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. Reggae is rooted out from traditional Jamaican Kumina, Pukkumina, Revival Zion, Nyabinghi, and burru drumming. Jamaican reggae music evolved out of the earlier genres mento, 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.
Rastafari, sometimes called Rastafarianism, is an Abrahamic religion that developed in Jamaica during the 1930s. It is classified as both a new religious movement and a social movement by scholars of religion. There is no central authority in control of the movement and much diversity exists among practitioners, who are known as Rastafari, Rastafarians, or Rastas.
Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of Africans and those in the African Diaspora, including the spiritual side of Rastafari, black liberation, revolution and the honouring of God, called Jah by Rastafarians. It is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer, and the rural poor. Lyrical themes include spirituality and religion, struggles by artists, poverty, black pride, social issues, resistance to fascism, capitalism, corrupt government and racial oppression. A spiritual repatriation to Africa is a common theme in roots reggae.
People from the Caribbean have made significant contributions to British Black music for many generations.
"Police and Thieves" is a reggae song first recorded by the falsetto singer Junior Murvin in 1976. It was covered by the punk band The Clash and included on their self-titled debut album released in 1977.
Michael George Henry OD, better known as Ras Michael, is a Jamaican reggae singer and Nyabinghi specialist. He also performs under the name of Dadawah.
The Rastafari movement in the United States echoes the Rastafari religious movement, which began in Jamaica and Ethiopia during the 1930s. Marcus Garvey, born in Jamaica, was influenced by the Ethiopian king Haile Selassie. Jamaican Rastafaris began emigrating to the United States in the 1960s and 1970s, and established communities throughout the country.
Jah Lloyd, aka Jah Lion, The Black Lion of Judah, and Jah Ali was a Jamaican reggae singer, deejay and producer.
Anthony Martin, better known as Lutan Fyah, is a Jamaican musician, singer, and member of the Rastafari movement Bobo Shanti.
Damion Darrel Warren, best known as Teacha Dee, is a Jamaican reggae singer and former educator. He is best known for his hit singles "Smoke and Fly", "Reggae Souljahs" and "Smuggling Weed". He was a full-time employee for the Ministry of Education Youth and Culture in Jamaica when he recorded all three songs. His stage name was derived from the Jamaican creole for "teacher" and a shortening of his childhood nickname "Demus".
Oje Ken Ollivierre, popularly known as Protoje, is a contemporary reggae singer and songwriter from Jamaica. His mother is Jamaican singer Lorna Bennett, best known for her 1972 rendition of "Breakfast in Bed". His father is a former calypso singer Mike Ollivierre from the island nation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Addis Pablo is a Jamaican reggae musician, the son of Augustus Pablo.
Jamar Rolando McNaughton, popularly known as Chronixx, is a Jamaican reggae artist. His stage name replaced the name "Little Chronicle" which he was given because of his father, the singer "Chronicle". Chronixx and his music has been branded as a "Reggae Revival", alongside other reggae musicians including Alborosie, Dre Island, Jah Bouks, Jah9, Protoje, Kelissa, Jesse Royal, Keznamdi and Kabaka Pyramid. His lyrical content revolves around themes of anti-war, romantic declarations and resiliency.
Jesse David Royal is a Jamaican reggae musician.
Mellow Mood is an Italian reggae band from Pordenone, Italy that formed in 2005.
Leighton Paul Walsh, better known by his stage name Walshy Fire, is a Jamaican American DJ, MC and record producer. He is part of the dancehall reggae-influenced group Major Lazer alongside fellow DJs Diplo and Ape Drums. Walshy Fire toured with the Black Chiney sound system beginning in 2004. Black Chiney is cited as a significant influence on the evolution of Major Lazer with its mashups that blend hip hop or R&B rhythms with reggae & R&B artist vocal tracks and its representation of the Jamaican sound system. The subsequent mix tapes that the Black Chiney collective of DJs, engineers and MCs would develop were the training ground for Walshy to become a remix producer.
Andrew Moon Bain is a visual artist, record producer, musician, songwriter, and designer. He grew up in Seattle, Washington where he was very active in the arts as a youth. He was a young cellist in the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras from ages 8–12. He also formed a hip-hop group in high school and later an original rock band with his younger brother. He relocated to Providence, Rhode Island as a young adult and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design. Bain remained in New England after earning his degree, subsequently becoming an active and integral member of Providence's exploding art community. His visual art is represented in numerous private collections, museums and at the Rhode Island School of Design Museum. In the summer of 2019, Bain did a large-scale wall installation at the Brown University Perry and Marty Granoff Center for the Creative Arts entitled “We Are All Carbon Beings”.
Kabaka Pyramid is a reggae artist from Kingston, Jamaica, who combines elements of roots reggae, dancehall and rap. His musical role models include hip-hop artists such as Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan as well as roots singers such as Peter Tosh.
