Jimmy Cliff was a lighthouse in reggae — a voice of resilience, joy, rebellion, and spiritual fire whose music carried Jamaica to the entire world. From The Harder They Come and Many Rivers to Cross to Sitting in Limbo, You Can Get It If You Really Want, and his countless tours, Cliff sang with the clarity of someone who knew struggle and saw hope on the other side of it. He was one of the first to bring reggae to global consciousness, opening doors for generations that followed — Marley, Toots, Freddie McGregor, lovers rock, dub, dancehall, and beyond. Even in his final years, his music radiated light: empowering, melodic, unbreakable. Jimmy Cliff has left the earth, but he did not leave quietly — he leaves behind songs that still rise like sunrise and remind us that liberation sings.
