Joseph “Jo Mersa” Marley, Bob Marley’s grandson and Stephen Marley’s son, died at the age of 31.
His representative confirmed his death to Rolling Stone on Tuesday, but no cause of death was given.
Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced Marley’s death on Twitter on Tuesday, expressing “heartfelt sympathies” to friends and fans.
“His untimely death at the young age of 31y.o. is a huge loss to the music as we look to the next generation,” Holness said in a tweet.
Jamaican politician and People’s National Party president Mark J. Golding also expressed his condolences on Twitter on Tuesday, calling Marley “a talented young reggae artiste.”
“The loss of a child is a devastating blow that no parent should have to endure; my heartfelt condolences to Stephen and the entire family,” Golding added.
Born in Jamaica and raised in Miami, Marley followed in his family’s musical footsteps, performing with Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers. He began writing music in middle school and made his musical debut in 2010 with the release of “My Girl,” a collaboration with his cousin Daniel Bambaata Marley. He wrote a song with his father for his father’s album “Revelation Part 2: The Fruit of Life” in 2016.
Marley was raised by his musician father and his other siblings, including uncle Ziggy and aunts Sharon and Cadella.
In a previous interview with Rolling Stone in 2014, Marley discussed how music surrounded his upbringing.
“I’d come home and try to do my homework, but I’d get distracted and go peek in the studio. “You’d always want to run in and out to see what was going on,” he explained.
He was determined to forge his own path and released his debut album “Eternal” in 2021. He attended Miami Dade College and majored in studio engineering.
“I am part of the new generation of Marleys, but I am still experimenting,” he told Rolling Stone. “I intend to do something different with my roots.”
