The Musical Genre Of Reggae

In a large city, full of diverse people, finding a musical performance is not hard to come by. Luckily, as I was searching online for different performances I ran across The Flex Crew performing at Skully’s music diner. I have been to Skully’s once before to watch a folk band perform. The atmosphere was a lot different than when we saw The Flex Crew. Obviously, the genre of music was a lot different, along with the atmosphere of the crowd. I was very surprised by the number of people in the bar that evening. Mostly, because the performance started at 11PM and the world series was on. On top of this, online their website said the show began at 10PM, but like a very great band they came out at their own pace. In the meantime, there was a DJ performing to keep the crowd alive. The Flex Crew is a reggae band from the Columbus area. After doing a little research I learned they are known as “the best reggae band in the Midwest.”

Harmonically, the music is essentially the same as any modern popular genre with a tendency to make use of simple modal chord progressions. For example: I - bVII7 and I - ii - iii - ii are both common progressions in reggae and both examples of the kind of chord structures used in modal jazz.

The last critique snuck up on me and I was scrambling to find a musical performance that could fit in my busy schedule. Luckily, as I was searching online for different performances I ran across The Flex Crew performing at Skully’s music diner. I have been to Skully’s once before to watch a folk band perform. The atmosphere was a lot different than when we saw The Flex Crew. Obviously, the genre of music was a lot different, along with the atmosphere of the crowd. I was very surprised by the number of people in the bar for the fact that the world series was on and was game 5. On top of this, online their website said the show began at 10PM, but like very great band they came out at their own pace. In the meantime, there was a DJ performing to keep the crowd alive. The Flex Crew is a reggae band from the Columbus area. After doing a little research I learned they are known as “the best reggae band in the Midwest.”

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.

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 a genre of music that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. It is known for the heavy and strong emphasis on the bass within the background beat. Reggae was perceived as a kind of music used to express feelings about the social, political, and economic hardships in Jamaica during the late 1960s and early 1970s. It was performed by musicians from black ghettos who used unhurried beats to make a style of music of their own. Reggae became an important part of the lifestyle of many Caribbean islanders; expressing a sense of pride of their Caribbean culture.

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

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,

The off-beat sequences of the electric guitar create a reggae feel for the song endorsing it to be mellow. Throughout the song, the electric guitar does not have any solos but variations of its sequence are repeated throughout the structure of the song. Doing so gives the lead singers’ message more priority. The domination of the classic drum kit creates a ‘head-bobbing’ motion for some when listening to this song, helping it become more popular and an easily enjoyable song.

Bob Marley was such a talented and inspirational songwriter. His music transformed from ska music,”…a melting pot of African, rhythm and blues, and calypso music”( ), to reggae. This put a greater emphasis on the lyrics and meaning behind each son. The songs he sang used the lyrics to call the listeners to action, and to demand change. When it came to picking a song to analyze there were so many songs to choose from, “Redemption song”, “I Shot the Sheriff”, “Get Up, Stand Up” to name a few. Our group was able to narrow down to two songs “I Shot the Sheriff”, “Get Up, Stand Up”. Both of these songs are powerful songs that at the time they were released inspired change. They have a strong theme of justice, and have unique and interesting musical

Fela Kuti’s family background plays an interesting role in the making of Afrobeat. Fela’s father was a pastor and his mother was feminist activist active in the anti-colonial and anti- military movements in Nigeria. “So at an early age, Fela experienced politics and music in a seamless combination” (Dougan). Yet, he was sent to London for an education in medicine, however Fela registered at Trinity College’s school of music. Which led to the beginning of the creation of Afrobeat. Afrobeat became a popular genre, due to its diverse Beliefs, Culture significance, and its Composition in the late 1900’s.

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 key features of Reggae music are the 4/4 time signatures, the emphasised beats 2 and 4 of each bar melody, the short repeated bass/guitar riffs, the syncopation, the pentatonic/ major/minor/blues scales used,

Reggae music was a big part of Jamaican culture. Many artists practiced the style of reggae and some of the artists like Bob Marley influenced and showed people internationally all about this music. It originated around the time that Jamaica was being attacked by European countries like Spain and native people being taken into slavery. Bob Marley was born after the time of slave trading but whites still effected the native people and this is how he got his inspiration for his music.