The song, built on a heavy reggae feel, is an ode to reggae legend Bob Marley; Wonder had been performing live with Marley (billing him as an opening act) on his US tour in the fall of that year. Lyrics mention "children of Jah" and the end of the civil war in Zimbabwe.

The song was the leading single from Wonder's Hotter than July album. It was a major hit, spending seven weeks at number one on the Billboard R&B singles chart, reaching number five on Billboard's pop singles chart in the fall of 1980 and peaking at number two on the UK Singles chart. The song includes the line "hotter than July", per the album title.

In 2000, "Master Blaster (Jammin')" was covered by UK garage duo DJ Luck & MC Neat featuring singer JJ, retitled as "Masterblaster 2000". This version was a huge hit, peaking at no. 5 on the UK Singles Chart.

It samples the All-Star Remix of "No Diggity" by Blackstreet, which itself samples "As Long As I've Got You" by The Charmels.

A 1998 version with Wyclef Jean appears on the soundtrack to the film How Stella Got Her Groove Back. "Master Blaster (Jammin')" has also been covered by James Last (1981), Jehro (2006) and Minnie Driver (2014).

On 31 December 2014, Ed Sheeran covered this on the Jools Holland Hootenanny music show. Ed sang accompanied by Jools' Rhythm and Blue Orchestra.

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Wikipedia