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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 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.
Soca music is a genre of music defined by Lord Shorty, its inventor, as the "Soul of Calypso", which has influences of African and East Indian rhythms. It was originally spelled "sokah" by its inventor but through an error in a local newspaper when reporting on the new music it was erroneously spelled "soca"; Lord Shorty confirmed the error but chose to leave it that way to avoid confusion. It is a genre of music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago in the early 1970s and developed into a range of styles during the 1980s and after. Soca was initially developed by Lord Shorty in an effort to revive traditional calypso, the popularity of which had been flagging amongst younger generations in Trinidad due to the rise in popularity of reggae from Jamaica and soul and funk from the United States. Soca is an offshoot of Calypso/Kaiso, with influences from East Indian rhythms and hooks.
Riddim is the Jamaican Patois pronunciation of the English word "rhythm". In the context of reggae and dancehall, it refers to the instrumental accompaniment to a song and is synonymous with the rhythm section. Jamaican music genres that use the term consist of the riddim plus the voicing sung by the deejay. The resulting song structure is distinctive in many ways. A given riddim, if popular, may be used in dozens—or even hundreds—of songs, not only in recordings but also in live performances.
Rodney Basil Price, known as Bounty Killer, is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall deejay. AllMusic describes him as "one of the most aggressive dancehall stars of the '90s, a street-tough rude boy with an unrepentant flair for gun talk". He is considered one of the best dancehall lyricists of all-time.
The music of Jamaica includes Jamaican folk music and many popular genres, such as mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub music, dancehall, reggae fusion and related styles.
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1960s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably, with digital dancehall becoming increasingly characterized by faster rhythms. Key elements of dancehall music include its extensive use of Jamaican Patois rather than Jamaican standard English and a focus on the track instrumentals.
Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. It is a fusion of African rhythmic elements and European elements, which reached peak popularity in the 1940s and 1950s. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box — a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played. The rhumba box carries the bass part of the music.
There are several subgenres of reggae music including various predecessors to the form.
Christafari is a Christian reggae band formed in 1989. It is centered on the personality of ordained religious minister Mark Mohr, an American, born-again Christian. Until the age of 17, Mohr was a Rastafarian.
Edgardo Armando Franco, better known as El General, is a Panamanian former reggae artist considered by some to be one of the fathers of "Reggae en Español". During the early 1990s, he was one of the artists who initiated the Spanish-language dancehall variety of reggae music. Early examples of this were the international and somewhat mainstream songs, "Te Ves Buena" and "Tu Pum Pum". “Tu Pum Pum" emerged after a friend of El General invited him to collaborate with a Jamaican producer that was searching for a “different sound in Panama." Both songs, performed in Spanish deejaying style, were very successful in North America. After getting his foot in the door of the commercial market, many other Spanish-language dancehall reggae artists became famous in the mainstream as well. He has a unique, easy to listen to style of dance music and has produced many well-known songs all over Latin America. This style is called reggae en Español, because he makes dancehall reggae music with Spanish-language lyrics. El General retired in 2004 and became one of Jehovah's Witnesses.
Reggae fusion is a genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, hip hop, R&B, jazz, funk, soul, disco, electronic and latin.
Tyrone Thompson, better known as Papa San, is a Jamaican reggae, dancehall and gospel singer.
Any Minute Now is an album by Trinidadian Soca artist Machel Montano and his band Xtatik released in 1999.
Cleveland Laing, better known as Lieutenant Stitchie, is a Jamaican deejay who originally worked in the dancehall style but switched to gospel reggae in 1997 after surviving a car crash, thereafter working under the shorter name Stitchie.
Gospel reggae is a genre of music that originated in Jamaica, mixing reggae rhythms with Christian-themed lyrics.
Avion Claudette Trudy Henrietta Blackman is a Trinidadian reggae recording artist, and the wife of Christafari front man Mark Mohr. She has produced three solo albums, as well as providing vocals and bass guitar for Christafari since 2003.
Chevelle Franklyn is a Jamaican reggae and gospel reggae singer.
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.
References
- ↑ Curwen Best Culture @ the Cutting Edge: Tracking Caribbean Popular Music 2004 9766401241 "Another visible artist of the era who challenged the boundaries of conventional gospel was the Trinidadian Sherwin Gardner. Unlike Sean Daniel, Gardner also employed heavy doses of dancehall musical and lyrical motifs."
- ↑ Timothy Rommen "Mek Some Noise": Gospel Music and the Ethics of Style in ...2007 0520940547- Page 29 "The tendency of artists like Sherwin Gardner and Melchizedek Order to use instances of Jamaican patwah in their songs ..."
- ↑ Curwen Best The Politics of Caribbean Cyberculture - 2008 Page 84 " For example Lionofzion.com showcases Christafari, Sherwin Gardner, and other leading reggae, dancehall, hip hop ..."
- ↑ Todd Boyd African Americans and Popular Culture: Music and popular art 0275989259 2008 "and reggae acts (such as Papa San, Avion Blackman [formerly of the reggae group Christafari] , and Sherwin Gardner) . Gospel music has become an extremely large and profitable industry."
- ↑ Billboard - Jun 28, 2003 - Page 24 "The label is considered the largest provider of Christian/gospel reggae and world music. The current roster includes Stitchie, Sherwin Gardner, Tiko & Gita, and Monty G."
- ↑ The Beat - Volume 22, Issues 2-5 -2003 Page 43 "Sherwin Gardner: Leaning (Lion of Zion, 2002) Born and raised in Arima, Trinidad, here comes Sherwin Gardner with a "
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