Music In Jamaican Music

Reggae is most easily recognized by the rhythmic accents on the off-beat, usually played by guitar or piano (or both), known as the skank. This pattern accents the second and fourth beat in each bar (or the ands of each beat depending on how the music is counted) and combines with the drums emphasis on beat three to create a unique feel and sense of phrasing in contrast to most

In this essay, I will be examining the musical genre of Afrobeat which was created by Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Afrobeat first came to be in the late 1960’s during the Civil Rights Movement in America. Fela Kuti a Nigerian, was able to create a genre that has change the way we view music today. Afrobeat is made up of two different words, “Afro” and “Beat”. “Afro” correlates with “African organized sound while beat is a rhythmic counting pattern in relation to such music” (Oikelome, 2013). Therefore, the meaning of Afrobeat is the unique African rhythmic patterns of such music. The coming of this genre is very interesting since the man behind it has quite a story.

The music industry in Jamaica is one of the most influential in the world. Popular music genres such as reggae and dancehall was both originated in Jamaica. Likewise, rap and hip hop was stated by a Jamaican, called Kool Herc. Bob Marley is also a famous music artist from Jamaica. His music played an important role in many movements in Jamaica and all over the world. The most famous one is the fight against apartheid in South Africa. Dancing is also important in Jamaica. A famous proverb in Jamaica, is that “those who can’t dance, blame it on the music”. In all african countries, music and dancing is really normal and it’s like this in Jamaica too. It is normal to dance on the streets in public and have fun, while listening to music. By all means music and dancing is undoubtedly important for Jamaica and the culture is mostly based around

Bob Marley and his reggae style music have not only reined supreme throughout Jamaica but also throughout the entire world. Marley’s music, style, philosophy and Rasta pride have, overtime, become a culture itself. Through his Reggae style music he advocated love, peace, hope, and unity and sought to promote equality among people in Jamaica and around the world. Primarily, his music was based off of life and love and eventually the messages in his music began to shift to correspond with the political violence occurring in Jamaica at the time. From the beginning of his career to the end, his music was heavily influenced by the Rastafarian religion.

The roots of modern american rock and roll music, are firmly planted in Africa. As the native Africans were torn apart from their family’s and brought to the new world their lives were immediately and drastically changed forever. Finding themselves immersed in a completely new environment with a foreign culture, they thankfully persevered and carried on with their own traditions and most importantly to this paper, musical ones. Most American slaves originated from Western and Central Africa. The West Africans carried a musical tradition rich with long melody lines, complicated rhythms (poly rhythmics) and stringed instruments CITATION. The West Africans music was also strongly integrated into their everyday lives. Songs were preformed for religious ceremonies and dances and music was often a

The most notable influence would be from Africa, this has been broke up into three categories dance, religious, and work/entertainment. Religious music has been influenced by Kumina, Pocomania, and Rastafari. This music is usually accompanied by drums and chanting, songs can also include singing and other instruments. Other forms of music that are becoming popular on the island are rocksteady, ska, soca, calypso, and jazz. In Kingston the fusions of the 90’s continue to influence the 21st century and has created a new sound led by producers Sly Robbie, Steven McGregor (son of Freddie McGregor), Daseca, Skatta Burrell, and Don Bennett. All these men have all forged a new mixture of hip-hop,

Music is an art form and source of power. Many forms of music reflect culture and society, as well as, containing political content and social message. Music as social change has been highlighted throughout the 20th century. In the 1960s the United States saw political and socially oriented folk music discussing the Vietnam War and other social issues. In Jamaica during the 1970s and 1980s reggae developed out of the Ghetto’s of Trench town and expressed the social unrest of the poor and the need to over-through the oppressors. The 1980’s brought the newest development in social and political music, the emergence of hip-hop and rap. This urban musical art form that was developed in New York City has now taken over the mainstream, but

Reggae is especially popular through the international fame of Bob Marley. Jamaican music's influence on music styles in other countries includes the practice of toasting, which was brought to New York City and evolved into rapping. British genres such as Lovers rock, jungle music and grime are also influenced by Jamaican

We learn from looking at the literature that modern-day Reggae had its wellsprings in the African-American soul music of the 1950s and 1960s. The insistent, off-beat rhythmic pattern of soul music became a feature of reggae in the late-1960s and early 1970s. However, the aforementioned pattern mostly appeared in the form of the trade-mark galloping backbeat of ska, which was a tip-beat and dance-oriented predecessor of reggae. Ska had a limited expressive range and its galloping speed needed to be slowed down if it was to enjoy a larger audience. Fortunately, it did slow down and, by the end of the 1960s, something known as “Rock Steady” was beginning to surface (Anderson, 206-208).

Throughout the many genres that exist in the world, there are always genres that have significant differences from each other. Although they may both stem from another genre, or one might be a derivative of the other, there is always more than one noteworthy characteristic of each genre that sets them completely apart from one another. Although rock’n’roll and jazz music were not genres that were discussed formally in class or in any assignments, they are each forms of music that thoroughly defined either a time period or a culture of a certain region. Rock and roll and jazz are two contrasting genres with slightly similarities between them. They have both been inspired by older and more prominent genres like blues and have also evolved later genres from different regions of the world such as pop music and reggae music. Also, jazz incorporates rock and roll in its music today. Rock and roll and jazz are analyzed singly and descriptively based on aural analyses of live performances that took place around the city of New York. Both of these genres stem may from the same genre, possibly an African genre, because of the history of each of them have, the instruments incorporated, and the general music characteristics of the music.

This paper is an analysis of the political and social aspects of hip-hop and reggae, as well as, addressing the commonalities of the music itself as they have developed and changed over time. This analysis produces the holistic view reflecting the interconnectedness of these two genres of music.

African American music has evolved into unique musical tradition, reflecting the experiences of Africans in the New World. This musical tradition, however, has been influenced by African cultural patterns in profound and subtle ways. To define such a broad genre is a difficult task, as African music is not a static system of notes and beats, but rather it is a conceptual approach to music making. There are, nonetheless, a set of common basic elements that help define the genre. African music in terms of spirituality, community, and language have influenced African American music profoundly. Musical organization and syntax can be traced directly to sub-Saharan peoples in terms of cyclical

The country that I chose to conduct a culture analysis on is Jamaica. Jamaica is a third world country located in North America and the 3rd largest island in the Caribbean Sea. There is a 2.5 million population, which equally divided between urban and rural areas. The country runs approximately 146 miles long and varies between 21- 52 miles wide. The climate is tropical and its main tourist attraction is their beautiful beaches. The capital of Jamaica is Kingston, which has a population of more than 645,000. Kingston is the chief port of Jamaica and is along the southeastern coast of the island. It is covered by the “Blue Mountains”, which is thickly covered which tree ferns. The Blue Mountains experiences an average of 200 inches of rain annually, resulting in topsoil erosion and an abundance of streams. Peasants nurture coffee, usually grown on large plantations, in the valleys of the mountains. It is amongst the most expensive coffees in the world and is exported mainly to Japan.

Reggae was developed from ska and rocky steady. Ska consisted of elements of Caribbean and mento, calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized