Reggae

• 1. Origins And Evolution

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  In 1968, a single by Toots and the Maytals titled Do the Reggay became the first popular song to use the word reggae. This track effectively named the genre and introduced it to a global audience. The music developed from earlier Jamaican genres including mento, ska, and rocksteady. It is rooted in traditional drumming styles such as Kumina, Pukkumina, Revival Zion, Nyabinghi, and burru. Ska arose in Jamaican studios in the late 1950s, developing from American R&B, mento, and calypso music. When Jamaica gained independence in 1962, ska became the music of choice for young Jamaicans seeking their own sound. In the mid-1960s, ska gave rise to rocksteady, a genre slower than ska featuring more romantic lyrics and less prominent horns. One theory suggests singer Hopeton Lewis was unable to sing his hit song Take It Easy at a ska tempo. The name rocksteady was codified after the release of a single by Alton Ellis. Many rocksteady rhythms later were used as the basis of reggae recordings. Early 1968 saw the first bona fide reggae records released. Larry And Alvin's Nanny Goat and the Beltones' No More Heartaches were among these songs. The shift from rocksteady to reggae was illustrated by the organ shuffle pioneered by Jamaican musicians like Jackie Mittoo and Winston Wright. Eric Monty Morris and Lee Scratch Perry featured this transition in singles Say What You're Saying and People Funny Boy respectively. Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer started The Wailers in 1963. This band made the transition through all three stages of early Jamaican popular music. Over a dozen Wailers songs are based on or use a line from Jamaican mento songs.

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• 2. Musical Architecture

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  Reggae is distinguished by a slower tempo than ska or rocksteady. It features a strong emphasis on the downbeat in the drum and bass. Short, staccato guitar or piano chords appear on the offbeat. The bass guitar plays a central role with a thick, heavy tone and reduced high frequencies. Call-and-response patterns are common throughout the genre. The rhythm section often uses the bass as a percussion instrument, a feature carried over from rocksteady. Notable rhythm players include Jackie Jackson, Carlton Barrett, Lloyd Brevett, Paul Douglas, Lloyd Knibb, Winston Grennan, Sly Dunbar, and Anthony Benbow Creary. Vocals are often delivered in Jamaican Patois, Jamaican English, or Iyaric. Lyrical themes range from political and social commentary to religion, love, and leisure activities. Reggae is played in 4/4 time. Its repeating patterns of alternating stronger and weaker beats do not lend themselves to other time signatures. One of the most easily recognizable elements is offbeat rhythms. Staccato chords played by a guitar or piano on the offbeats of the measure are often referred to as the skank. This rhythmic pattern accents the second and fourth beats in each bar. It combines with the drum's emphasis on beat three to create a unique sense of phrasing. The reggae offbeat can be counted so that it falls between each count as an and. Alternatively, it can be counted as a half-time feel at twice the tempo. Drums and other percussion involve open ringing tones for ska and rocksteady. Players use material to stuff the bass drum for a deep punchy thud. They go without a ride cymbal, focusing on the hi-hat for timekeeping. Guitars usually play on the off beat of the rhythm. A musical figure known as skank has a very dampened short and scratchy chop sound. Sometimes a double chop is used when the guitar plays off beats and follows eighth-note beats on the up-stroke. Keyboards feature the reggae organ-shuffle which is unique to reggae. In the original version, the drummer played a groove allowing the piano to serve as a percussion instrument. Horn sections consist of trumpet, trombone, and saxophone creating harmonies distinctive of reggae music.

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• 3. Rastafari Connection

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  Reggae has reached audiences worldwide often fusing with other genres and incorporating local instruments. Reggae en Español originated in Panama before spreading to Venezuela and across South America. In the United Kingdom Caribbean music including reggae has been popular since the late 1960s. It spawned several subgenres and fusions with many reggae artists beginning careers there. European musicians have drawn heavily on Jamaican and Caribbean traditions. The genre's profile was boosted by the visit of Bob Marley to Zimbabwe in 1980. Samba reggae originated in Brazil as a blend of samba with Jamaican reggae. Brazilian samba-reggae utilized themes such as the civil rights movement and the Black Soul movement. The sudden popularity of reggae music in Bahia Brazil resulted from the need to establish cultural links with black communities across the Americas. The bloco afro Olodum began combining basic samba beats with merengue salsa and reggae rhythms in 1986. In the state of Maranhão reggae is very popular. São Luís the state capital is known as the Brazilian Jamaica. The city has more than 200 sound teams formed by DJs and powerful amplifiers. A Reggae Museum opened in 2018 to preserve the state's cultural history. Bands like Rebelution Slightly Stoopid Dirty Heads and Iration lead the American scene. Hawaiian reggae has had a big following for decades. Matisyahu gained prominence by blending

