The second Joseph ‘Jo Mersa’ Marley birthday celebration last Saturday (March 9) delivered to expectation, as the riches of Jamaica’s musical talent were on show serving a musical feast to all those in attendance.

The Marley family curated a feast for the second installation of the musical tribute to Jo Mersa, who was poised to make significant strides in the industry before his sudden passing in December 2022, due to acute asthma exacerbation. 

The show opened with a 30-minute Nyabinghi session and closed with a solemn presentation of a cake to marking Jo Mersa’s 33rd birthday on March 12.

The event was sponsored by Bigga, Wata, TruJuice, Jeeter, Irie FM, Ghetto Youths International, and Marley Naturals. There were performances by Jah Izrehl, Ras-I, Christopher Ellis, and Jahmiel. 

A high point of the show was Yohan Marley directing a one-hour tribute to his brother and introduced his sister, Mystic and cousin, YG Marley to the stage. YG’s performance of ‘Praising Jah in The Moonlight‘ had a huge reaction with the bumper crowd, especially when his mother, Lauren Hill joined him on stage. 

Family performances

The song, one of the biggest songs of 2024 garnering over 27 million views on YouTube, which samples his grandfather’s song ‘Crisis‘. Sunshine (Jo Mersa’s daughter), joined her uncle on stage to do the song titled after her. 

There was overwhelming family support with other Marleys taking the stage including King Cruff (Stephanie’s son); Zuri (Ziggy’s daughter) and Elijah (Damian’s son) with Yohan having his own jam session. He was joined with Black Am I, a born and bred resident of Nine Mile.

This was all done before Jemere Morgan did a short stint on the stage. Kabaka Pyramid, Jesse Royal, Jahshii, Irie Soulja, Iba Mahr, and Protoje were thrilling in their collective delivery. 

The young Marleys and early acts were a tasty main course on their own, but the second half of the show was an extra-large serving. Julian Marley opened The Marley Brothers’ segment and took centre stage as the newest Grammy winner in the reggae category to good reception, especially to ‘Boom Draw‘. 

Ky-Mani included Protoje with ‘Rasta Love‘, their 2011 collaboration, during his set. Stephen and Damian took the stage together and the energy in the venue lifted.

The patrons barely had a chance to catch their breaths as Buju Banton, Spragga Benz, Bugle, Lutan Fyah, and Professor Nuts performed their hits.

Buju Banton was keen to showcase his support for Stephen and the family.

He told the crowd that Jo Mersa was like his son as he was able to watch him grow. Sizzla and Capelton joined Stephen and Damian for a blazing show-ending set altogether.