The &Life of Bob Marley& was celebrated on Wednesday in the University Union Ballroom with nearly 300 people in attendance.

Marley&s former colleague and business associate, Roger Steffens, hosted the event. He displayed unreleased Marley footage honoring the artist&s life.

Marley, who died 24 years ago, is responsible for creating the album &Legend,& which has been No. 1 on the popular Billboard charts consecutively longer than any other album. In recent years, the album continues to go Gold about every six months, Steffens said.

The third world superstar became a major revolutionist in the country of Jamaica during a time of political adversity.

Marley used his reggae music and lyrics to inspire the people of his country and, eventually, people all over the world. In the 1930s, Marley spent most of his years in Kingston, Jamaica. The people in this area didn&t have jobs, an education and some would say no hope for a future.

Don Taylor, Marley&s friend and manager, said that Marley&s music was a way for the people of Jamaica to communicate with the government.

&(Marley&s music was) the only way for the poor people to get their lyrics across to politicians,& Taylor said.

Island Records signed Marley and The Wailers in 1972 and contributed to the spread of his reggae music, selling out concerts worldwide.

Through his earnings, Marley financially supported nearly 6,000 people per month, including his 11 children, who became millionaires when Marley died. Marley recorded nearly 400 songs and conducted nearly 425 concerts with crowds reaching up to 100,000 people.

Marley attributed all of his success to marijuana, Steffens said. Marley did, however, note in one of the interviews presented by Steffens that smoking marijuana was not required in order to be a Rastafarian.

Steffens began traveling with Marley on the Survival Tour in 1979 when he became a huge fan. Steffens said that he was looking for guidance in his life and after being introduced to Marley, his music changed his life forever.

&I wanted to find out everything about him & reggae, Jamaica, politics, slavery, Africa, the Bible and Ethiopia,& Steffens said.

Steffens has now been researching and collecting Marley memorabilia for more than 32 years. His home consists of six bedrooms that are filled to the ceiling with Marley archives, which have recently been sold to create the National Museum of Jamaican Music. Steffens also owns The Beat magazine, which he says has been the biggest reggae beat magazine for more than 23 years.

Steffens said that Marley used marijuana to heal his nation, where people were being suppressed. The marijuana was used as a sacrament to gain higher understanding, where Marley could speak to God and God could speak through Marley.

&Pick up Legend and prepare to hear the psalms,& Steffens said. &(Marley) re-wrote the Bible for modern times.&

8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;8211;

Curtis Grima can be reached at [email protected]