Reggae

Infobox Music genre
name = Reggae
color = green
bgcolor = white
stylistic_origins = R&B, Jazz, Blues, Mento, Calypso, Ska, Rocksteady
cultural_origins = Late 1960s Jamaica, especially Kingston
instruments = Bass - Drums - Guitar - Organ - Brass instrument - Melodica
popularity = Early 1970s onward, varied
derivatives = Dancehall - Drum and bass - Trip hop
subgenrelist = Reggae genres
subgenres = Roots reggae - Dub - Dub poetry - Toasting - Lovers rock - Dancehall - Ragga
fusiongenres = Reggaeton - Seggae - 2 Tone
regional_scenes = African - Australia - Japan - Kanéka - New Zealand - Nigeria - Philippines - Poland
local_scenes =
other_topics = Music of Jamaica - List of reggae musicians

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s.

While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term "reggae" more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady. Reggae is based on a rhythmic style characterized by regular beats on the off-beat, known as the "skank". Reggae is normally slower than ska, and usually has accents on the third beat in each bar.

Reggae song lyrics deal with many subjects, including religion, love, sexuality, relationships, poverty, injustice and other social and political issues.

Etymology

The 1967 edition of the "Dictionary of Jamaican English" lists "reggae" as "a recently estab. sp. for "rege", as in "rege-rege", a word that can mean either "rags, ragged clothing" or "a quarrel, a row". [1967 "Dictionary of Jamaican English"]

The word "reggae" as a musical term first appeared in print with the 1968 rocksteady hit "Do the Reggay" by The Maytals, but it was already being used in Kingston, Jamaica as the name of a slower dance and style of rocksteady. As Reggae artist Derrick Morgan stated:

"We didn't like the name rock steady, so I tried a different version of "Fat Man". It changed the beat again, it used the organ to creep. Bunny Lee, the producer, liked that. He created the sound with the organ and the rhythm guitar. It sounded like ‘reggae, reggae' and that name just took off. Bunny Lee started using the world " [sic] " and soon all the musicians were saying ‘reggae, reggae, reggae."

Reggae historian Steve Barrow credits Clancy Eccles with altering the Jamaican patois word "streggae" ("loose woman") into "reggae". However, Toots Hibbert said:

"There's a word we used to use in Jamaica called 'streggae'. If a girl is walking and the guys look at her and say 'Man, she's streggae' it means she don't dress well, she look raggedy. The girls would say that about the men too. This one morning me and my two friends were playing and I said, 'OK man, let's do the reggay.' It was just something that came out of my mouth. So we just start singing 'Do the reggay, do the reggay' and created a beat. People tell me later that we had given the sound it's " [sic] " name. Before that people had called it blue-beat and all kind of other things. Now it's in the Guinness World of Records." [ [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20040604/ai_n12789725 interview in "The Independent" Jun 4, 2004] ; cf. many similar statements by Hibbert in recent years. In earlier interviews, Hibbert used to claim the derivation was from English 'regular', in reference to the beat.]

Bob Marley is said to have claimed that the word "reggae" came from a Spanish term for "the king's music". ["Catch a Fire: The Life of Bob Marley", Timothy White, p. 16] The liner notes of "To the King", a compilation of Christian gospel reggae, suggest that the word "reggae" was derived from the Latin "regis" meaning "to the king."

Precursors

Although strongly influenced by both traditional African and Caribbean music, as well as by American rhythm and blues, reggae owes its direct origins to the progressive development of ska and rocksteady in 1960s Jamaica.

Ska music first arose in the studios of Jamaica over the years 1959 and 1961, itself a development of the earlier mento genre. [http://niceup.com/history/ja_music_59-73.html History of Jamaican Music 1953–1973] ] Ska is characterized by a walking bass line, accentuated guitar or piano rhythms on the offbeat, and sometimes jazz-like horn riffs. Aside from its massive popularity amidst the Jamaican rude boy fashion, it had gained a large following among mods in Britain by 1964. According to Barrow, rude boys began deliberately playing their ska records at half speed, preferring to dance slower as part of their tough image.

By the mid-1960s, many musicians had begun playing the tempo of ska slower, while emphasizing the walking bass and offbeats. The slower sound was named rocksteady, after a single by Alton Ellis. This phase of Jamaican music lasted only until 1968, when musicians began to slow the tempo of the music again, and added yet more effects. This led to the creation of reggae.

