Quotes by Jamaican Authors

"If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life."

Marcus Garvey, Jamaican Publisher

Life, Confidence, Race, Self

44

"I have no desire to take all black people back to Africa; there are blacks who are no good here and will likewise be no good there."

Marcus Garvey, Jamaican Publisher

People, Desire, Will

43

"Every man gotta right to decide his own destiny."

Bob Marley, Jamaican Musician

Destiny, Man, Right

41

"I mean the flesh, never fade! The flesh never leave the creation, see, because with that divine spirit the flesh cannot fade. If the spirit is weak then the flesh fade, seen?"

Peter Tosh, Jamaican Musician

Creation, Spirit

38

"Look to Africa, for there a king will be crowned."

Marcus Garvey, Jamaican Publisher

Will,

37

"Liberate the minds of men and ultimately you will liberate the bodies of men."

Marcus Garvey, Jamaican Publisher

Man, Men, Will

37

"Africa for the Africans... at home and abroad!"

Marcus Garvey, Jamaican Publisher

Home,

36

"Rastafari not a culture, it's a reality."

Bob Marley, Jamaican Musician

Culture, Reality

32

"Our success educationally, industrially and politically is based upon the protection of a nation founded by ourselves. And the nation can be nowhere else but in Africa."

Marcus Garvey, Jamaican Publisher

Success, Nation, Protection

32

"I'm always in love."

Ziggy Marley, Jamaican Musician

Love,

30

"Get up, stand up, Stand up for your rights. Get up, stand up, Don't give up the fight."

Bob Marley, Jamaican Musician

Fight, Rights

30

"My lyrics come from my experiences growing up in life, trying to find out and express who I am. That's basically it. I'm not trying to be a prophet or anything like that. I'm just reflecting on life."

Sean Paul, Jamaican Musician

Life, Growing up, Trying

28

"What I say is from my heart. You must be sincere. So when I sing a song, people are supposed to feel it."

Wayne Wonder, Jamaican Musician

People, Heart, Song

28

"Dancehall is just like hip-hop in that it doesn't always talk about bling; it talks about conscious issues."

Sean Paul, Jamaican Musician

Talk,

27

"There shall be no solution to this race problem until you, yourselves, strike the blow for liberty."

Marcus Garvey, Jamaican Publisher

Liberty, Race, Solution

26

"The good times of today, are the sad thoughts of tomorrow."

Bob Marley, Jamaican Musician

Thought, Thoughts, Today, Tomorrow

26

"My dream is to live a good life and be loving, be close to God and be a good human being and bring peace to people."

Ziggy Marley, Jamaican Musician

Life, Peace, God, People

25

"A reading man and woman is a ready man and woman, but a writing man and woman is exact."

Marcus Garvey, Jamaican Publisher

Reading, Man, Woman, Writing

22

"I am not reggae, I am me. I am bigger than the limits that are put on me. It all has to do with the individual journey."

Ziggy Marley, Jamaican Musician

Journey, Limits

22

"I am not a politician... I only suffer the consequences."

Peter Tosh, Jamaican Musician

Consequence, Consequences

21

"I think it's wrong the way they criminalize herb. There are many more uses than just smoking. Beneficial to mankind."

Ziggy Marley, Jamaican Musician

Mankind, Smoking, Wrong

20

"Me only have one ambition, y'know. I only have one thing I really like to see happen. I like to see mankind live together - black, white, Chinese, everyone - that's all."

Bob Marley, Jamaican Musician

Ambition, Mankind

19

"URGE is a grassroots charity. We organized to get some incubators to give to the hospital for the kids. We donate money to orphanages."

Ziggy Marley, Jamaican Musician

Money, Charity, Kids

19

"Music is your own talent and is an important tool. Even if you don't want to be a role model, get ready to be in the public eye. Energy is there, you just have to use it."

Sean Paul, Jamaican Musician

Music, Talent, Energy, Eye

19

"Idealism is like a castle in the air if it is not based on a solid foundation of social and political realism."

