Ska Music In Jamaica

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.

For as long as mankind has walked on this earth, music has been an important part of our culture and lifestyles. Each walk of life beats to a different drum. Different cultures use music for many aspects of their lives; for religious purposes, for celebrations, for comfort, for sorrow, for relaxation, for sports, for dances, for energy, for learning, for sleeping, and for sexual experiences. Everyone uses music for something. Music connects with people and reaches them in ways that words simply cannot. Music is a representation of what feelings sound like. It expresses emotion and brings that characteristic out from within us; it tells us a story. Every generation has its’ own sound and different music styles have emerged and become

In the late 2004, a series of papers (research project) on the topic of world music and globalisation became a hot topic in a conference and gradually took on a life turning onto a virtual laboratory for teaching and research on the relationship between music and globalisation under ethnography which was funded by the Canadian Social Sciences and humanities Research Council from 2003-2006. Since then this topic has got wide meaning and more complicated.

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

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

Puerto Rican music is an evolving art form that expresses Puerto Rican culture and identity. The development of Puerto Rican music is also a reflection of their history, both being complicated by several layers. Social, political, and economic conditions are all related to the musical expressions of Puerto Ricans (Glasser, 8). Puerto Rican migration to the United States and the culture clash experienced by migrants is another layer complicating the evolution of Puerto Rican music (Glasser, 199). Musical expression has been affected by every aspect of life for the Puerto Ricans and therefore is an illustration of the Puerto Rican experience.

What is the purpose of music in society? Foremost, in layman terms, music is just sounds. However, individuals then use these sounds as a medium in order to spread certain ideas and emotions across society. Naturally over time different types of music become associated with different communities; thus, this identification creates an overgeneralized interpretation of who these communities are and what they stand for. One prime example is the stereotype that jazz and swing was the music of the African Americans in 20th century Los Angeles. Even though it may be true, the stereotype does not give an answer as to why or how jazz and swing became to be known as “black music”. In order to answer these questions, it is imperative to know what conditions

“From the shantytowns of Kingston, Jamaica, to the cobblestones streets of Great Britain, reggae music was a powerful and liberating voice for the poor and oppressed. In the last thirty years, reggae stars Bob Marley, Burning Spear, and Alpha Blondy have sung “redemption” songs- messages of human rights and universal love in a “Babylonian” world of civil unrest, political instability, and economic collapse”(Bays, King, and Foster, 2002, p. XI). Bob Marley was the most famous reggae artist to bring popularity upon the music; selling over 20 million records worldwide. His songs such as “One Love” and “Redemption Song” were inspired by the effects of oppression upon blacks in Jamaica. Marley's persona for unity and peace among people throughout the world was an inspiration for Jamaicans. Most blacks in Jamaica during the 1960s suffered from economic hardships and racial discrimination. This in turn marked the beginning of a religious movement called Rastafarinism where reggae music was an element that distinguished Rastafarians from the rest of society. According to Chang and Chen, British colonial authorities and the local establishment viewed Rastafarians; forthright espousal of black unity and pride, and their unconventional appearance and customs, as threats to the existing social order. (Chang, Chen, 1998. p.26) Reggae music allowed blacks to have pride of their culture and not limited themselves to the demeaning social orders in

Reggae, “a generic name for all Jamaican popular music since 1960, is defined as a ‘West Indian style of music with a strongly accented subsidiary beat” (Chang). Reggae music is a great style of music that was popularized by one of the world’s most famous musicians, Bob Marley. Personally, I never listened to it until I made it to college, and it has quickly become one of my favorite genres. For that reason is why I chose to write this paper on Reggae music. This genre is a very calming and relaxing style of music, which helps me when I am trying to focus on doing important tasks such as homework, including this paper. In this proton of the paper I will be looking into the history of Reggae music and the development of this particular

Without music there would be no dancing. The most popular form of music in Jamaica is Reggae, not only is it popular in Jamaica but also many other countries around the world. Reggae music has produced many famous artists one of the most popular who has had a global impact is Bob Marley. Dancehall music is a variation of reggae and its growing at an alarming rate. Reggae music has taken over as the main label for “Jamaican music.” Jamaican folk music has come a from many different sources over the years.

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.

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).

The music of Jamaica began five centuries ago, when Columbus colonized the land of the Arawak Indians. This dates the start of oppression by first the Spanish and then the English in this area of the Caribbean. Blacks were brought in as slaves by the English, and although Jamaica has had it's independence since 1963, the tension of authority and control still reigns. Jamaica is a story of injustice, international influence, ineffective governing, and unequal distribution of wealth; all of these elements provide a solid base for the theme of oppression and the need for a revolution and redemption in Jamaican music. Reggae in particular reflects these injustices, and the feelings, needs and desires to change the lifestyle that Jamaicans have historically lived. Reggae music has two meanings. It’s generic name for all Jamaican popular music since 1960, West Indian style of music with a strongly accented subsidiary beat. Reggae can also refer to the particular beat that was extremely popular in

Scholars have attempted to define music, and to be quite honest, it will be a huge challenge to try to weave a definition around the art that is music, because it is beyond definition. However, for the purposes of this work, we shall adopt the definition by Aluede & Eregare (2009), not because the definition is, in itself, complete, but because it captures the very essence of what we look for in the definition of music. Music, according to Aluede & Aregare (2009), is not only an organization of sound but also a symbolic expression of a social and cultural organization, which reflects the values, past and present ways of life of human beings. Also, Jones (1975), cited in Amana and Onogu (2015), defines music as “a language which encodes emotions, aspirations and people’s goals in autonomous and self-expressive arts forms.” These definitions are important in understanding music, because they highlight the fact that music does not only appeal to the feel-good emotion, it is not only used for entertainment; it is a valid form of social expression and this underscores the centrality of music in African socio-cultural life.