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Video: Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican Reggae Icon, Is Dead
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Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican Reggae Icon, Is Dead
Jimmy Cliff, the Jamaican reggae singer who helped popularize the genre around the world with songs like “You Can Get It If You Really Want” and “The Harder They Come,” has died. He was 81.
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Music is like air that we breathe. And once it’s there, everybody breathes it. The industry, to me, is the first time I came out of my mother’s womb. And I say [screaming] — and I started making my sound and I never stopped. Music can highlight awareness. And from that awareness, people can take some kind of action to better the situation. I think that’s the role music has played through the ages. And I think it’s the role that it is playing now. And I think that is the role that it can play.
Jimmy Cliff, the Jamaican reggae singer who helped popularize the genre around the world with songs like “You Can Get It If You Really Want” and “The Harder They Come,” has died. He was 81.
By Chevaz Clarke
November 24, 2025