Origins and development

The shift from rocksteady to reggae was illustrated by the organ shuffle pioneered by Bunny Lee, and featured in the transitional singles "Say What You're Saying" (1967) by Clancy Eccles, and "People Funny Boy" (1968) by Lee "Scratch" Perry. [ [http://blogs.citypages.com/pscholtes/2004/09/toots_and_the_maytals_never_gr.php "Toots and the Maytals:Never Grow Old", Peter S. Scholtes, "City Pages"] ] The Pioneers' 1967 track "Long Shot Bus' Me Bet" has been identified as the earliest recorded example of the new rhythm sound that would soon become known as reggae. [ [http://www.upsetter.net/scratch/biography01.htm "Shocks Of Mighty: An Upsetting Biography"] ]

Early 1968 was when the first "bona fide" reggae records came into being: "Nanny Goat" by Larry Marshall and "No More Heartaches" by The Beltones. Music historian Piero Scaruffi credits American artist Johnny Nash's 1968 hit "Hold Me Tight" with first putting reggae on the American listener charts. [ [http://www.scaruffi.com/history/reggae.html "A brief summary of Jamaican music"] - excerpted from "A History of Popular Music" by Piero Scaruffi (2002)]

The Wailers, a band that was started by Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer in 1963, are generally agreed to be the most easily recognised group worldwide that made the transition through all three stages — from ska hits like "Simmer Down", through slower rocksteady; and they are also among the significant pioneers who can be called the roots of reggae — along with Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker, Jackie Mittoo and several others.

Some of the many notable Jamaican producers who were highly influential in the development of ska into rocksteady and reggae in the 1960s include Coxsone Dodd, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Leslie Kong, Duke Reid, Joe Gibbs and King Tubby. Another early producer was Chris Blackwell, who founded Island Records in Jamaica in 1960, then relocated to England in 1962, where he continued to promote Jamaican music. He formed a partnership with Trojan Records, founded by Lee Gopthal in 1968. Trojan released recordings by reggae artists in the UK until 1974, when Saga bought the label.

1970s and 1980s

The 1972 film "The Harder They Come", starring Jimmy Cliff, generated considerable interest and popularity for reggae music in the United States, and Eric Clapton's 1974 cover of the Bob Marley song "I Shot the Sheriff" helped bring reggae into the mainstream. By the mid 1970s, reggae was getting radio play in the UK on John Peel's radio show, and John continued to play more reggae throughout his career. What is called the first "Golden Age of Reggae" corresponds roughly to the heyday of roots reggae.

In the second half of the 1970s, the UK punk rock scene was starting to form, and some punk DJs played reggae songs during their sets. Some punk bands, such as The Clash, The Slits, The Police, and The Ruts, incorporated reggae influences into their music. At the same time, reggae began to enjoy a revival in the UK that continued into the 1980s, exemplified by groups like Steel Pulse, Aswad, UB40, and Musical Youth. Other artists who enjoyed international appeal in the early 1980s include Third World, Black Uhuru and Sugar Minott.

The Grammy Awards introduced the Best Reggae Album category in 1985, which was won that year by Black Uhuru's "Anthem" LP.

Musical characteristics

Reggae is either played in 4/4 time or swing time, because the symmetrical rhythmic pattern does not lend itself to other time signatures such as 3/4 time. Harmonically, the music is often very simple, and sometimes a whole song will have no more than one or two chords. These simple repetitious chord structures add to reggae's sometimes hypnotic effects.

Drums and other percussion

A standard drum kit is generally used, but the snare drum is often tuned very high to give it a timbale-type sound. Some reggae drummers use an additional timbale or high-tuned snare to get this sound. Rim shots on the snare are commonly used, and tom-tom drums are often incorporated into the drumbeat itself.

Reggae drumbeats fall into three main categories: "One drop", "Rockers" and "Steppers". With the "One drop", the emphasis is entirely on the third beat of the bar (usually on the snare, or as a rim shot combined with bass drum). Beat one is completely empty, which is extremely unusual in popular music. There is some controversy about whether reggae should be counted so that this beat falls on the 3, or whether it should be counted half as fast so that it falls on the 2 and 4. This article follows the convention of placing the beat on the 3. Many credit Carlton Barrett of The Wailers as the creator of this style, although it may actually have been invented by Winston Grennan. An example played by Barrett can be heard in the Bob Marley and the Wailers song "One Drop". Barrett often used an unusual triplet cross-rhythm on the hi-hat, which can be heard on many recordings by Bob Marley and the Wailers, such as "Running Away" on the "Kaya" album.

An emphasis on beat three is in all reggae drumbeats, but with the "Rockers" (pronounced like "raucous") beat, the emphasis is also on beat one (usually on bass drum). This beat was pioneered by the prolific innovative duo of Sly and Robbie — Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare — who later also helped create the "Rub-a-Dub" sound that greatly influenced Dancehall. An example of the "Rockers" beat is in "Night Nurse" by Gregory Isaacs. The "Rockers" beat is not always straightforward, and various syncopations are often included. An example of this is the Black Uhuru song "Sponji Reggae."