Claude McKay, Jamaican Writer

Idealism, Realism

18

"Sometimes I'd hear things on other people's records and I say I wanted it on my records, but Leslie Kong said, no, it wasn't right and that it wasn't my style."

Desmond Dekker, Jamaican Musician

People, Right, Style

17

"Last time I was in Jamaica I financed a teacher to teach in an orphanage."

Ziggy Marley, Jamaican Musician

Time,

17

"My grandmother always told me you must keep to your old roads and stick to your original friends and just go through smooth, be careful and stay positive."

Wayne Wonder, Jamaican Musician

Positive, Friends, Old

17

"And I ask why am I black, they say I was born in sin, and shamed inequity. One of the main songs we used to sing in church makes me sick, 'love wash me and I shall be whiter than snow."

Peter Tosh, Jamaican Musician

Church, Sin, Snow, Songs

17

"I've been here before and will come again, but I'm not going this trip through."

Bob Marley, Jamaican Musician

Will,

16

"Models are there to look like mannequins, not like real people. Art and illusion are supposed to be fantasy."

Grace Jones, Jamaican Model

Art, People, Fantasy, Illusion

16

"Jamaica has problems; America has problems; everywhere has problems."

Ziggy Marley, Jamaican Musician

America, Problems

16

"That's me, man - I'm a lover not a fighter."

Wayne Wonder, Jamaican Musician

Man,

15

"Yoga is a great thing and meditation is also great to get connected to yourself more."

Ziggy Marley, Jamaican Musician

Meditation, Yoga

14

"I am a leader. Leaders always get heat. They're always going against the grain. Jimi Hendrix got heat; Bob Marley got heat; Miles Davis got heat. Every great artist got heat. Heat means you're doing something right."

Ziggy Marley, Jamaican Musician

Leader, Artist, Leaders, Right

14

"I think that every single person should play sports."

Donovan Bailey, Jamaican Athlete

Sports, Play

14

"Use, don't abuse."

Grace Jones, Jamaican Model

Abuse,

14

"The whole world is run on bluff."

Marcus Garvey, Jamaican Publisher

World,

13

"I used to have this little mouse. I buy birds from the pet store and I let them go."

Ziggy Marley, Jamaican Musician

Pet, Birds, Mouse

13

"He actually came up to me and we started speaking. And from that conversation we were able to come to a meeting of the minds and it seemed as if it was clear to me that he wanted to do similar things to what I wanted to do."

Maurice Ashley, Jamaican Celebrity

Conversation, Meeting

13

"My future is righteousness."

Bob Marley, Jamaican Musician

Future, Righteousness

12

"I let my game do the talking. I've had incidents like that but when I compare my own story to the stories that have happened forty or fifty years ago particularly to Jackie Robinson for example."

Maurice Ashley, Jamaican Celebrity

Example, Talking, Years

12

"I like honesty and fair play."

Marcus Garvey, Jamaican Publisher

Honesty, Play

12

"The music I do is food... that will be your dinner."

Ziggy Marley, Jamaican Musician

Music, Food, Will

12

"My music fights against the system that teaches to live and die."

Bob Marley, Jamaican Musician

Music,

12

"I don't have to wait to realize the good old days."

Ziggy Marley, Jamaican Musician

Old,

11

"Bob Marley isn't my name. I don't even know my name yet."

Bob Marley, Jamaican Musician

Name,

11

"Whatsoever things common to man, that man has done, man can do."

Marcus Garvey, Jamaican Publisher

Man,

11

"In my songs, the sex is all subliminal. It's subliminal, spiritual."

Ziggy Marley, Jamaican Musician

Sex, Songs, Spiritual

11

"I rented a house, recorded the stuff in a house. Just took my time 'cuz sometimes it's just rush, rush, rush. I just wanna live and play music."

Ziggy Marley, Jamaican Musician

Music, Time, Play