ORIGINS

Altough influenced both by tradicional African and Caribbean music, or Rhythms and blues, reggae has its roots in Jamaican musical styles such as mento, ska, and rock steady.By the mid-1960s a mellower version of ska, known as rock steady, became the more popular form. In contrast to ska, the sparse, slower rhythms of rock steady allowed the vocalist to play a greater role. This encouraged the formation of a number of Jamaican pop vocal groups. Rock steady also put more emphasis on the bass lines, and its song lyrics reflected a growing awareness of injustice. Soon rock steady was combined with traditional mento rhythms to produce reggae music. “Do the Reggay” (1968) by Toots and the Maytals was one of the earliest appearances of the term in a song

~ par reggaejah le mars 6, 2008.