The History of Jamaica (Part One)

The History of Jamaican Music

(Part One)

    I love music but I really love rap, hip hop, pop, and my favorite reggae/dancehall. Reggae has the best beats. It has a soft island beat and has great lyrics. I am so proud of being Jamaican because we were the first ones to create reggae music in the Caribbean. Originally Jamaica was known for Ska, and then rock steady, and the loudest island in the world had declared its real musical independence, and had already made an imprint on the world, according to niceup.com.

 

The music of Jamaica includes Jamaican folk music and many other popular genres, such as Mento, Ska, Rocksteady, reggae, dub music, dancehall, Ska jazz, and reggae fusion. Jamaica's music culture is a fusion of elements from the United States (rhythm and blues and soul), Africa, and neighboring Carribbean islands such as Trinidad and Tobago (Calypso and Soca). Reggae is especially popular through the international fame of Bob Marley. According to niceup.com.

 

Jamaican music's influence on music styles in other countries includes the practice of toasting, which was brought to New York City and evolved into rapping . British genres as Lovers Rock and jungle music are also influenced by Jamaican music. According to niceup.

Mento is a style of Jamaican music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music, according to wikipedia.com. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo , hand drums, and the rhumba box — a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played, according to wikipedia.com. The rhumba box carries the bass part of the music.

 

Lord flea and count lasher are two of the more successful mento artists. Mento is often confused with calypso, a musical form from Trinidad and Tobago. Music historians typically divide the history of ska into three periods: the original Jamaican scene of the 1960s (First Wave), the English 2 Tone ska revival of the late 1970s (Second Wave) and the third wave ska movement, which started in the 1980s (Third Wave) and rose to popularity in the US in the 1990s, according to niceup.com.

 

 The recent revival of Jamaican Jazz attempts to bring back the sound of early Jamaican music artists of the late 1950s and 60s. According to www.wikipedia.com, And www.niceup.com.