In Ireland, where Bob Marley’s father came from, the word means a close friend, an ally, or at the risk of offending my Jamaican friends, a good buddy who has your back. However, in Jamaica, unless it is preceded by the word team or class, ‘mate’.
In 1986, five years after her husband’s passing, Alfarita “Rita” Marley founded The Bob Marley Foundation. The mission: To honour his life “through community upliftment initiatives focusing on edu.