The music world woke up in mourning this Monday (24) with the death of Jamaican singer-songwriter Jimmy Cliffaged 81. icon reggaeactor and activist, Jimmy Cliff leaves a body of work that crossed borders, inspired generations and found an emotional and musical home in Brazil, especially in Maranhão.
The news had a strong impact among Brazilian artists, who highlighted Cliff’s importance for world music and for the formation of Afro-diasporic identity in the country.
Singer and composer Gilberto Gil, on his social networks, recalled the direct influence of the Jamaican on his work and on the emergence of reggae modern.
“Jimmy Cliff has influenced and will continue to influence my music. Thank you for so much”, wrote Gil on social media. He also highlighted that “Bob Marley hits the radio after Cliff, including on the same record label”, placing Cliff as one of the original pillars of the genre.
Singer and composer Chico César was moved to remember the historical and political importance of the Jamaican.
“Today we lost a master, a master of Afro-diasporic music, Jimmy Cliff. Jimmy Cliff, together with Peter Tosh and Bob Marley, established a revolution – a revolution that leaves Jamaica representing the feelings of all black emigrants in the Americas, and this music becomes a hit all over the world.”
Chico also spoke about the personal impact of living with the artist: “I am a great admirer. I had the opportunity to discuss with Jimmy Cliff in Australia, New Zealand, then in Singapore, participating in festivals. A very sweet, very polite creature, who loved Brazil. Jimmy, eternal forever. Brother, go with God.”
In Maranhão, where the reggae is an integral part of local culture, Cliff’s death gained a special dimension. For journalist and DJ Ademar Danilo (on the left in the main photo, alongside Vivian Crawford, director of the Institute of Jamaica, and Cliff), director of the Reggae Museum, the loss directly affects the state’s musical identity.
“The day dawned sad”, he summarized, before explaining the importance of the artist to the history of reggae in Brazil.
Ademar Danilo recalled that Maranhão was one of the first places outside of Jamaica to adopt Cliff’s music as the soundtrack of their daily life.
Journalist and DJ Ademar Danilo, director of the Reggae Museum, alongside Jimmy Cliff – Photo: Sean-Tay Williams/JMM Jamaica Music Museum
“Jimmy Cliff is one of the pioneering artists to be loved here in Maranhão. Long before Bob Marley, long before anyone else. His songs were already present in dance halls in the early 1970s.”
According to the director, the album Follow My Mind (1975) had a huge impact on the state. “It was a blast here. From 1975 to 2025, that’s 50 years, and to this day several songs from that album are still successful in São Luís. They play and people run to dance.”
For Ademar, Cliff not only influenced Maranhão musically, but also helped build the regueira identity of the state capital.
“He felt truly at home here. He spent days going to clubs reggae on the outskirts, lying in hammocks, talking, eating mangoes picked from the tree. He was responsible for spreading the nickname of São Luís as ‘Brazilian Jamaica’.”
The director also recalled the unexpected meeting he had with Cliff at a meeting at the Institute of Jamaica, when he officially represented the newly created Reggae Museum.
“I was there to inform the Jamaicans that Maranhão had a museum dedicated to the rhythm they created. And Jimmy Cliff appeared. He remembered the conversations we had here. He had been awarded the title of doctor honoris causa days before. It was a moment of greatness.”
For Ademar Danilo, the impact of the artist’s death sums up the size of his presence in Maranhão.
“Today in São Luís there are only two subjects in the middle of the reggae: the festival that took place yesterday, Reggae Island, and the death of Jimmy Cliff. We sleep happy and wake up sad.”
Jimmy Cliff, author of classics such as Many Rivers to Cross, The Harder They Comee You Can Get It If You Really Wantwas one of those responsible for taking the reggae to the world, even before Bob Marley’s international explosion.
