LET'S APPRECIATE THEM.

We live in a world of comparison. In everything we do, we are always compared to others. Michael Jackson and Prince, Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray  and then Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo.

The list is never ending.

This is what I learned when I was at a jaba base recently when reggae fanatics were comparing the late reggae legends Bob Marley and Lucky Dube.

Though the comparison seems to have no basis since Bob is considered to many as the godfather of reggae music, Dube on the other hand deserves much respect.

Let's take a look in these giants' career.

Bob was the one who appeared on the scene first with his band The Wailers, his music was mostly about spiritual, life and ganja.

He used  music to preach about peace and love and mostly he promoted togetherness as he sings in his hit song One Love.

He also talks about imperialism and warns people to be conscious about their rights. In his song "Redemption" he tells us to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery and fight for freedom. He sings "....how long should they kill our prophets, when we stand aside and look.."

He warns us to always be guarded . In one of his songs he sings "...your worst enemy could be your best friend".

Bob was prophetic in his songs . He once sung "...they pretend they love, and plan to destroy you". This is what happened to Muammar Gaddafi.

When we look into the career of Dube, the most notable difference in his music is his beats and instrumentals. He had one of the best back up vocalist in reggae music. In one of his performance in Jamaica, the late Joseph Hill hailed him as the only Reggae artist outside from Jamaica who had the charisma of reggae greats.

His songs are mostly about governance, neocolonialism , war and crime and opression.

In the song "House of Exile" he talks about a freedom fighter who is away from his family because he is fighting for the country ".

My favorite song of his is "The way it is". This song has moral value and teaching. He sings "....now that you got what you wanted.. you don't even know my name... remember be good to the people on your way up the ladder cause you'll need them on your way down.." He sings about the importance of gratitude.

In the song "Prisoner" he talks about him being a prisoner in his own country. He says that the government is building more prisons than schools.

There are similarities between Dube and Bob as well as differences. Both were unique in their own way.

Comparing them is doing injustice to the reggae music as we don't compare but we appreciate them. Rastas never compare as it's a weakness.