Jimmy Cliff, one of the most prominent and beloved proponents of reggae music, has died at the age of 81.

A star since the 1960s, he helped to bring the sound of Jamaica to a global audience through hits such as Wonderful World, Beautiful People and You Can Get It If You Really Want.

His lead role as a gun-toting rebel in the 1972 crime drama The Harder They Come is a cornerstone of Jamaican cinema, and was attributed as the movie that brought reggae to America.

Cliff's wife, Latifa Chambers, announced his death via a statement on Instagram.

"It's with profound sadness that I share that my husband, Jimmy Cliff, has crossed over due to a seizure followed by pneumonia," she wrote.

"I am thankful for his family, friends, fellow artists and coworkers who have shared his journey with him. 

"To all his fans around the world, please know that your support was his strength throughout his whole career.

"Jimmy, my darling, may you rest in peace. I will follow your wishes." 

Her message was also signed by their children, Lilty and Aken.

Born James Chambers in 1948, Cliff grew up as the eighth of nine children in abject poverty in the parish of St. James, Jamaica.

Blessed with a sweet, mellifluous voice, he began singing at his local church at the age of six.

By the time he was 14, he'd moved to Kingston and adopted the surname Cliff to express the heights he intended on reaching.

He recorded several singles before topping the Jamaican charts with his own composition, Hurricane Hattie. 

In 1965, he relocated to London to work with Island Records - later the home of Bob Marley - but the label's attempts to make his sound palatable to rock audiences weren't entirely successful at first.

He struck gold with the 1969 single Wonderful World, Beautiful People - an upbeat, feelgood anthem; and the more politically-charged Vietnam, which Bob Dylan called "the best protest song ever written".

But Cliff became an international star with The Harder They Come, expressly written for the movie of the same name, in which he played Ivan Martin, a young man trying to break into Jamaica's corrupt music industry.

"The film opened the door for Jamaica," Cliff recalled. "It said, 'This is where this music comes from.'"

His other recordings included the Grammy Award-winning albums Cliff Hanger (1985) and Rebirth (2012); and Cliff was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010.