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.
Mark Anthony Myrie, known professionally as Buju Banton, is a Jamaican dancehall, ragga, and reggae singer. He is one of the most significant and well-regarded artists in Jamaican music. Banton has collaborated with many international artists, including those in the hip hop, Latin and punk rock genres, as well as the sons of Bob Marley.
Moses Anthony Davis, professionally known as Beenie Man, is a Jamaican dancehall deejay.
Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques is a Jamaican dancehall deejay. Paul's first album, Stage One, was released in 2000. He gained international fame with his second album, Dutty Rock, in 2002. Its single "Get Busy" topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, as did "Temperature", off his third album, The Trinity (2005).
Steven Kapur, known by the stage name Apache Indian, is a British singer-songwriter and reggae DJ. He had a series of hits during the 1990s. He is best known in the UK for the song "Boom Shack-A-Lak", which reached the top ten during August 1993.
Sly and Robbie were a prolific Jamaican rhythm section and production duo, associated primarily with the reggae and dub genres. Drummer Sly Dunbar and bassist Robbie Shakespeare teamed up in the mid-1970s after establishing themselves separately in Jamaica as professional musicians. Shakespeare died in December 2021 following kidney surgery.
T.O.K. are a dancehall reggae group from Kingston, Jamaica. As of 2024, the group consists of Alistaire "Alex" McCalla, Roshaun "Bay-C" Clarke, Craig "Craigy T" Thompson, and previously Xavier "Flexx" Davidson. They started their band in 1996, and announced its dissolution in 2015, before reuniting in 2022 and releasing a new song which would be the first after their reunion, titled NPLH (Home), featuring Shams the Producer. This song was released in 2023. T.O.K. were described as "the world's greatest dancehall-reggae boy band" by The New York Times in 2004. They were best known for such hits as "Footprints", "Diamonds and Gold", "Gal You Ah Lead", "Chi Chi Man", "Eagles Cry", "Guardian Angel", "Money 2 Burn", "She's Hot", "Hey Ladies", "The Voice", "I Believe", "Shake Your Bam Bam" and "Galang Gal".
Chaka Demus & Pliers are a Jamaican reggae duo made up of deejay Chaka Demus and singer Pliers, known for their hits "Tease Me" and "Murder She Wrote". As a duo, they enjoyed more commercial success with mainstream pop fans after their collaboration began in the early 1990s than either had in their previous solo careers.
Justin Boland, also known as J Boogie is a DJ, music producer, radio host, music director and music curator from San Francisco with over 25 years of experience in the music industry.
Philip Thomas, better known as Cutty Ranks, is a Jamaican dancehall singer.
Vivienne Tanya Stephenson, known by her stage name Tanya Stephens, is a Jamaican reggae singer and deejay who emerged in the late 1990s. She is most known for her hits "Yuh Nuh Ready Fi Dis Yet" — later featured on the Reggae Gold 1997 compilation album — and "It's a Pity", for which Stephens achieved international recognition. She and business partner Andrew Henton have together co-founded Tarantula Records.
Justuss is Canadian reggae musician Snow's third album. Like his second album Murder Love, Justuss is primarily a reggae album performed in Jamaican Patois and featured fellow reggae stars such as Yami Bolo, Nadine Sutherland, Buju Banton, Beenie Man, and Terror Fabulous. Because of his criminal record, Snow was unable to obtain a visa to promote Justuss in the United States and Japan.
David Constantine Brooks, better known by his stage name Mavado, is a Jamaican dancehall singer. Mavado signed with DJ Khaled's We the Best Music Group, a then-imprint of Cash Money and Republic Records in 2011. He guest performed on each of Khaled's studio albums, beginning with We the Best Forever (2011) until parting ways with the label prior to the release of his twelfth, Khaled Khaled (2021). His 2013 single, "Give It All to Me" was released in promotion for his debut major label studio album, which remains unreleased.
Inetimi Alfred Timaya Odon (born 15 August 1980), better known by his stage name Timaya, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He is from Odi, Bayelsa state, South-South Nigeria. Timaya is known for combining Nigerian pop with elements of dancehall, hip-hop, and soca, as well as his blend of Afro-Caribbean/Dancehall music. He is the founder of DM Records Limited, were he is also signed.
Ophlin Russell, better known as Sister Nancy, is a Jamaican dancehall DJ and singer. She is known as the first female dancehall DJ and was described as being a "dominating female voice for over two decades" on the dancehall scene.
Pierre Steffen Baigorry, better known as Peter Fox, is a German singer, songwriter and musician. He is a member of the German reggae and dancehall band Seeed.
Next! is the third studio album by German reggae fusion band Seeed. It was released on 14 October 2005.
Abiodun Odukoya, better known as Abiodun, is a Nigerian-German singer, songwriter, producer and music arranger. Abiodun's name is of Yoruba origin and means "he who is born on a day of festivity". He is better known as the co founder of the Afro German music collective Brothers Keepers and as one of the pioneers of the German reggae, afro and soul music scene.
"Bam Bam" is a 1982 song by Jamaican dancehall recording artist Sister Nancy. The song's chorus was inspired by the 1966 song of the same name, by The Maytals and Byron Lee and the Dragonaires. The song's instrumental samples the 1974 song "Stalag 17", by Ansell Collins, a well known riddim, alternatively known as a backing track used repeatedly. The song has been labeled as a "well-known reggae anthem" by BBC and a "classic" by The Observer.
Dancehall pop is a sub-genre of the Jamaican genre dancehall that originated in the early 2000s. Developing from the sounds of reggae, dancehall pop is characteristically different in its fusion with western pop music and digital music production. Dancehall pop is also different from dancehall in that most songs use lesser Jamaican Patois in lyrics––allowing it to be globally understood and consumed. It also incorporates the key pop music elements of having melodies, hooks, and the verse-chorus format. Additionally, the genre moves away from the reggae and roots reggae music origins in social and political protest, now lyrically centering on partying, dancing, and sexuality.
