Jamaican culture has its roots in many parts of the world. Most of the inhabitants of the Caribbean island are descendants of West Africa, who over time mixed with immigrants from Europe, East India, China, and Western Asia. The famous way of easy-going, the ease of coping with the problems of everyday life, is also the defining feature of Jamaican culture.
Of course, it’s all about music, which is why dancing is also at the top of the ranking of residents. The central element is you will not be surprised that Reggae, which became a mass phenomenon through Jamaica’s national hero Bob Marley and other musicians worldwide. This musical genre still influences international pop and rock ‘n’ roll music to this day.
And if you think of Jamaica and Reggae, you involuntarily also think of the so-called Rastafari with their famous dreadlocks, who see their saviour in the former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie and believe in salvation by smoking. Smoking is also very popular with all other inhabitants, which places the number of those who smoke clearly in the minority.
The call-and-response style of singing, so typical of West African music, is reflected in many genres of Jamaican music and even forms the basis for toasting, which was a precursor to rap music
Jamaican popular music genres
Jamaica’s influence on music has spread all over the world and manifested itself in many different ways. Most know Jamaica’s Reggae, but other musical styles attributed to Jamaica are Mento, Ska, Rocksteady, and Dancehall. Jamaica’s influence is omnipresent on pop music charts from around the world.
For example, Reggae is very popular in Africa. Artists such as South Africa’s Lucky Dube had developed their own reggae brand based on the original Jamaican article. Artists like Matisyahu have created a sub-genre of Jewish Reggae that is becoming increasingly popular. In the mid-1990s, bands such as No Doubt and Reel Big Fish revived ska music by combining it with punk rock, making them popular with young people in the UK and the USA. And in fact, a Reggae song occasionally becomes a pop hit.
African music elements form the basis of Jamaican music. The one-drop rhythm, which is the determining rhythmic element of reggae music, is extremely African. The call-and-response style of singing, so typical of West African music, is reflected in many genres of Jamaican music and even forms the basis for toasting, which was a precursor to rap music. Even the language of the Jamaicans has a part of it related to African and is also reflected in Jamaican music, which is primarily sung in Patois, a Creole language, with African and English linguistic elements.
Reggae Music
Although some would argue it no longer gets the recognition it deserves, it is a significant export of Jamaica due to so many artists from other countries. Also, a lot of tourism is related to Reggae.
Reggae music originated at the end of the 1960s and became a music genre that most people identify with Jamaican music. Reggae, especially Roots reggae, was strongly influenced by Rastafarian both lyrically and musically. It included Nyabinghi drums and socially conscious and often pan-African texts that reinject the music with the unmistakable sounds of Africa. Dub music is an offshoot of Reggae, in which producers mix reggae songs, usually add powerful bass lines, and rework instrumental and vocal tracks. Influential personalities of reggae music are Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Lee “Scratch” Perry.
Mento Music
In the late 1940s, mento music developed as a unique style of Jamaican music. Mento resembles Trinidadian Calypso and is sometimes referred to as Jamaican Calypso, but it is a genre in itself. It has a balance of African and European elements and is played with acoustic instruments, including a banjo, guitar, and the rumba box, which resembles a large-scale bass mbira on which the player sits during the game. One of the funniest aspects of mento music is the lyrical content, which often offers extended bawdy double expressions and political allusions.
Dancehall
Dancehall music developed in the late 1970s as a modernized form of Reggae music that reflected Jamaica’s increasingly violent and impoverished conditions.
Dancehall, also known as “bashment,” is still a modern genre and usually has a deejay who “offers a riddim” and has been under fire for years.
Other genres that make up Jamaica’s music history and sound include; Ska & Rocksteady.
Important Icons in the music culture of Jamaica
- BOB MARLEY
Not only was Bob Marley a music God in his home country of Jamaica, but he was also a global superstar, capable of selling out massive stadiums on almost every continent.
After living in exile for a couple of years, Bob Marley returned to Jamaica in 1978. His homeland was at the peak of political factionalism and armed violence. Marley decided to try to bring a little bit of peace to the island nation in the only way he knew; by producing and headlining a show, he called the One Love Concert. The prodigy set out to bring back unity among the Jamaican folks together with his Wailer bandmates through this concert.
PETER TOSH
Peter Tosh is one of the icons in Reggae music and was born in 1944. The Jamaican singer and co-founder of the Roots Reggae band “The Wailers (later Bob Marley and the Wailers) became internationally known in the 1970s. Peter Tosh was an integral part of The Wailers from 1963 to 1974.
LEE “SCRATCH” PERRY
Lee “Scratch” Perry is one of the most important and influential musicians of all time. He is Bob Marley’s foster father and is considered the inventor of Reggae and dub. Perry released music for most of his life, and his life impacted a whole lot of artists in Jamaica and worldwide.
Jamaican music, notably the genre of Reggae, has always been about positivity. The upliftment of the underprivileged, peace, love, unity, equal rights, justice, and a voice for those who do not have one. Reggae music has been around since the 1960s, so with this much positivity going out all over the world for over 50 years, it has absolutely changed the world in a positive way.
The mindsets of many people have changed drastically due to this sound and has cemented a positive impact in the music scene worldwide.
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