In "Steppers", the bass drum plays four solid beats to the bar, giving the beat an insistent drive. An example is "Exodus" by Bob Marley and the Wailers. Another common name for the "Steppers" beat is the "four on the floor".

The "Steppers" beat was also adopted (at a much higher tempo) by some of the 2 Tone ska revival bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Examples include "Stand Down Margaret" by The Beat and "Too Much Too Young" by The Specials.

An unusual characteristic of reggae drumming is that the drum fills often do not end with a climactic cymbal. A wide range of other percussion instrumentation is used in reggae. Bongos are often used to play free, improvised patterns, with heavy use of African-style cross-rhythms. Cowbells, claves and shakers tend to have more defined roles and a set pattern.

Bass

The bass guitar often plays a very dominant role in reggae, and the drum and bass is often called the "riddim". Several reggae singers have released different songs recorded over the same "riddim". The central role of the bass can be particularly heard in dub music — which gives an even bigger role to the drum and bass line, reducing the vocals and other instruments to peripheral roles. The bass sound in reggae is thick and heavy, and equalized so the upper frequencies are removed and the lower frequencies emphasised. The bass line is often a simple two-bar riff that is centred around its thickest and heaviest note.

Guitars

The rhythm guitar in reggae usually plays the chords on beats two and four, a musical figure known as skank or the 'bang'. It has a very dampened, short and scratchy chop sound, almost like a percussion instrument. Sometimes a double chop is used when the guitar still plays the off beats, but also plays the following 8th beats on the up-stroke. An example is the intro to "Stir It Up" by The Wailers.

Keyboards

From the late 1960s through to the early 1980s, a piano was generally used in reggae to double the rhythm guitar's skank, playing the chords in a "staccato" style to add body, and playing occasional extra beats, runs and riffs. The piano part was widely taken over by synthesizers during the 1980s, although synthesizers have been used in a peripheral role since the 1970s to play incidental melodies and countermelodies. Larger bands may include either an additional keyboardist, to cover or replace horn and melody lines, or the main keyboardist filling these roles on two or more keyboards. The latter has become increasingly popular as keyboard technology improves.

The reggae-organ shuffle is unique to reggae. Typically, a Hammond organ-style sound is used to play chords with a choppy feel. This is known as the "bubble". There are specific drawbar settings used on a Hammond console to get the correct sound. This may be the most difficult reggae keyboard rhythm. The 8th beats are played with a space-left-right-left-space-left-right-left pattern.

Horns

Horn sections are frequently used in reggae, often playing introductions and counter-melodies. Instruments included in a typical reggae horn section include saxophone, trumpet and/or trombone. In more recent times, real horns are sometimes replaced in reggae by synthesizers or recorded samples. The horn section is often arranged around the first horn, playing a simple melody or counter melody. The first horn is usually accompanied by the second horn playing the same melodic phrase in unision, one octave higher. The third horn usually plays the melody an octave and a fifth higher than the first horn. The horns are generally played fairly softly, usually resulting in a soothing sound. However, sometimes punchier, louder phrases are played for a more up-tempo and aggressive sound.

Vocals

The vocals in reggae are less of a defining characteristic of the genre than the instrumentation and rhythm. Almost any song can be performed in a reggae style. Vocal harmony parts are often used, either throughout the melody (as with bands such as the Mighty Diamonds), or as a counterpoint to the main vocal line (as with the backing group I-Threes). The British reggae band Steel Pulse used particularly complex backing vocals. An unusual aspect of reggae singing is that many singers use "tremolo" (volume oscillation) rather than "vibrato" (pitch oscillation). Notable exponents of this technique include Dennis Brown and Horace Andy. The toasting vocal style is unique to reggae, originating when DJs improvised along to dub tracks, and it is generally considered to be a precursor to rap. It differs from rap mainly in that it is generally melodic, while rap is generally more a spoken form without melodic content.

Lyrical themes

Reggae is noted for its tradition of social criticism, although many reggae songs discuss lighter, more personal subjects, such as love, sex and socializing. Many early reggae bands also covered Motown or Atlantic soul and funk numbers. Some reggae lyrics attempt to raise the political consciousness of the audience, such as by criticizing materialism, or by informing the listener about controversial subjects such as Apartheid. Many reggae songs promote the use of cannabis (also known as "herb" or "ganja"), considered a sacrament in the Rastafari movement. There are many artists who utilize religious themes in their music — whether it be discussing a religious topic, or simply giving praise to the Rastafari God Jah. Other common socio-political topics in reggae songs include black nationalism, anti-racism, anti-colonialism, anti-capitalism, criticism of political systems and "Babylon", and promotion of caring for needs of the younger generation.

