Good point Leith, but you do know of both of them so stop being a douche and answer the question;)
I hear you though, but I feel your reasoning is flawed...it was the American music industry trying to bring this form of music to america that let us know who "they are". Marley was obviously more marketable, because of the positivity in his songs, but that isn\'t what the true spirit of reggae was all about. Most of what we got to hear from Marley was american-bastardizations of great roots-reggae. They set Marley up with extra session players(american) that could give more of an "appeal" to the music.
Marley went along because he felt if his message could get out to the world(even if it was softened), it would bring a chance for peace. Tosh "Didn\'t want peace, [he] wanted justice". He didn\'t want his songs of protest and anti-oppression commercialized for capitalist consumption. That was 100% against what he believed in. The classic One Love Peace Concert shows this Marley/Tosh juxtaposition the best. Tosh came out spitting FIRE and talking against every perceived injustice in Jamaica...including DEMANDING that the farmers be allowed to grow marijuana and, that rastafarians be allowed to smoke freely as their system of beliefs called for. With the crowd in an uproar he spoke after nearly EVERY song against the very Goverment officials that were IN ATTENDANCE.
THEN, Marley comes out and gets the two govt heads that were basically at war to shake hands. I read once that after that Marley was quoted as saying that he should have,"Put a bullet in both of their heads". Yet Marley\'s fame as an "ambassador" was out there for everyone in america to get behind, because as you said...people like their political messages safe and acceptable, not brash and possibly controversial.
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