international stars
The Bob Marley/Rita Marley
Foundation's global initiative, Africa Unite concert,
will be held in Jamaica for the first time on Saturday
February 23, 2008 at James Bond Beach, St
Mary.
It will be a combination of two events with a host of
national and international artistes at which the
feature documentary, Africa Unite, will make its
Caribbean debut as part of the celebrations marking
the anniversary of the birth of late Reggae superstar
Robert Nesta Marley.
The film, starring Rita Marley,
Danny Glover, Angelique Kidjo, Lauryn Hill and the
Marley children, is produced and directed by Stephanie
Black of Life and Debt, H-2 Worker's fame. It will be
launched in February 2008 at the
Hilton Kingston Hotel.
People's Telecom will host the launch of the
documentary which highlights the vision for African
unity to which Bob Marley was devoted throughout his
musical career.
"We feel extremely honoured now in 2007 to be
asked by Mrs Rita Marley to host Africa Unite in
2008," stated Michael Dawson, CEO and co-founder
of the Jamaican-owned telecommunications company.
"This is a perfect synergy
between the Marley Foundation and People's Telecom, as
the company, from the outset, was founded on the
principles of stalwarts like Marcus Garvey and His
Imperial Majesty (Haile Selassie I), and influenced by
the words of Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny
Wailer," Dawson added in a press release.
The month of February will be bursting with activities
celebrating what would have been Bob Marley's 63rd
birthday had he lived. In addition to the documentary
launch, youth symposiums, lectures, and a Bob Marley
football competition are planned.
On February 6, 2005, over 350,000
people gathered in the historic Meskel Square of Addis
Ababa, Ethiopia to celebrate what would have been
Marley's 60th birthday. That 12-hour concert featuring
a host of internationally acclaimed artistes is
interwoven throughout the documentary, highlighting
the reggae icon's global influence.
According to reports of the event,
American singer Lauryn Hill passionately debuted new
material; Benin-born Angelique Kidjo jumped into the
audience during her performance; and Jamaica's Bob
Andy serenaded the Ethiopian crowd with his timeless
classics.
The concert culminated with a spectacular performance
by Rita Marley along with the I-Threes and all
Marley's sons singing their father's songs.
"Last year, Stephen Marley put
together the Smile Jamaica concert and that worked
very well, and then Mrs Marley, who has been doing
Africa Unite for three years before that in Ethiopia,
Ghana and in South Africa, decided to combine
both," a source close to the event told Splash.
"While it is important to have
it in Africa, she thought it important as well to have
the Caribbean and the people of African descent to
also unite as well. The idea is next year to have
Smile Jamaica/Africa Unite combined as one event.
"The idea is to push a positive
message, it's not just about Jamaicans, but Jamaicans
need to think more Afrocentric. we'll be having a nice
mixture of national and international artistes. We're
working with Ghetto Youth International and the Bob
Marley Group of Companies and Headline Entertainment
is co-producing the event," the source said.
Source: Jamaica Observer
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