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• 4. Global Diaspora

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  traditional Jewish themes with reggae. His lyrics are mostly English with occasional use of Hebrew and Yiddish. Canadian bands like Magic! achieved international success with their 2013 single Rude. Toots and the Maytals became the second reggae-based group to perform at Coachella in 2017 after Chronixx in 2016. The UK was a primary destination for Caribbean people looking to emigrate as early as the 1950s. Lovers rock emerged in South London led by female singers like Carroll Thompson and Janet Kay. Three reggae-tinged singles from the Police's 1978 debut album Outlandos d'Amour laid down templates for rock/reggae songwriting. By the end of the 1970s a ska revival began in England with bands like the Specials Madness and the Beat. UB40 were main contributors to the British reggae scene throughout the 1980s and 1990s. They achieved international success with hits such as Red Red Wine Kingston Town and Falling in Love with You. Reggae appeared on the Yugoslav popular music scene in the late 1970s through new wave bands. Nigerian reggae developed in the 1970s with artists such as Majek Fashek proving popular. In South Africa reggae played a unifying role amongst cultural groups during Apartheid. Lucky Dube recorded 25 albums fusing reggae with Mbaqanga. Bob Marley's visit to Zimbabwe on Independence Day the 18th of April 1980 boosted African profiles significantly.

  Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding made February 2008 the first annual Reggae Month in Jamaica. The Recording Industry Association of Jamaica held its first Reggae Academy Awards on the 24th of February 2008. Reggae Month included a six-day Global Reggae conference and a film festival. A concert tribute honored the late Dennis Brown who Bob Marley cited as his favorite singer. Events focused on employment opportunities and potential international revenue for the industry. Reggae Month 2019 featured major celebrations honoring Bob Marley's Birthday on the 6th of February. A sold-out concert by Protoje took place at Hope Gardens in Kingston on the 23rd of February. In November 2018 reggae music of Jamaica was added to UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This decision recognized reggae's contribution to international discourse on issues of injustice resistance love and humanity. The dynamics of the element are described as cerebral socio-political sensual and spiritual. The Grammy Awards introduced the Best Reggae Album category in 1985. Summerjam Europe's biggest reggae festival takes place in Cologne Germany with crowds of 25,000 or more. Rototom Sunsplash gathers up to 150,000 visitors every year in Spain. The Uppsala Reggae Festival attracts attendees from across Northern Europe. The Icelandic band Hjálmar released six CDs establishing themselves on the local scene. RVK Soundsystem holds reggae nights in Reykjavík

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• 5. Cultural Recognition

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  every month. In 2017 the first-ever chart dedicated to reggae and dancehall music was established in Australia.

  Some dancehall and ragga artists have been criticized for homophobia including threats of violence. Buju Banton's song Boom Bye-Bye states that gays haffi dead meaning they have to die. Other notable dancehall artists accused of homophobia include Elephant Man Bounty Killer and Beenie Man. The controversy surrounding anti-gay lyrics led to the cancellation of UK tours by Beenie Man and Sizzla. Toronto Canada also saw concert cancellations due to artists refusing to conform to censorship pressures. After lobbying from the Stop Murder Music coalition the industry agreed in 2005 to stop releasing songs promoting hatred against gay people. In June 2007 Beenie Man Sizzla and Capleton signed the Reggae Compassionate Act. This deal brokered with top promoters and activists required them to renounce homophobia. They agreed not to make statements or perform songs inciting hatred or violence against any community. Five artists targeted by the campaign did not sign up including Elephant Man TOK Bounty Killa and Vybz Kartel. Buju Banton and Beenie Man gained positive press coverage for publicly renouncing homophobia. However both artists later denied having signed such an act. They claimed no involvement in anti-homophobia work. The term cod reggae describes reggae done by non-Caribbean people often disparagingly due to perceived inauthenticity. Boy George has been described as one of the great cod reggae artists of all time.

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