Peter Tosh (Pt. 1): Legalizing It, Police Brutality, and the Steppin’ Razor

DISGRACELAND

Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts

Music, True Crime, Society & Culture

4.6 • 13.4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 October 2025

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Peter Tosh was a reggae subversive who used his music as a means to fight corruption, oppression, and hypocrisy. Unlike his one-time bandmate Bob Marley, Tosh didn’t fight for peace. He fought for truth–and justice. He did this with a guitar shaped like an M-16 automatic rifle. He lobbied for the legalization of marijuana, using the profits of the drug trade to get his message onto the most iconic album of his career. All of this put Peter Tosh in the crosshairs of authority, the government, and those who wished to silence him – some who even wanted to see him dead. To see the full list of contributors, see the show notes at www.disgracelandpod.com. This episode was originally published on March 5, 2024. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to a monthly exclusive episode, weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at ⁠disgracelandpod.com/membership⁠. Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - GET THE NEWSLETTER Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: Instagram YouTube X (formerly Twitter) Facebook Fan Group TikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Double Elvis.
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0:22.9	Disgrace Land is a production of Double Elvis. The stories about Peter Tosh are insane. He was a reggae subversive who used his music as a means to fight corruption, oppression, and hypocrisy. Unlike his one-time bandmate Bob Marley,
0:57.3	Peter Tosh did not fight for peace. He fought for truth and justice. He played a guitar
1:03.7	shaped like an M-16 automatic rifle. He funded an album that lobbied for the legalization of
1:10.3	marijuana by running drugs from Jamaica to Miami.
1:14.7	He was arrested for smoking weed and then beaten by seven police officers for over an hour in a prison cell.
1:23.1	All of these trials and tribulations were reflected in his music, great music,
1:29.7	some of the greatest reggae music of all time,
1:32.8	both as a member of the Whalers and as a solo artist.
1:36.9	Unlike that clip I played for you at the top of the show,
1:40.0	that wasn't great music.
1:42.6	That was a preset loop from my Melotron called Dred Kiley, M.K.1.
1:49.7	I played you that clip because I can't afford the rights to a clip from Night Fever by the Bee Gees.
1:56.5	And why would I play you that specific slice of falsetto cheese, could I afford it?
2:02.7	Because that was the number one song in America on April 22, 1978.
2:09.7	And that was the day that Peter Tosh went on a 30-minute tirade during the One Love Peace Concert,
2:16.3	a rant that nearly got him murdered.
2:20.3	On this, part one of a special two-part episode,
2:24.3	reggae subversives, truth and justice, M16 guitars,
	...

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