I listened to this book and so didn't have any trouble with the Jamaican patois, it was fairly clear when they were cursing and what they were talking about, etc. However, I didn't have access to the character list and I really wanted to refer back to other sections because the timeline and extensive amount of characters got very confusing at times. So I would recommend listening to the book, but also maybe having a copy on hand. At the very least, you can google the character list.

While this was an enjoyable book without knowing anything about Jamaica or Bob Marley, I think people who know a lot about either thing might enjoy it more.