
Jamaica Music: From Ska to Dance Hall
Groovy, hot, and Heavy, Jamaica music have risen from the slums and ghettos of Western Kingston to become one of the most recognizable styles of music today. This pulsating and unique sound of Jamaica can hypnotize you and compell you to rock to its up-tempo rhythms. Since it hit the international scene in the mid 1970's, Jamaica music has continued to grow in popularity and influence. Today, it is is one of the hottest music styles and music of choice for the hip and in-crowd pop culture.
Jamaica Music: A brief History
Jamaica music is the heart and soul of its people. It is part and parcel of who we are as a people and a country. From our independence through today, it has evolved and changed in lock step with with our changing political, social, and cultural climates. Like its people, Jamaica music has a certain edge and attitude about it. It also has many feel and mood to it. Sometimes it can be mellow and groovy; other times it can be hot and heavy. One thing is certain is that whenever you hear it, it is unmistakeble reggae and uniquely Jamaica.
Ska
What is known today as reggae is really an evolution of Jamaica music that started in the early 1961. Ska is a combination of a Jamaican folk music called Mento and the catchy New Orleans style R&B. It has a fast and catchy up-beat tempo, quick rhythm and is easy to dance to. It even has its own dance style call skanking (ska-nking). ska captured the enthusiasm and pride of Jamaica as it was about to get its own independence from Britain.
The early ska had little of no vocals. And while later songs had some lyrics, the signature of this form of Jamaica music was an off-beat rhythm over a walking bass pattern that was merely used to keep time. There was also a heavy emphasis on horns and saxaphones which was not surprising since most of the ska artists were experienced jazz musicians that were used to playing the new Orleans type of jazz.
A group called the Wailers which included Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Livingston was one of the successful group in this era with songs such as 'Simmer down" and "Love and affection".
Rock Steady
Jamaica got its independence in 1962 and by 1966 ska had been around for more tha five years. Whats more, people were sweating way too much dancing to this fast-paced Jamaica music. Both the mobile DJs with their sound systems and the dance fans were looking for a change. That change came in a new Jamaica music called "rock steady".
Rock steady was much slower than ska - about half the pace. The bass guitar took a leading role in setting the feel and tempo of the music. The horns and saxs were gone, leaving just the drums, rhythms, and bass. Like ska, rock steady also had its own dance called "rock steady". A big success in this era was Desmond Dekker with memorable hits like "007 Shanty Town".
Reggae
The rock steady era was very short - from mid 1966 to the end of 1967. The producers of the major studios wanted to change the beat and feel of Jamaica music again. In one of these recording sessions, they used the organ and rhythm guitar to create a sound that they like. When people asked what the sound was, they had no name but said it sounded like ragga, which mean rough and old. The name soon change to raggay, then to reggae. The rest, as they say, is history.
Although Bob Marley and the Wailers eventually took reggae to world prominence, it was artists like Tooks and the Matals and Jimmy Cliff in the movie "The Harder they come" that put reggae and Jamaica music on the world stage.
DJ Dub
Even before reggae came on the scene, one of the things that set DJs apart was their ability to "toast" over their music. But they couldn't do this very well without competing with the lyrics of the music.
By the early 1970's, however, Studio engineers discover they could remix songs with the lyrics taken out - leaving the heavy bass, guitars, and organ. They called this remix the "Dub" version of the original song and most 45-speed vinyl records sold in Jamaica carried both version of songs on either sides.
Dubbing, as it was first called, allowed many DJs to make names for themselves. Depending on how well they could talk over the dub or as they called it "ride the rhythm", many became famous nationally. As dubbing became popular with the crowds at street dances, many DJs such as "Big Youth" and U-Roy began recording their own dubbings.
These new dub recordings was the start of a new style of Jamaica music called DJs music. Although these music were recorded, they were never really sold. Instead they were played by sound systems at street dances and in dance halls around the island. Because this music was associated with dance halls, it soon became known as dance hall music.
Dance Hall
In the early days of DJ music (Late 1970's), songs would be mixed so that selected portion of the lyrics are removed so the DJs could do their things. Soon, however, they were covering old R&B songs where they had the freedom to be more creative. By mid to late 1980's dance hall had matured and artists such as Yellow Man, Shabba Ranks, and Buju Banton were producing original songs.
Today, dance hall music is a well established genre with songs in the top of the American music charts and where artists such as Sean Paul, Benie Man, and Shaggy are hold name in America's hip hop culture. In fact, dance hall has become so popular that many of the top R&B artists are teaming up with dance hall conterparts on many of their latest albums and recordings.
Jamaica Music - Current State
Since the late 1970's, Jamaica music has progressed along two separate paths. On one path is the original reggae as played by artists such as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, John Holt, and Dennis Brown. On the other path was the DJ Dub that evolved through its various phases to become today's dance hall music.
The fundamental reason for the growth of these two different forms of Jamaica music has been, and still is, generational differences. DJ Dub and dance hall music has always been driven by the youths. Today, most adult under age 30 will listen almost exclusively to dance hall. On the other hand, people over age 40 will listen mostly to reggae but will still enjoy some dance hall music.
Reggae, sometimes called "rockers", is still alive and many artists such as Beres Hammond, Freddie McGreggor, and Morgan Heritage are releasing many albums each year. Nevertheless, in this youth driven music industry, it is somewhat over shadowed by the more popular party style of dance hall music.
Fortunately, there is really no competition between these two forms of Jamaica music. In fact there are a lot of collaboration between the artists from both camps.
As the popularity of Jamaica music grow, so has its influence. It can be heard in many radio and TV commercials in the United States - especially those geared towards the youth market. It is also influencing and driving changes in other music culture such as Latin music where Reggaeton, the Latin derivitive of dance hall music is all the rave.
Reggae Pioneers
Reggae would not be the musical force it is today without some of it early pioneers. But who is it that had the greatest influence in shaping the history of reggae?