Days before the highly anticipated movie about his father’s life hits theaters nationwide, David “Ziggy” Marley, eldest son of Bob Marley, took to social media to pay tribute to his mother, Rita.
He honored the reggae singer’s legal wife with two touching posts.
The first one, shared on Thursday, Feb. 8, read, “@officialritamarley I want to get high so high I want to get high so high ,one draw, one draw #RITAMARLEY. One Draw was released in 1982 as a single from the ‘Who feels it knows it ‘ album.”
Ziggy doubled back and wrote “mommy” in the comments.
Sharon, his eldest sister on his mom’s side, commented, “Aaawwweeeesssss QUEENIE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Ziggy’s second post was published on Friday, Feb. 9. In his message, he celebrated his mother for her devotion to his father.
Ziggy’s caption referenced the attempted assassination of Bob Marley in 1976 that took place at Marley’s home days before he was set to perform at the Smile Jamaica Concert in Kingston. Seven gunmen raided the Marley home while Marley and his bandmates were on break from rehearsals. There were several injuries, including Bob’s manager, a band member, Bob, who was shot in the chest and arm, and Rita, who was shot in the head as she was parked in a car in the driveway. There were no fatalities, and Rita was at Bob’s side as he performed in Kingston two days later.
“When a woman tek a bullet in her head because she loves and stands with you and still show up days after to stand by your side again with no concern about her own safety it does something to a man it tells a man something he will never forget and forever cherish a woman like that is impossible to find one in a billion billion @bobmarley #rideordie wife @officialritamarley @onelovemovie JAH,” read Ziggy’s Instagram post.
His dedication continued in the comments. “I admire @officialritamarley’s strength, courage, and dignity. She is truly from a lineage of African Queens, and it’s not just because she is my mother; I have truly seen everyone who knows how royal she is. I’ve got stories from my childhood of her standing up under threat that, to this day, are etched in my memory. This woman is no ordinary woman,” Ziggy wrote.
Rohan Marley, Ziggy’s half-brother on his father’s side and the father of five of Lauryn Hill’s six children, shared heart emojis in Ziggy’s comments. Rohan’s daughter Eden Marley wrote, “Maximum,” a colloquialism used to show respect.
“No woman can walk in my mother’s shoes. She is the real QUEEN. That’s just facts. No hard feelings,” echoed Sharon under the Feb. 9 post.
The tributes to Rita come just days after a post from the “One Love” chart-topper’s white mistress of six years incited backlash on social media.
On Feb. 6, what would have been Bob Marley’s 79th birthday, Cindy Breakspeare, the mother of Marley’s son, Damian, wrote, “Bob, on what would have been your 79th Birthday, I celebrate the incredible impact you’ve had globally, cherish our amazing son Damian, and reminisce about the beautiful times we shared—from 56 Hope Road to your mother’s home in Delaware and Miami, New York, Oakley Street in London, The Bahamas, Trinidad, and beyond.”
“The memories are countless, but our love for you is endless. Happy Birthday to the people’s hero, loved and revered by all,” she continued.
Marley had many relationships outside of his marriage to Rita, whose full name is Alpharita Constantia “Rita” Anderson. The two were wed in 1966 and remained married until his death in 1981.
Despite his infidelities, Rita remained in his life, even when it was painful and disrespectful. Once, she spoke about Cindy in an interview.
“I can remember we have this ‘Exodus’ album, and he was doing this song that I found out after he wrote it for Cindy,” she recalled in the interview that has resurfaced on TikTok. “I said, ‘What? You write a song for Cindy and want me to sing it? I’m not singing.’”
“I was stubborn,” she admitted, saying she told those setting up the show, “I am not going.”
Cindy appears in the video clip and says that many people believed that all of the love songs on that album were about her.
Regardless of that, Cindy never wore the Marley name.
When Rita posted her salute to her husband, gearing up for the movie’s release, her daughter Cedella commented, “The One and only. Many were called, but you were chosen. Go deh Mrs. Marley.”
