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Jimmy Cliff performs at the 2012 Raggamuffin Music Festival in New Zealand. (Photo by Eva Rinaldi / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0.) |
Before Bob Marley — before global playlists turned “One Love” into a slogan — there was Jimmy Cliff, the voice that made the world stop and listen to Jamaica. He carried Kingston’s hunger, rhythm and pride onto movie screens and record players everywhere with “The Harder They Come,” the 1972 cult classic that didn’t just soundtrack a movement, it invented one. Cliff died Monday at 81 from a seizure followed by pneumonia, his family confirmed.
“To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his whole career,” his wife, Latifa Cliff, wrote on his official page, thanking friends, artists and the doctors who cared for him. “Jimmy, my darling, may you rest in peace.”
Cliff was the sound of rebellion turned spiritual. Born James Chambers in rural St. James Parish, he came up through Kingston’s rough, brilliant scene in the early ’60s, recording ska sides before reggae even had a name. By the time he crossed the Atlantic to the U.K., his writing — “Many Rivers to Cross,” “You Can Get It If You Really Want,” “Vietnam” — was already global protest music: hopeful, unbowed and honest about pain.
“To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his whole career,” his wife, Latifa Cliff, wrote on his official page, thanking friends, artists and the doctors who cared for him. “Jimmy, my darling, may you rest in peace.”
Cliff was the sound of rebellion turned spiritual. Born James Chambers in rural St. James Parish, he came up through Kingston’s rough, brilliant scene in the early ’60s, recording ska sides before reggae even had a name. By the time he crossed the Atlantic to the U.K., his writing — “Many Rivers to Cross,” “You Can Get It If You Really Want,” “Vietnam” — was already global protest music: hopeful, unbowed and honest about pain.
Then came “The Harder They Come.”
In Perry Henzell’s film, Cliff played Ivan Martin, the poor dreamer who cuts a record, gets cheated and turns outlaw when the system boxes him in. The movie’s grit, humor and tragic swagger mirrored Jamaica’s post-independence struggle and pushed reggae from local rhythm to international statement. Every artist who’s ever rapped, sung or filmed about hustle and betrayal owes something to it.
The film’s story — ambition, betrayal and survival against a rigged system — would later echo through hip-hop, the kind of hustler narrative artists from Jay-Z to Nas would identify with. Its soundtrack remains a cornerstone of global Black storytelling: defiant, spiritual, cinematic.
Cliff never chased Marley’s saintly myth; he stayed the restless craftsman. His 2012 album “Rebirth” — which earned him a Grammy and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction — sounded like a man circling back to first principles. “One has to go back to point zero to move forward again,” he told NPR that year, recording with the same live-band energy that birthed reggae itself.
Tributes poured in across the music world. Trojan Records called him “a true pioneer whose songs and spirit helped carry reggae across the world.” UB40 said he’d “finally crossed over the last river.” On social media, messages from African and Caribbean artists hailed him as a revolutionary who used melody as protest and rhythm as hope.
From Kingston’s studios to Burkina Faso’s revolutionary stages, where he once performed at the invitation of Thomas Sankara, Cliff’s voice became a vessel for resistance, unity and joy. Few artists balanced defiance and grace so completely.
Jimmy Cliff is survived by his wife, Latifa, and their children, Lilty and Aken. Further memorial details are expected.
In Perry Henzell’s film, Cliff played Ivan Martin, the poor dreamer who cuts a record, gets cheated and turns outlaw when the system boxes him in. The movie’s grit, humor and tragic swagger mirrored Jamaica’s post-independence struggle and pushed reggae from local rhythm to international statement. Every artist who’s ever rapped, sung or filmed about hustle and betrayal owes something to it.
The film’s story — ambition, betrayal and survival against a rigged system — would later echo through hip-hop, the kind of hustler narrative artists from Jay-Z to Nas would identify with. Its soundtrack remains a cornerstone of global Black storytelling: defiant, spiritual, cinematic.
Film director Benny Safdie captured that energy perfectly in a post Monday: “I don’t know if it’s possible for someone to be more alive than Jimmy Cliff is in this clip from ‘The Harder They Come,’” he wrote. “His positivity in the face of sadness… his incredible performance here. He’s still here! JIMMY CLIFF.”I don’t know if it’s possible for someone to be more alive than Jimmy Cliff is in this clip from The Harder They Come. I don’t think I can put into words what this whole record means to me. It’s overwhelming in so many ways, his positivity in the face of sadness… his incredible… pic.twitter.com/oHDG7Bb4bn
— Benny safdie (@benny_safdie) November 24, 2025
Cliff never chased Marley’s saintly myth; he stayed the restless craftsman. His 2012 album “Rebirth” — which earned him a Grammy and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction — sounded like a man circling back to first principles. “One has to go back to point zero to move forward again,” he told NPR that year, recording with the same live-band energy that birthed reggae itself.
Tributes poured in across the music world. Trojan Records called him “a true pioneer whose songs and spirit helped carry reggae across the world.” UB40 said he’d “finally crossed over the last river.” On social media, messages from African and Caribbean artists hailed him as a revolutionary who used melody as protest and rhythm as hope.
From Kingston’s studios to Burkina Faso’s revolutionary stages, where he once performed at the invitation of Thomas Sankara, Cliff’s voice became a vessel for resistance, unity and joy. Few artists balanced defiance and grace so completely.
Jimmy Cliff is survived by his wife, Latifa, and their children, Lilty and Aken. Further memorial details are expected.
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