Criticism of dancehall and ragga

Some dancehall/ragga artists have been criticised for homophobia [ [http://www.newnownext.com/2007/06/reggae_stars_si.html LOGOonline.com: NewNowNext Blog: Reggae Stars Sign On To Cut Out Homophobic Lyrics ] ] [ [http://www.towleroad.com/2007/06/reggae_stars_re.html Reggae Stars Renounce Homophobia, Condemn Anti-gay Violence] ] , sometimes including threats of violence. [cite news|title=The Most Homophobic Place on Earth?|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1182991,00.html|publisher="Time"|date=2006-04-12|Retrieved June 18 2008] Buju Banton's song "Boom Bye-Bye" states that gays "haffi dead" ("have to die"). Other dancehall artists who have been accused of homophobia include Elephant Man ("When you hear a lesbian getting raped/ It's not our fault ... Two women in bed/ That's two Sodomites who should be dead."), Bounty Killer (who in a song urges listeners to burn "Mister Fagoty") and Beenie Man.

The controversy surrounding anti-gay lyrics led to the cancellation of UK tours by Beenie Man and Sizzla. After lobbying from the Stop Murder Music coalition, the dancehall music industry agreed in 2005 to stop releasing songs that promote hatred and violence against gay people. [Flick, Larry, [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_2005_April_12/ai_n13606969 "Gay vs. reggae: the reggae music industry makes changes in response to gay activists' protesting violently homophobic lyrics. The artists have no comment", The Advocate, 12 April 2005] ] [ [http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/reggae%20industry%20to%20ban%20homophobia "SIZZLA - REGGAE INDUSTRY TO BAN HOMOPHOBIA"] ] In June 2007, Beenie Man, Sizzla and Capleton signed up to the Reggae Compassionate Act — in a deal brokered with top dancehall promoters and Stop Murder Music activists — renouncing homophobia, and agreeing to "not make statements or perform songs that incite hatred or violence against anyone from any community". Five artists who had been targeted by the anti-homophobia campaign did not sign up to the act, including Elephant Man, TOK, Bounty Killa, Vybz Kartel and Buju Banton. [ [http://www.jamaicans.com/news/announcements/Reggaestarsrenouncehomophobia062007.shtml "Reggae stars renounce homophobia - Beenie Man, Sizzla and Capleton sign deal"] ]

ubgenres

Reggae includes several subgenres, such as roots reggae, dub, lovers rock, and dancehall.

Roots reggae

Roots reggae is the name given to a spiritual type of music whose lyrics are predominantly in praise of Jah (God). Recurrent lyrical themes include poverty and resistance to government oppression. Many of Bob Marley's and Peter Tosh's songs can be called roots reggae. The creative pinnacle of roots reggae was in the late 1970s, with singers such as Burning Spear, Gregory Isaacs, Freddie McGregor, Johnny Clarke, Horace Andy, Ijahman Levi, Barrington Levy, Big Youth, and Linval Thompson, and bands like Culture, Israel Vibration, the Meditations, and Misty in Roots, teaming up with various studio producers including Lee 'Scratch' Perry and Coxsone Dodd.

Dub

Dub is a genre of reggae that was pioneered in the early days by studio producers Lee 'Scratch' Perry and King Tubby. It involves extensive remixing of recorded material, and particular emphasis is placed on the drum and bass line. The techniques used resulted in an even more visceral feel described by King Tubby as sounding "jus’ like a volcano in yuh head." Augustus Pablo and Mikey Dread were two of the early notable proponents of this music style, which continues today.

Rockers

The rockers style was created during the mid-1970s by Sly & Robbie. Rockers is described as a militant, mechanical, and aggressive style of playing reggae music. [Dick Hebdige, [http://books.google.com/books?id=zqKqiSGzxQUC&pg=PA67&dq=%22rockers+music%22+reggae&sig=APNy8Y8jHM7A3oD19iS7KVY0-B0 "Cut 'n' Mix: Culture, Identity and Caribbean Music" p.67] ]

Lovers rock

Lovers rock originated in South London in the mid-1970s, and is produced for a smoother, more commercial sound, with more apolitical lyrics.

Newer styles and spin-offs

Hip hop and rap

Toasting is a style of chanting or talking over the record that was first used by 1960s Jamaican deejays such as U-Roy and Dennis Alcapone. This style greatly influenced Jamaican DJ Kool Herc, who used the style in New York City in the late 1970s to pioneer a new genre that became known as hip hop or rap. Mixing techniques employed in dub music have also influenced hip hop.

