Episode #164 | 03.05.24
Peter Tosh (Part 1): Legalizing It, Police Brutality, and the Steppin’ Razor
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In this episode
Peter Tosh was a reggae subversive who used his music as a means to fight corruption, oppression, and hypocrisy. Unlike his one-time bandmate Bob Marley, Tosh didn’t fight for peace. He fought for truth–and justice. He did this with a guitar shaped like an M-16 automatic rifle. He lobbied for the legalization of marijuana, using the profits of the drug trade to get his message onto the most iconic album of his career. All of this put Peter Tosh in the crosshairs of authority, the government, and those who wished to silence him – some who even wanted to see him dead.
Sources
Steppin’ Razor: The Life of Peter Tosh, by John Massouri
This Is Reggae Music: The Story of Jamaica’s Music, by Lloyd Bradley
Stepping Razor: RedX (1992, dir. Nicholas Campbell)
Arise Blackman: The Peter Tosh Story (BBC)
High Times Greats: Peter Tosh (High Times)
The Day the Music Died in Kingston (Relix)
Peter Tosh: Island Zorro (Roxy 1978) plus ‘Who Killed Peter’? (Legendary Reggae)
Book links Tosh and ganja trade (Jamaica Observer)
Peter Tosh Interview | Slash Magazine (Legendary Reggae)
Peter Tosh: Reclaiming A Wailer (NPR)
Peter Tosh at the One Love Peace Concert (DerekBishton.com)
A Jamaican Candidate Is Shot as a Violent Campaign Nears Its End (NY Times)
Violence Is Jamaica Election Issue (NY Times)
Credits
Hosted by Jake Brennan.
Written by Zeth Lundy.
Copy edited by James Sullivan.
Scored and mixed by Matt Tahaney.
Additional music and score elements by Ryan Spraker.
DISGRACELAND theme song, “Crenshaw Space Boogie,” written and produced by Jake Brennan. Performed by Jake Brennan, Bryce Kanzer, Jay Cannava, and Evan Kenney. Mixed and engineered by Adam Taylor.
*illustrations by Avi Spivak @avispivak