Reggae was developed in Jamaica from the 1960ies on, fusing the elder Jamaica-based genres Mento, Ska and Rocksteady with influences from US-american music genres. Compared to Ska or Rocksteady, the tempo got slower and mostly, the offbeats were pointed out with a piano or guitar chord. In Jamaica, the music experienced rapid spreading by mobile soundsystems, which arranged partys across the nation. Reggae lyrics are mostly in Jamaican Patois, an English-lexified creole language with West African.. read more
Reggae was developed in Jamaica from the 1960ies on, fusing the elder Jamaica-based genres Mento, Ska and Rocksteady with influences from US-american music genres. Compared to Ska or Rocksteady, the tempo got slower and mostly, the offbeats were pointed out with a piano or guitar chord. In Jamaica, the music experienced rapid spreading by mobile soundsystems, which arranged partys across the nation. Reggae lyrics are mostly in Jamaican Patois, an English-lexified creole language with West African influences and often referencing to the Rastafari religion. Bob Marley may be seen as the most popular artist of Reggae so far, other influential artists are Peter Tosh, Desmond Dekker, Dennis Brown, Alton Ellis, Gregory Isaacs or Alpha Blondy. show less