Reggae is a unique genre that originated in Jamaica during the 1960s, particularly in Kingston's ghettos. It incorporates elements of American R&B, traditional African music, Jamaican folk music, and ska. Reggae's distinctive rhythm is marked by a strong offbeat, produced by an ensemble of organ, piano, drums, and electric guitars, all led by a prominently amplified electric bass.
Reggae has grown immensely popular, transcending cultural and geographical boundaries. This is evident in the number of internationally renowned artists who have recorded and covered reggae songs, including Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Sting, Paul Simon, and Stevie Wonder. Notably, Time Magazine voted Bob Marley's album Exodus the most influential album of the 20th century.
Pioneers like Bob Marley, Jimmy Cliff, and Peter Tosh brought reggae to the global stage, with Bob Marley achieving unparalleled worldwide recognition. His style, known as roots rock reggae, remains influential, embraced by artists like Beres Hammond, Black Uhuru, Burning Spear, and UB40.
Dancehall music emerged around 1980, characterized by deejays singing, rapping, or toasting over raw and fast rhythms. While rooted in reggae, dancehall's beats primarily feature electronic music and sampling.
Dancehall Culture extends beyond music to encompass an entire culture involving fashion, dance, community, and politics. Its lyrics are diverse, addressing themes such as praise for the Lord or Jah Rastafari, everyday struggles, social injustice, oppression, and even humor. Some lyrics, referred to as “slack lyrics” or “slackness,” are known for their profanity, violence, and homophobia. Dancehall fashion is also distinct, with women, known as Dancehall Queens, often wearing provocative clothing and elaborate hairstyles.
From its inception, reggae has been political, as exemplified by the works of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. Their groundbreaking records in the 1970s set a precedent for political protest in reggae. While some acts focused on light-hearted themes, many socially conscious reggae musicians used their music to convey powerful messages, gaining renewed popularity in the 1980s and 1990s.
Reggae-pop blends reggae's foundation with strong melodic hooks, commercial production, and crossover appeal. This subgenre is sometimes performed by pop bands seeking to diversify their sound, but more often by reggae artists who have an affinity for pop music.
Roots reggae, emerging in the early 1970s, combines elements of American rock and ska/rocksteady. It features strong vocals and devout Rastafarian lyrics, making it one of the most accessible and globally successful forms of reggae.
Rocksteady, a precursor to reggae, developed from ska in the 1960s. It features a slower tempo, with piano and prominent bass replacing the trombone. The lyrics are more socially and politically conscious, and harmonies, particularly from trios like the Heptones, Gaylads, Dominoes, Aces, and Wailers, are emphasized.
Ska marked the beginning of popular Jamaican music in the early and mid-1960s, coinciding with Jamaica's independence. Ska ensembles typically blended electric instrumentation with horns popular in jazz (saxophone, trumpet, trombone). The genre synthesized American R&B, jump blues, Jamaican mento, calypso, and other Caribbean styles, big-band swing, Afro-Cuban jazz, pocomania, and other local religious folk music. Of these influences, R&B, jump blues, and mento were the most significant.
Lovers Rock is a romantic, R&B-influenced form of reggae that emerged in the U.K. during the late 1970s. It became popular as mainstream roots reggae increasingly focused on social protest and Rastafarian spirituality. Lovers Rock blended the smooth sounds of Chicago and Philly soul with reggae basslines and rhythms, creating a unique and appealing genre.