What subgenre of Reggae music would you like to listen?

Reggae music is a style that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broad sense to refer to most types of popular Jamaican dance music, the term Reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that was strongly influenced by traditional Mento and Caribbean Calypso music, as well as American Jazz and Rhythm and Blues, and evolved out of the earlier genres Ska and Rocksteady and bears strong influences from those. Reggae is a music unique to Jamaica, but ironically it has its roots in New Orleans R&B.

The genre is characterised by a 4/4 time signature, offbeat rhythms, the organ shuffle or “bubble”, and staccato guitar (or piano) chords known as “skank”. Reggae usually relates news, social gossip, and political commentary. It is instantly recognizable from the counterpoint between the bass and drum downbeat and the offbeat rhythm section.

Reggae is deeply linked to Rastafari, an Afrocentric religion which developed in Jamaica in the 1930s, aiming at promoting pan-Africanism. The Rastafari movement significantly influenced Reggae’s rhythm style with its ritual drumming called Nyahbinghi. Many famous Reggae musicians were practicing Rastas including Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Cedric Myton. Soon after the Rastafarian movement appeared, the international popularity of reggae music became associated with and increased the visibility of Rastafari and spread its gospel throughout the world. Reggae music is an important means of transporting vital messages of Rastafari. The musician becomes the messenger, and as Rastafari see it, “the soldier and the musician are tools for change.”

A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, “Do the Reggay”, was the first popular song to use the word reggae, effectively naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience.

Contemporary Reggae is not as raw or vital as the pioneering reggae from the ’70s, nor is it as slick as Pop Reggae. Instead, it falls somewhere between the two, adhering to many of the traditions developed by the ’70s. Has spread to many countries around the world, often fusing with other regional genres. This was due largely to the worldwide success of Roots Reggae artists like Bob Marley, which inspired the Pop Reggae of artists such as Jimmy Cliff and UB40. This globalisation was also a result of Lee “Scratch” Perry and Dub’s influence on Electronic music.

Reggae en Español spread from the Spanish-speaking Central American country of Panama to the mainland South American countries of Venezuela and Guyana then to the rest of South America. Caribbean music in the United Kingdom, including Reggae, has been popular since the late 1960s, and has evolved into several subgenres and fusions. Many reggae artists began their careers in the UK, and there have been a number of European artists and bands drawing their inspiration directly from Jamaica and the Caribbean community in Europe. Reggae in Africa was boosted by the visit of Bob Marley to Zimbabwe in 1980.

sources: discogs, wikipedia, rateyourmusic