PM of Barbados pays tribute to Jimmy Cliff
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Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley has eulogised Jimmy Cliff as a musical icon "who helped to provide the rhythm to my life and the lyrics of inspiration as a Caribbean person to carry us to higher heights and to pump us with pride".
Referring to herself as a "Jimmy Cliff girl", Mottley said "there are some people who seem to be there for all of your life and whose work is just intertwined in all that you do".
"You can get it if you really want, but you must try and try" so defined the spirit we needed as Caribbean people to navigate our way through this journey of nationhood, she stated.
She highlighted the image of Jimmy as he portrayed the life of Ivanhoe Martin trying to balance aspiration and ambition to become a musical 'star' with the tyranny of poverty and his eventual crossover to crime in the iconic The Harder They Come, the movie that she said was for so long one of the only reflections Caribbean people had of themselves on the big screen.
"I saw Jimmy perform live twice - at the Conga Line festival in Barbados and at Mona in Jamaica. Just as memorable as enjoying his live performances was my being given the honour by that other Caribbean Renaissance man, Professor Rex Nettleford, the then Vice Chancellor of the University of the West Indies to do the feature address as a young Minister of Education at the Mona Campus at the turn of the Millennium 25 years ago.
"Why was this special? Jimmy Cliff was one of the 2 being conferred with the Honorary Doctorate," Mottley said.
She continued: "Thank you Jimmy. We shall miss you but we shall never stop listening to you and being inspired! Walk good as you cross the many rivers!"
Jimmy Cliff, whose given name is James Chambers, died today at age 81.
The announcement was shared on his official Instagram page on Monday, noting that he died due to a seizure followed by pneumonia.
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