‘Legalise It’: Bushman pays tribute to Peter Tosh on 4/20 - Artiste to stream ‘ganja day’ concert on YouTube channel
Published:Sunday | April 19, 2020 | 12:00 AMYasmine Peru - Sunday Gleaner Writer
In 2011, Bushman Sings the Bush Doctor: A Tribute to Peter Tosh, was produced in collaboration with Penthouse Productions and released by VP Records. The artiste, Bushman, agrees that the album, all 12 tracks – among them Bush Doctor, Legalise It, Buck-In-Ham-Palace, Stepping Razor, and Mawga Dog – were “recorded with the love and reverence due to the Tosh original classics”. And, nine years later, Bushman continues to pay tribute to Tosh, one of the original members of The Wailers and whose original, critically acclaimed Bush Doctor album was released in 1978.
“For me, Peter is quite influential,” Bushman shared with The Sunday Gleaner. “And that’s the reason why I will be paying tribute to him on 4/20. It is International Marijuana Day, and it is also Peter Tosh Day. He was passionate about the use of the herb, both as a sacrament and for its medicinal properties. Peter pointed out that marijuana could be used to cure glaucoma, thrombosis, and other illnesses,” Bushman said of the Grammy award-winning artiste, whose ganja activism and human rights advocacy is legendary.
Tomorrow, when the global ganja-respecting community will be lighting up many spliffs and chalices – probably not actually smoking them in Buckingham Palace – Bushman will enthusiastically join the celebration with a tribute song on Peter Tosh’s Instagram platform. The Rastafarian singer will then commence a live streaming of his own concert on his YouTube channel. Plans are under way for the live stream to be done from a location in Kingston, and Bushman will be accompanied by his five-piece band. He emphasises, however, that all COVID-19 protocols will be observed.
“For now, we are looking at starting at 5 p.m. with a song on Peter’s IG. The Tosh family contacted me to do something in his honour, and I will be doing Buck-In-Ham-Palace. After that, I plan to start my own 4/20 tribute at 5:30 p.m. But with all that’s happening with the COVID-19, we may start a little earlier. And, of course, we will be observing all the important distancing rules,” Bushman said.
He added: “I will be doing songs such as Legalise It, Bush Doctor, Cannabis, and a brand new herbs tune called Steam. And with the COVID-19 thing, doctors recommend that we steam, so it’s appropriate,” Bushman told The Sunday Gleaner with a laugh. The theme of his concert also happens to be ‘Steam’, and for Bushman, this will be a very special day as it will also serve as a sort of twin celebration for his own ‘earthstrong’, which falls two days later. While being restricted to an online platform this year, Bushman has ambitious plans for Ganja Day 2021, when he is anticipating staging his own festival, Bush Bash.
“As a result of that incident at Rebel Salute 2019 when that video of me shedding tears went viral, persons have been encouraging me to stage my own festival. So next year, we want to own that day, April 20, 2021. And it won’t be about ganja only. There will be seminars about all different kinds of natural remedies. Hence the name Bush Bash,” he explained.
Over on platforms dedicated to Tosh, the message is ‘Quarantine and Stream’. The Tosh family, in recognition of Peter Tosh Day, will be hosting an Instagram Live takeover, starting at 12 p.m. EST, hosted by Akayda Tosh; and a Facebook Live, starting at 2 p.m. (EST), hosted by Peter’s youngest child, Niambe. The Facebook festivities will include guest speakers, one of whom is Steve DeAngelo, American pioneering cannabis-rights activist and advocate for cannabis reform in the United States. He is also affiliated with The Last Prisoner Project.
Peter Tosh, a founding member of the reggae group The Wailers, which also included Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, was shot and killed at his St Andrew home on September 11, 1987. According to Tosh’s bio, he exploded on to the world stage as an activist and solo artiste with his 1976 release, Legalise It. Tosh worked to promote the legalisation of herb, equal rights, and to expand Jamaica’s cultural and musical influence. No stranger to oppression in his homeland, he knew the fight for legalisation and equal rights well. His music served as a catalyst for a generation to fight for what they believed in.
A Peter Tosh Foundation and museum have since been established in his honour.