This morning as I was browsing my Google Now feed and gearing up to go to bed, I came across a Peter Tosh headline. I hoped it was the effects of lack of sleep and that I was reading the headline incorrectly. I am prone to those sorts of mistakes at 12:56 am. Lately, I have been going to sleep at odd hours in the morning. I think I am one of the last person Sleep visits on her nightly rounds.

By the way, isn’t Google an amazing and creepy company? The only reason that Peter Tosh article was in even my news feed was that Google ‘knew’ that I was a Peter Tosh fan. That’s like your ex-girlfriend who is stalking you, notifying you that there is an intruder in your house. If that analogy didn’t make any sense, I could always blame it on a lack of sleep.

Back to the headline: “Peter Tosh Turns Pawn Star Kin Hocks Grammy & Guitar [sic]”. As disrespectful of a headline as I have come to expect from TMZ. I plan to detail my hatred of TMZ another time. I guess the headline did its job because I read the article and wrote a post about it.

Photos by Reena Karasin.

Earlier this year I wrote a post about the launching of the Peter Tosh Museum and how it was a great endeavor for the Legacy of Peter Tosh and Reggae Lovers worldwide. Now, after reading that TMZ article, I am sick to my stomach. This type of low down and disrespectable behavior is why we can’t have nice things as they say. This sort of behavior is why we can’t progress. A family member of the Reggae legend pawned his 1987 Grammy for Best Reggae Recording (Later renamed Best Reggae Album) and one of his guitars for a measly $6,000. The TMZ article went on to say that the family member pawned the items because of a family battle over the former Wailer’s estate. The pawn shop owner refused to reveal the name of the relative, but I have a feeling it won’t be a secret for too long. He, however, announced that he plans to resell the items and estimated that the guitar is worth about $15,000 and the Grammy $20,000.

According to this article, the Grammy is not transferable and cannot be sold. However, the pawn shop owner plans to keep it on display. The guitar, on the other hand, is indeed for sale. I know it’s highly unlikely, but I am hoping that somehow the items find their way back to the Peter Tosh Estate and then to the Peter Tosh Museum.