Reggae music provided the basis for Rastafari to grapple with Jamaica’s legacy of slavery and ongoing exploitation of Black masses. Desmond Dekker’s iconic early song, “Israelites”, depicted Black people as slaves living under an oppressive system like modern-day Babylon and called upon an impartial God from Zion to listen and hear their cries for freedom.
Origins
Reggae was created over time through various influences ranging from Jamaican Mento music and ska and rocksteady to rhythm and blues, jazz and African/Caribbean folk songs. No single artist or musical group can claim to be its creators.
Reggae was coined for the first time in 1968 when Toots and the Maytals released Do the Reggay as their debut track. While its origin may have been due to Toots shortening their name or it being taken from Jamaican slang meaning ‘to steal,” whatever its source, one thing is clear – reggae emerged out of two prior popular genres such as ska and rocksteady music.
Ska originated in the 1950s and is widely considered to be an early predecessor of reggae. Musicians gradually slowed its tempo down in order to form rocksteady – an intermediate form that combined rhythmic beats from ska with romantic lyrics and slower tempo. Dancers could move more freely due to this slow tempo; legend has it that Hopeton Lewis found herself unable to sing regular ska tempo songs at that time and so it evolved as an intermediate form.
Reggae music became increasingly popular throughout Britain and the US during the 1970s. A major catalyst was the film The Harder They Come, featuring artists like Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff; its topical nature resonated strongly with many in diaspora communities fighting colonialism; reggae artists often spoke about these connections between groups as a form of solidarity against oppression.
Reggae music has had an indelible mark on Jamaican culture and the world at large, leaving an imprintful legacy behind. From its beginnings as an instrument to inspire peace and promote global familyhood, reggae’s message was powerful enough to attract fans worldwide and give Jamaica its distinctive identity that helped boost economic development as well as instil national pride among its citizens. Today it remains popular, offering different sounds and styles.
Influences
Reggae music draws upon multiple sources for its inspiration. Ska and rocksteady provide some obvious influences, while African cultures also play an influential role. Jamaica was part of the slave trade industry and early reggae artists found inspiration there for lyrics, beats, and styles in their work.
Reggae music continues to draw upon these roots with its beats and melodies; bass drum is a hallmark of reggae as are staccato chords played on guitar or keyboard, along with call and response formats that define its genre.
Reggae music’s roots lie deep within African culture, but its style has evolved and changed with time. Ska and rocksteady from the 1960s gave way to what would eventually become reggae music as we know it today, pioneered by bands such as Toots and the Maytals, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer – recording at Dodd’s Studio One with producer Lee “Scratch” Perry.
Scratch used a technique known as organ shuffle to transform rocksteady and ska music into reggae music, setting in motion an entirely new era. By shuffling between different notes to produce syncopated rhythms reminiscent of jazz beats but more relaxed and less frenetic than those preceding him, Scratch helped pave the way for Bob Marley who incorporated Rastafari beliefs into his songs to spread them across the globe.
As reggae became more and more popular, many of its lyrics reflected Jamaica’s oppressive social conditions at that time – especially economic instability and political oppression for most Jamaicans. Artists during this era sang about eating better, exercising regularly and taking better care of oneself; others opposed materialism by advocating cannabis use (herb, ganja or sinsemilla), which became part of Rastafari spiritual beliefs.
As reggae music rose in popularity across the globe, it found an enthusiastic following among young people due to its positive messages and social activism from its creators. Today, fans worldwide continue to embrace it as part of its rich tradition.
Styles
Reggae music stands out from its peers with distinct and easily discernible defining characteristics both musically and historically. Some musical genres can be identified by vague signifiers like driving beats or an acoustic sound, while reggae stands out by using an extremely distinct rhythm with regular chops on the backbeat known as skank that features lyrics often talking about love, higher powers or political freedom; furthermore it has an iconic Rastafarian aesthetic.
Reggae music’s roots date back to Jamaica’s independence from British rule in 1960, when artists such as Bob Marley and the Wailers and Burning Spear began making music that expressed political ideals such as equality, justice and peace – this eventually led to its becoming an international phenomenon.
Before the advent of reggae, ska and rocksteady were widely popular musical genres. While ska featured faster tempos with more melodic lyrics, rocksteady was slower-paced but featured more romantic lyrics. Theories about why its tempo was slowened include Hopeton Lewis being limited vocal range being able to sing his songs comfortably at that tempo.
Reggae in the 1970s began to incorporate more sociopolitical themes and become associated with Rastafari, leading to roots reggae which included messages about faith, higher powers, and political freedom – this style influenced artists such as Bob Marley & the Wailers and Peter Tosh.
This type of music stressed a sense of racialized belonging, connecting both Africans in the diaspora and continental Africans together through common concepts of race-based identity; for instance, Bob Marley’s iconic anthem “Africa Unite” epitomizes this sentiment.
Roots reggae also features dub drumming, an instrumental style featuring low bass lines with regular chops on the beat and often featuring an orchestration featuring intros or countermelodies with bass and drummer; often adding an octave up with picky sound guitar picking that added rock or blues elements to songs.
Musicians
Jamaica’s cultural identity evolved through a mixture of European and African traits brought from Spain (who ruled until 1962) as its European population mixed with African populations from slavery to Spanish colonial rule, then British rule (until 1962), as musicians began developing a style they called reggae. Reggae took its form by drawing elements of both ska and rocksteady into its signature rhythm of heavy four-beat drumbeat with guitars and basses playing offbeats – giving it its unique sound while setting itself apart from other musical genres.
Reggae stands apart from most music genres in that the songs written within its tradition often address social and political topics in its lyrics. Some of its most iconic artists, including Toots Hibbert (with The Maytals) and Bob Marley, who personified Rastafarianism while using his music to protest racism and colonialism, can be found within Jamaican society.
Reggae songs typically focus on love and socialization, including erotic love. Other more serious themes can include spirituality, social criticism and Jamaica’s painful history of slavery (reflected by artists such as Peter Tosh and Burning Spear). Jamaican-born reggae artists, such as Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare pay homage to Jamaica as part of an international message of unity for black people everywhere.
Jamaican musicians moving to Britain during the 1970s saw their new reggae music become heavily influenced by Britain’s multiracial urban culture. Artists such as UB40 and Steel Pulse used Jamaican and Cockney dialect to forge a distinct British reggae sound.
Reggae artists employ dubbing as another means of mixing musical styles from across the world, producing rhythmic noise and high-pitched pitches that come from using a turntable to cause friction against record grooves, creating rhythmic noise and high-pitched pitches that echo back with them from time to time. Dubbing was invented in Jamaica.
Since the 1960s, reggae music has gained immense worldwide acclaim. With its relaxing vibes and positive messages, this genre has quickly become one of the go-to choices for beachgoers seeking relaxation. Additionally, its slower pace and simple lyrics have proven an ideal learning tool for English learners; leading many singer-songwriters from foreign countries composing reggae compositions in French, Spanish or even Russian!