Kingsley Ben-Adir, the star of “Bob Marley: One Love,” was unsure that he wanted to take on the role of the legendary reggae artist. He cited his lack of singing ability and guitar skills, as well as the fact that he is not a Jamaican. However, after talking with the Marley family and assurances by the film’s director, he agreed, and his efforts have been well received by audiences worldwide.

Initial reluctance to accept the role

Ben-Adir noted that the only thing he and Bob Marley have in common is that both of them have a white parent and a Black parent. He wanted to make sure that everyone knew he couldn’t sing, or dance, or play guitar, or speak Jamaican patois. All of these elements feature strongly in the film.

Preparing to be Bob Marley

After receiving assurances from the Marley family, he prepared for the performance by wearing dreadlocks that were created by a team over a period of several months. One of the major hurdles in portraying Marley was the necessity of learning to speak Jamaican Patois. The filmmakers and the family were adamant about depicting Marley’s authentic language, which they emphasized from the beginning as an important feature. So Ben-Adir spent more than a year becoming immersed in the language.

Commitment to the language

Ben-Adir recognized the strong commitment of everyone to make a film that was as authentic as possible, and now that the film has been released, the actor says he will not perform in Jamaican Patois again out of respect for the language and culture of Jamaica. He came to view Patois as not simply a dialect, but a language. A team of seven or eight language experts on the set agreed. Ben-Adir said he has such a respect for the language of Marley that he didn’t speak it beyond the movie set where he was surrounded by Jamaicans who could direct him to use it correctly. “I just wanted to keep it sacred, you know?” he said.

Jamaican patois

In Jamaica today, the language reflects the country’s history, which is marked by interaction with various cultures and languages from many different ethnic, social, and linguistic backgrounds. Only the Arawaks were the original inhabitants of the island. It is estimated that more than 90 percent of Jamaica’s current population descended from slaves brought from Wet Africa by British colonials. As such, the local language of Jamaica also displays influences of people from, Spain, and Portugal, as well as Jews and Amerindians who were brought as slaves from other areas in the Caribbean. Kwa, Manding, and Kru are among the most prominent African languages, while early modern English came to the region with sailors, soldiers, convicts, settlers, and indentured servants. These influences showed regional dialects as well. Today, most of Jamaica’s people speak both English and Patois, and there is a movement applying pressure to the government to make Jamaican Patois an official language in addition to English.

Photo – Deposit Photos