‘I’m Bob Marley reincarnated, so faded,’-Snoop Dogg/Lion.
Snoop proclaims that in a previous life, he was Bob Marley. It is a lyric on one of his songs. Looking it up on the inter-webs in 2011 or 2012, it was a thing. He guested on talk shows to philosophize about his feelings on Bob Marley and the vibe in Jamaica.
This drivel blog post, which may or may not continue to read, is larger than one concept. The main celebration is the golden year, the pivotal year, and simply the best year to be born in, and that hands down is 1977.
I bring up the godfather of rap’s quote because it has altered my take on reincarnation. I consider myself agnostic, but daydreaming up mystical dreams can be as fun as fantasizing about winning the lottery. Essentially, I believed that for reincarnation to occur, the person reincarnated from someone in the past had to be alive.
Bob Marley died in 1981, and Snoop Dogg was born in 1971. According to this new logic, at age 10, Snoop got all the positive vibrations from Bob Marley’s soul. Why not? It helps my theory that everyone born in 1977 has the soul or spirit of Elvis Presley. I’ve joked about this for years. Elvis died in August of ’77. I was born before that, but still in the confines of that year. I once dismissed the idea that Elvis was part of me because I was born before he passed away. But it’s only a matter of months. Snoop’s logic opens it up that it doesn’t matter when the person who is your reincarnation died.
Snoop Dogg was also already very famous from his own work before he proclaimed this, so it has more validity than unfamous people claiming similar theories. All good essays mention a counterpoint, and this is a strong one. I’ll move on.
Being born in 1977 is the best for a few more reasons than getting a piece of Elvis. We are at the tail end of Generation X. The internet started right as we entered college, and cell phones were about a decade later. We possess the technical skills better than our parents, but we were the last to live without constant social media and the like.
Another reason 1977 is considered king is its association with skateboarding. We got to see it develop into what it is today. Yes, they’ve indeed had skateboards since the 1950s, but my generation made it what it is today. Those skating from 1989 to 1996 saw the progression. In my mind, it’s like the kids who saw Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth make baseball more popular.
Controversially, I’ll add music with what we have the best. We grew up with ’60s nostalgia and got to see hip hop, alternative, heavy metal, electronica, and other types of music develop before the algorithms took over.
I’m not much of a numerology person, but 77 is a good one. 7 + 7 = 14. An even number. Good luck I think. I need to listen to more Wu tang. Lastly the first Star Wars came out in 1977, so the force is strong with us.
I challenge anyone who reads this. Write up in 500 words or fewer why the year you were born is the best. The deadline is 12/31/23 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time Zone. I’ll post them on this site shortly after New Year’s 2024. Email [email protected] your submission with ‘MC Allison Year Contest’ in the Subject line. Cheers and good luck.
