The Bob Marley Museum, Jamaica's main tourist attraction

Bob Marley's 77th birthday was celebrated on February 6 with the sound of the conque abeng, an animal horn used as a musical instrument, at 6 a.m. at his former home at 56 Hope Road in Kingston, Jamaica.

The Trenchtown house of the’the world's most famous cannabis ambassador is now the Bob Marley Museum, Jamaica's biggest tourist attraction, drawing more than 60,000 visitors a year.

Bob Marley's birthday celebration was held under the theme Roots 77, inspired by his song "Roots," and was commemorated with a live reggae concert broadcast on the radio Tuff Gong. The event was hosted by some of Bob Marley's descendants, including his sons Ziggy, Stephen, Ky-Mani, Julian, and Damian.

Bob Marley's estate is now worth more than 100 million $

Marley’s estate is now worth more than $100 million and is largely controlled by his widow, Rita—who is disabled—and his daughter Cedella, his second-oldest child. It includes the Bob Marley Museum and a recording studio in Kingston (both), a vinyl and CD pressing plant, record stores, and a bookstore, as well as a flood of merchandise approved by the family : cannabis and personal care products, headphones and other audio devices, coffee, and even a newly launched line of «functional mushrooms.» But not its music catalog.

A few years after Marley's death, at the age of 36, in May 1981, an audit of its assets revealed only $250,000. Today, the family business earns at least 20 million $ a year, according to figures from Cannabiz Africa.

Cedella Marley said that if her father were still alive, he would probably growing cannabis and joked that he «would be in trouble» over compliance issues.

A new live album titled «Easy Skanking in Boston ’78» will also be released this month, according to the Bob Marley Group of Companies. It will feature two concerts performed at the Boston Music Hall in June 1978.

Will Bob Marley be declared a national hero of Jamaica?

In Jamaica, where Reggae Month is celebrated, calls are growing for Marley to be named a national hero. Perhaps during the celebration of the island’s 60th anniversary of independence next August, another important milestone for Marley will be reached.

No new heroes have been added since the 1980s, and a committee has been reviewing nominations for the past three years; Bob Marley and former Prime Minister Michael Manley are among the 10 names on the list.

«It's high time the government made him our eighth national hero,» said Errol Campbell, 57, a mechanic, also from Kingston. «Bob was a reggae genius »who has done more for Jamaica than most others by popularizing our music," he added.

Some committee members are reportedly opposed to Marley because he smoked cannabis and engaged in civil disobedience.

An annual «One Love» charity soccer match was held in honor of Bob Marley on February 18, 2022, featuring celebrities such as Olympic sprinters Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell.