Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. 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. 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 as well as by American jazz and rhythm and blues, and evolved out of the earlier genres ska and rocksteady. 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. The immediate origins of reggae were in ska and rocksteady; from the latter, reggae took over the use of the bass as a percussion instrument.
Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish reggae, including harmony groups such as the Techniques, the Paragons, the Heptones and the Gaylads; soulful singers such as Alton Ellis, Delroy Wilson, Bob Andy, Ken Boothe and Phyllis Dillon; musicians such as Jackie Mittoo, Lynn Taitt and Tommy McCook. The term rocksteady comes from a popular (slower) dance style mentioned in the Alton Ellis song "Rocksteady", that matched the new sound. Some rocksteady songs became hits outside Jamaica, as with ska, helping to secure the international base reggae music has today.
The Bodysnatchers were a seven-piece all-female band involved in the British 2 Tone ska revival of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Dance Hall Crashers was an American ska punk band formed in 1989 in Berkeley, California. Initially founded by former Operation Ivy members Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman, the band has had a fluid lineup over its career, with the most recent lineup includes Elyse Rogers and Karina Deniké on vocals, brothers Jason Hammon and Gavin Hammon on guitar and drums respectively, and Mikey Weiss on bass. They have released four studio albums, highlighted by the 1995 release Lockjaw which featured the minor hit song "Enough", produced by Rob Cavallo and featured in the film Angus.
MU330 is an American ska punk band from St. Louis, Missouri. Formed by students of St. Louis University High School in 1988, MU330 played a self-described brand of music called "psycho ska", high energy ska punk marked by manic performances and humorous, often strange lyricism. Since 1997, the band's musical direction has changed towards a more melodic and lyric-driven ska/indie rock sound, a combination that has been described as "Weezer meets The Specials".
Bob Marley and the Wailers were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer.
Moon Ska Records was one of the most influential ska record labels of the 1980s and 1990s.
Let's Go Bowling is an American third wave ska band hailing from Fresno, California. Since the band's inception in the year 1986, the band's traditional ska style, barbershop harmonies, wisely crafted instrumentals, and its frantic live performances, helped set the standard for dress and culture for West Coast Ska, which in turn, set the groundwork for the Third Wave Movement in 1995.
The Mad Caddies is an American ska punk band from Solvang, California. The band formed in 1995 and has released seven full-length albums, one live album, and two EPs. To date, Mad Caddies have sold over 500,000 albums worldwide.
The Pietasters are an American eight-piece ska/soul band from Washington, D.C., with additional members from Maryland and Virginia.
King Django is an American bandleader, singer, songwriter, arranger, engineer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, especially in the genres of ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub, dancehall, rhythm & blues and soul. Other influences in his music have included traditional jazz, swing, klezmer, hardcore/punk rock, hip-hop and electronica.
Sonic Boom Six are an English five-piece band from Manchester, United Kingdom. Their eclectic sound combines different elements of several genres and has been described by Kerrang! as "taking ska, pop, grime, dubstep, punk and metal apart, then rebuilding them as a hyperactive hybrid". Their lyrics tend to focus on social commentary with a live show known for "clashing activism and good times". The band's influences include Bad Brains, Public Enemy, The Fugees, The Specials, The Streets, and The Clash.
Victor "Vic" Ruggiero, is a musician, songwriter and producer from New York City who has played in reggae, blues, ska and rocksteady bands since the early 1990s, including The Slackers, Stubborn All-Stars, SKAndalous All Stars, Crazy Baldhead and The Silencers. He has also performed with punk rock band Rancid, both live and in the studio. He has released four solo acoustic albums and continues to tour and record worldwide. Ruggiero is known primarily as a singer and organist, although he also plays piano, bass, banjo, cigar box guitar, guitar, harmonica and percussion.
Mephiskapheles is a ska band based in New York City. Their name is a portmanteau of "ska" and "Mephistopheles", of the Faust legend. As their name suggests, their lyrics are often playfully satanic in nature.
"Disco" Dave Hillyard is a tenor saxophonist originating from San Diego, California. He has performed in groups such as The Slackers, The Rocksteady Seven, The Donkey Show, Hepcat, Stubborn All-Stars, and has guested with the likes of Rancid, Victor Rice, Skinnerbox NYC and Alexandra Lawerentz. He is a skilled improviser and composer/arranger with more than thirty album credits to his name.
Moon Ska World, formerly known as Moon Ska Europe, was a ska record label based in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1998 as the European sister label of the defunct American label Moon Ska Records, which was owned by Robert "Bucket" Hingley of The Toasters. Moon Ska World is a licensed affiliate run by Laurie "Lol" Pryor, former manager of The Business and Dojo Records and Link Records head. Due to illnesses in both Pryor and the other principal owner, Sonia "Red" Bailey, as well as deaths in their families, the label was put on hold until 2006, when Pryor changed its name to Moon Ska World and began running the label on his own.
Deal's Gone Bad is a band from Chicago, Illinois. Their sound mixes reggae, rocksteady, and ska music with American soul. They have been together since 1994, with numerous lineup changes over the years. The current incarnation has been mostly stable since 2003. The band hews to a more traditional ska-reggae sound while many others working in the genre morphed into a more punk variety.
PIMPBOT was an American ska punk band from Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. It was formed in 2001. Blending influences of reggae, dance-rock, hardcore punk, and rocksteady, the band was a local favorite, playing at many Honolulu venues. Pimpbot performed at the world-famous Wave Waikiki at the closing celebration, headlined the grand opening of the stage at Kemo'o Farms, and the popular Sunset on the Beach event at Waikiki Beach.
Black Square is an American ska band from Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Originally formed in 2002 as a hardcore punk trio, Black Square expanded into a 9-piece in 2023 and currently consists of Josh86, Brian Kim (drums), Kat Bumbaclot, Demetri Marmash (bass), Jared, T.R., Chiga (trumpet), Ken Lykes (keyboard) and Babyface and. Since expanding to a nine-piece set up Black Square has sought to blend ska, punk, rocksteady, reggae, and hip-hop influences to create a distinct ska sound that maintains the intensity and style of punk rock. The band's name is a reference to Kazimir Malevich's 1915 oil painting of a black square on a plain piece of canvas.
Jay Kalk, AKA Jay Ernest, AKA Jayder is an American and International touring and recording artist formerly based out of Los Angeles, Phoenix, Honolulu, who currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He has recorded and performed with many artists such as Go Jimmy Go, Warsaw Poland Brothers, and 3 Minute Hero. His most recent endeavor, Church of Cash, is a Johnny Cash Tribute show.