Dancehall

The dancehall genre was developed around 1980, with exponents such as Yellowman, Super Cat and Shabba Ranks. The style is characterized by a "deejay" singing and rapping or toasting over raw and fast rhythms. "Ragga" (also known as "raggamuffin"), is a "subgenre" of dancehall where the instrumentation primarily consists of electronic music and sampling. Notable "ragga" artists include Shinehead and Buju Banton.

Reggaeton

Reggaeton is a form of dance music that first became popular with Latino youths in the early 1990s. It blends reggae and dancehall with Latin American genres such as bomba and plena, as well as hip hop.

Footnotes

Bibliography

*
*cite book | author=O'Brien Chang, Kevin & Chen, Wayne | title=Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music | publisher=Ian Randle Publishers | year=1998 | id=ISBN 976-8100-67-2
*cite book | author=Larkin, Colin (ed.) | title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae | publisher=Virgin | year= 1998| id=ISBN 0-7535-0242-9
*cite book | author=Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter | title=The Rough Guide to Reggae | publisher=Rough Guides | year=2004 for the 3rd edition | id=ISBN 1-84353-329-4
*cite book | author=Morrow, Chris | title=Stir It Up: Reggae Cover Art | publisher=Thames & Hudson | year= 1999| id=ISBN 0-500-28154-8
*cite book | author=Jahn, Brian & Weber, Tom | title=Reggae Island: Jamaican Music in the Digital Age | publisher=Da Capo Press | year= 1998| id=ISBN 0-306-80853-6
*cite book | author=Hurford, Ray (ed.) | title=More Axe | publisher=Erikoispaino Oy | year= 1987| id=ISBN 951-99841-4-3
*cite book | author=Potash, Chris (ed.) | title=Reggae, Rasta, Revolution: Jamaican Music from Ska to Dub | publisher=Schirmer Books | year= 1997| id=ISBN 0-8256-7212-0
*cite book | author=Baek, Henrik & Hedegard, Hans | title=Dancehall Explosion, Reggae Music Into the Next Millennium | publisher=Samler Borsen Publishing, Denmark | year=1999 | id=ISBN 87-981684-3-6
*cite book | author=Katz, David | title=People Funny Boy: The Genius of Lee Scratch Perry | publisher=Payback Press, UK | year=2000 | id=ISBN 0-86241-854-2
*cite book | author=Lesser, Beth | title=King Jammy's | publisher=ECW Press | year=2002 | id=ISBN 1-55022-525-1
*cite book | author=Stolzoff, Norman C. | title=Wake The Town And Tell The People | publisher=Duke University Press, USA | year=2000 | id=ISBN 0-8223-2514-4
*cite book | author=Davis, Stephen & Simon, Peter | title=Reggae Bloodlines: In Search of the Music and Culture of Jamaica | publisher=Da Capo Press | year=1979 | id=ISBN 0-306-80496-4
*cite book | author=Katz, David | title=Solid Foundation - An Oral history of Reggae | publisher=Bloomsburry, UK | year=2003 | id=ISBN 1-58234-143-5
*cite book | author=de Koningh, Michael & Cane-Honeysett, Laurence | title=Young Gifted and Black - The Story of Trojan Records | publisher=Sanctuary Publishing, UK | year=2003 | id=ISBN 1-86074-464-8
*cite book | author=de Koningh, Michael & Griffiths, Marc | title=Tighten Up - The History of Reggae in the UK | publisher=Sanctuary Publishing, UK | year=2003 | id=ISBN 1-86074-559-8
*cite book | author=Bradley, Lloyd | title=Bass Culture. When Reggae Was King | publisher=Penguin Books Ltd, UK | year=2001 | id=ISBN 0-14-023763-1
*cite book | author=Bradley, Lloyd | title=This Is Reggae Music. The Story of Jamica's Music | publisher= Penguin Books Ltd, UK | year=2000 | id=ISBN 0-802-3828-4
*

ee also

* List of reggae festivals
* List of reggae musicians
* Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album

External links

* [http://niceup.com/ Jammin Reggae Archives]
* [http://reggae-vibes.com Reggae Vibes]
* [http://reggaetrain.com The Reggae Train]
* [http://www.reggaefestivalguide.com/ Reggae Festival Guide]
* [http://www.unitedreggae.com/ United Reggae]
* [http://www.dmoz.org/Arts/Music/Styles/R/Regional_and_Ethnic/Reggae/ Reggae Music] at the Open Directory Project