Why reggae music

Reggae is everywhere, if you take the time to look for it. Jamaican music goes mainstream Jamaican music first became a craze in the mids, a time before reggae existed.

Harry Belafonte, who was born in New York, was initially a singer of lounge jazz and pop, but he grew increasingly attracted to folkier sounds and found fame in the mids by exploring the acoustic songs his Jamaican mother and father had enjoyed. However, the next Jamaican musical style to emerge still has considerable sway in both the reggae we hear today and the broader world of pop. In the late 50s, ska, the direct ancestor of reggae music, with its rhythmic guitar stabs and concern for issues both personal and political, shot straight outta Kingston, bringing with it rude boy culture and a certain bad boy swag.

Its stars, such as Prince Buster, The Skatalites and The Wailers a vocal group which featured a youth called Robert Nesta Marley , enjoyed lengthy careers, and one of the record companies which specialised in issuing it, Island, eventually became a major label in a wide range of genres.

Nickie Lee was not the last non-Jamaican artist to fall under the influence of Prince Buster. But though pub-rock was a back-to-the-roots music, some more illustrious British bands of the era were also reggae-aware. The Rolling Stones also enjoyed Jamaican grooves, recognizing a rootsy parallel with the blues that had originally inspired the band.

A few rungs down the star status ladder of British 70s rock , some prog acts also took a fancy to Jamaican groove. A prog band playing ska songs? Reggae around the world The possibilities of Jamaican rhythm were not only explored by British bands. Ace Of Base enjoyed several hits with a re-tooled Swedish variant of the lates Jamaican dancehall sound. But proof that reggae music had really touched US musical consciousness arrived when major US rock bands adopted its rhythms in the 70s.

Punky reggae parties While Eagles and Steely Dan were enjoying their reggae-hued hits, a very different rock and skank fusion was being forged in the UK. British punk bands, seeking non-mainstream allies, queued up to pay homage to Jamaican sounds. Sometimes the results could be clunky but the intentions were sincere. British post-punk rose on a sea of skank.

There was no resentment for their rise in Jamaica: when they covered reggae songs they made sure the original writers got the payday of their lives. There were numerous reggae labels founded by Jamaican expats in New York City and Miami in the 70s, but the music was generally drowned out by the wider culture of soul and funk.

The birth of hip-hop In the late 70s, some jazz-funkers were tempted to skank; flautist Herbie Mann made an album called Reggae , and guitarist Eric Gale played on Negril , a jazzy jam of an LP featuring US and Jamaican musos. He rapidly became a symbol for African youth and many started identifying with Jamaicans and the Rasta culture. Indeed, it was easy for young Africans to compare themselves with Jamaicans for they were both black people living in harsh conditions —— for instance, Jamaican ghettos are rather similar to African ones ——, and above all they were both oppressed by white people from a political, financial and social perspective.

It will help us to better understand the overall situation. Coffee, cocoa and pal oil crops were soon planted along the coast and a forced-labour system became the backbone of the economy. On 19 September , only two years after his coming to power, rebels allegedly coming from the north of the country tried to overthrow him but they failed. Nevertheless, they managed to control several strategic cities located in the middle and the north of the country.

Obviously some ethnic tensions are palpable in this country, all the more so since they have been exacerbated by politicians from all sides for decades. Yet, it would seem that economic elements also played a great part in sparking off the crisis. The first song denounces the bloody neocolonial policy developed by Western countries in Africa:. This is a place where Rastas, reggae musicians, singers, painters and some other artists dealing with Rasta culture usually meet.

Furthermore, as mentally ill people commonly wear dreadlocks simply because they never comb their hair , they usually consider dreadlocks a dirty and messy hairstyle, if not insanity. Check your history! Photo 3. Alpha Blondy performing in Paris. Throughout his fertile career which he started in , Lucky Dube never stopped denouncing discrimination, segregation and exclusion, which black South Africans were the victims of.

He also advocated unity among people. Among his most representative albums, one must mention Slave , Prisoner and Victims. It is also crucial to emphasize the Pacific region. Indeed, like Jamaicans and Africans, Maori, Aborigines and Kanaks have experienced colonialism, enslavement, genocides and denial of their traditions and religious beliefs.

It is not an overstatement to say that almost the whole world have been culturally influenced by reggae music and its Rastafarian message. How can we explain such a scattering? Besides, foreigners appear to be captivated by reggae music because of its militant, rebellious and spiritual message as well as its positive and universal message dealing with the concept of unity.

Rasta symbols such as dreadlocks, Ethiopian colours, ganja or military clothing also play an important part in charming foreign audience. In other respects, a final remark could be made: the great importance of reggae and Rastafari in the worldwide cultural universe raise the question of the place of reggae and Rastafari in Caribbean studies in France.

Like rock, punk or hippie movements, reggae and Rastafari have influenced societies from a musical, cultural and political point of view. For that reason, they really can not be ignored, especially in the field of Caribbean Studies, which in France and the French West Indies, unfortunately, tend to focus on topics like tourism, migrations or environmental geography. France-Cameroun, Croisement dangereux! Bonacci, G. Bonacci et S. Fila-Bakabadio dir , Musiques populaires.

Bradley, L. Bass Culture , Londres, Penguin Books. Chang, J. Chevannes, B. Diop, B. Tobner et F-X. Verschave Kroubo, Dagnini J. Kroubo Dagnini, J. Les origines du reggae : retour aux sources. Letts, D. Marshall, G. Mbiti, J-S. Moore, J-B. Raoult J. Salewicz, C. Boot Sherlock, P. Bennett 8. Veal, M-E. White, G.

Caribbean Quarterly , 13 3 : Aitken, Laurel Blondy, Alpha and The Wailers Blondy, Alpha and The Wailers. Blondy, Alpha Blondy, Alpha,. Clapton, Eric Clash, The The reggae music form deals with the racial and social issues that were encountered during Jamaica's history Chang and Chen Jamaican reggae has undergone many transformations, both in style and themes, during its history.

Yet, the masses still use the music to express resistance to oppression and poverty. For many Jamaicans, music is one of the few ways in which the poor are able to create a distinct, black, Jamaican identity for themselves.

Throughout the years, reggae music and lyrics have increased in nature both politically and revolutionary. Lyrics discussed such themes as oppression, crime, economic shortages, racial discrimination, political violence, and homelessness Davis and Simon The Rastafari influence also contributed to the cultural significance of reggae music. This is the period in which the theme of repatriation to Africa began to be the focus. It was a symbol for both identity and pride among the people.

Rastafari's most significant impact was on the narrative personas used by the singers of reggae music. It was apparent in the lives, lyrics, and performances of the musicians Prahlad The music became more than just entertainment. It became one the main mediums for political and social remarks. Reggae music became a threat to the Jamaican government King et al. This period allowed for African Jamaicans to have black pride and to speak out against the injustice in their country.