors, just like that, on the horizon.
That is the irony of life. Beautiful people in this wonderful world of Reggae, struggling to survive with their talents and using music as a weapon to fight poverty, corruption and injustice are tragically felled by DEATH’s Scythe so early in life.Dube was not Lucky. He died barely 40 (42 to be precise). Jimmy Cliff aka James Chambers was an exception. Though not as profoundly ideological as Marley, Dube and Tosh he was more blessed to have reached the ripe age of 81. May God condole Latifa , his wife, just as the Lord comforted Rita on the passing of her Rastaman hubby, Bob Marley. May the good Lord pacify the “wailing wailers” of the Reggae world who will weep bucketful for Jimmy just as they are still wailing over the untimely passing of the super stars before the current tragic occurrence.
Dele Omotunde
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