The Influences of Reggae Music

Just this year, London celebrated the Uprising Music Festival in Brixton O2. The event was viewed as UK’s reggae concert of 2010. There were performances from Freddie McGregor, Coco Tea, and Stevie Face who won an award for “Reggae Singer of the Year”. The celebration was successful and the auditorium was packed with spectators.

The event’s success is a proof that reggae music just keeps on getting stronger. With this high attainment, have you ever thought about the influences of this genre?

Every song style has great inspirations backing them up. When it comes to reggae, it gets guidance from mento, ska, and rocksteady. The first one is an original rural folk music in Jamaica, which is inspired by European and African melodies. It also gets concepts from American jazz, featuring acoustic instruments like guitar and hand drums. Hand-held musical tools include maracas. The vocals of mento songs have a distinct African sound and the lyrics are mostly lively and full of humour.

On the other hand, ska stems from Jamaica’s independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. Its framework consists of 12-bar rhythm and blues. A guitar accents the 2nd and 4th beats, flipping an R ‘n’ B shuffle beat.

The last influence, which is rocksteady, arises from the poverty-stricken youth of Jamaica. Disillusionment is turned into music themes that deal with love and rude boy culture. Songs feature catchy dance beats that are more energetic compared to early ska dance melodies. The bass lines developed for this style is still used by some of the country’s young artists.