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All about Reggae

When it comes to Jamaican music, the most talked about genre is ‘reggae’. Reggae refers to a certain style of music that stemmed from a development of rocksteady and ska. Usually, reggae is slower compared to ska but quicker compared to rocksteady. It also usually puts accents on the second or fourth beat of every bar, with rhythm guitars also emphasizing on third beats or holding chords within second beats until the fourth beat is played. Mainly it would be the third beat’s speed and use of complicated bass lines which set apart reggae from rocksteady, even though the later incorporated styles make use of these new innovations separately.

Within the 1960s, reggae (which is pronounced “ray-gay”) was put to use to talk about ragged dance rhythms made popular within Jamaica. Nobody is really certain where the term ‘reggae’ originates from; however, it might have stemmed from the 1968 Toots and the Maytals dance single known as “Do the Raggay.” The music lyrics of reggae usually speak about love, religion, peace, sexuality, poverty, relationships, injustice and various other political and social issues. Reggae music has strong links with the religion of Rastafarians, making this music one of cultural importance. Rasta’s have no organized church, but the religion comes with a set of cultural and spiritual beliefs that are open to various interpretations.

One huge difference that stands between reggae, compared to its predecessor’s rocksteady and ska, would be its brand new emphasis on spirituality. This original reggae form is known as roots reggae, which would be a highly popular style in the genre of reggae. Other kinds of reggae would include dancehall, lover’s rock, and dub. The primary responsibility regarding how roots reggae came into the global world can be attributed to Bob Marley.

The Legend: Bob Marley

Bob Marley (1945 – 1981) was a Jamaican guitarist, songwriter, singer and overall pioneer of the music of reggae. With the Wailers, he was greatly responsible for the widespread reggae trend. To this day, Bob Marley stays the world’s top widely-acclaimed artist of reggae.

The musical career of Bob Marley started in the year 1961 when his initial group was formed, The Rudeboys. Later on, they became The Wailing Wailers, eventually shortening it to just The Wailers.

Within the later 1960s, The Wailers became very popular within the Caribbean, though not internationally. This changed in the year 1972 when they recorded Catch a Fire, which was their very first album. Catch a Fire set the reggae foundation to turn it into a worldwide phenomenon and started off Bob Marley and the Wailers’ overall journey to global recognition and fame.

Conclusion

The overall impact of this one small island on the Caribbean with today’s music is highly remarkable. People all over the world are aware of and adore the music that we call reggae.