Zimbabwean News You Can Trust.
American rising reggae star Joseph Mersa Marley was found unresponsive in a vehicle in America on Tuesday, according to the streaming service TIDAL.
Joseph, who went by the stage name Jo Mersa, had reportedly had suffered from asthma his whole life, with South Florida radio station WZPP claiming he had died of an asthma attack.
His grandfather Bob was killed by cancer in 1981 aged 36, and was survived by 11 children with seven different women.
Jo was raised in Jamaica, where he attended Saints Peter and Paul Preparatory School, before he moved to Florida where he was a student at Palmetto High School.
He studied studio engineering while at Miami Dade College and in 2014 released his EP “Comfortable”, followed last year by “Eternal”.
It’s not known whether he will feature in the new biopic of Bob’s life currently being made, which will star Kingsley Ben-Adir, 36, as the reggae icon.
Jo, whose dad is musician Stephen Marley, 50, suggested in a 2014 interview with the Jamaica Observer following in his father’s footsteps was challenging.
He said: “My father has created a legacy by putting out songs with meaning. It’s something I have to live up to.”
Jo added in a separate chat with The Pier he felt “no pressure” to live up to his famous surname.
He said; “There’s things that you have to overcome and things you just have to do and that’s how it is. We have to go through life you know?
“There’s no pressure for me. I give thanks for being a Marley. I’m very appreciative and thankful that I am born where I am born and put where God has decided. I’m very thankful about it and proud.”
