History Main / Reggae

** ''Music/TheHarderTheyCome'' (1972): the soundtrack album of the eponymous film.

Reggae evolved out of ska and rocksteady near the end of the 1960s. One of the first notable reggae songs was "Israelites" by Desmond Dekker, which became an international hit in 1969. At the start of the 1970s the first popular reggae artist to score hits outside of Jamaica was Jimmy Cliff, best known for "Wonderful World, Beautiful People", "You Can Get It If You Really Want", "Many Rivers To Cross" and "The Harder They Come", all made famous by Jamaica's first feature film ''Film/TheHarderTheyCome'', in which Cliff himself played the starring role. The feature became a CultClassic in Jamaica and in the midnight movie circuit in the USA, also thanks to its soundtrack which was bought even by people who never saw the movie in their entire life. In the wake of its popularity Music/BobMarley & The Wailers, who were already well known in the Caribbean at this point became the first reggae artists to record an entire album, ''Music/CatchAFire'' (1972) in the same conditions as a Western rock band. His next albums provided huge mainstream hit singles like "I Shot The Sherrif", "Get Up, Stand Up" (from ''Music/{{Burnin}}''), "No Woman, No Cry" (from ''Music/NattyDread'', but more popular in the live version found on ''Music/LiveBobMarleyAlbum'' (1976)), "Roots, Rock Reggae" (''Music/RastamanVibration'' (1976), "Exodus", "Jammin'", "One Love" (''[[Music/ExodusAlbum Exodus]]'' (1977)), "Redemption Song", "Could You Be Loved?" (''Music/{{Uprising}}'' (1980)) and "Buffalo Soldier" (''Music/{{Confrontation}}'' (1981)), which further solidified his international superstardom. Marley made reggae so popular that countless Jamaican artists now got their own change to record albums. By the end of the 1970s several new wave and punk bands and ska groups in Western countries started playing their own reggae music, including Music/{{Madness}}, Music/ThePolice, Music/TheSpecials, Music/TheClash, Music/{{UB40}}, the tremendously popular Dutch band Music/DoeMaar,...

[[/index]]

Reggae evolved out of ska and rocksteady near the end of the 1960s. One of the first notable reggae songs was "Israelites" by Desmond Dekker, which became an international hit in 1969. At the start of the 1970s the first popular reggae artist to score hits outside of Jamaica was Jimmy Cliff, best known for "Wonderful World, Beautiful People", "You Can Get It If You Really Want", "Many Rivers To Cross" and "The Harder They Come", all made famous by Jamaica's first feature film ''Film/TheHarderTheyCome'', in which Cliff himself played the starring role. The feature became a CultClassic in Jamaica and in the midnight movie circuit in the USA, also thanks to its soundtrack which was bought even by people who never saw the movie in their entire life. In the wake of its popularity Music/BobMarley & The Wailers, who were already well known in the Caribbean at this point became the first reggae artists to record an entire album, ''Music/CatchAFire'' (1972) in the same conditions as a Western rock band. His next albums provided huge mainstream hit singles like "I Shot The Sherrif", "Get Up, Stand Up" (from ''Music/{{Burnin}}''), "No Woman, No Cry" (from ''Music/NattyDread'', but more popular in the live version found on ''Music/LiveBobMarleyAlbum'' (1976)), "Roots, Rock Reggae" (''Music/RastamanVibration'' (1976), "Exodus", "Jammin'", "One Love" (''[[Music/ExodusAlbum Exodus]]'' (1977)), "Redemption Song", "Could You Be Loved?" (''Music/{{Uprising}}'' (1980)) and "Buffalo Soldier" (''Music/{{Confrontation}}'' (1981)), which further solidified his international superstardom. Marley made reggae so popular that countless Jamaican artists now got their own change to record albums. By the end of the 1970s several new wave and punk bands and ska groups in Western countries started playing their own reggae music, including Music/{{Madness}}, Music/ThePolice, Music/TheSpecials, Music/TheClash, Music/{{UB40}}, the tremendously popular Dutch band Doe Maar,...

* WatchItStoned: Well... ''listen'' to it stoned. Though, it's generally agreed by the fanbase that you don't need it to enjoy it, but rather need it to enjoy it to it's full experience. Not to mention, you'd probably feel a lot less left out considering the lyrical content of getting stoned.

* TheStoner: There's a reason why it got this reputation... [[SincerityMode No really]] it's completely justified giving that marijuana is a huge part of Rastafarian/Jamaican culture. In addiction to that, there is a slue of songs about getting high.

* TheUntelligible: The ''patois'' accent and stoned mumbling often making it difficult to understand what the singers are saying, especially when you're not familiar with some of the local expressions.

** ''Music/CatchAFire''
** ''Music/{{Burnin}}''
** ''Music/NattyDread''
** ''[[Music/LiveBobMarleyAlbum Live!]]''
** ''Music/RastamanVibration''
** ''Music/ExodusAlbum''
** ''Music/{{Legend}}''

** ''Music/LegalizeIt''

* NeoClassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: Modern day reggae artists like Rebelution, The Expendables([[NamesTheSame not the movie]]), Slightly Stoopid have been known to mix the genre with others. Most commonly funk and hip hop

* Max Romeo

Reggae is UsefulNotes/{{Jamaica}}'s most famous genre, that emerged in TheSixties from {{Ska}} and Rocksteady. You probably know it because it was popularised outside Jamaica by Music/BobMarley. Despite that, he wasn't the first reggae musician, not even the first to have some level of international popularity.

Reggae evolved out of ska and rocksteady near the end of the 1960s. One of the first notable reggae songs was "Israelites" by Desmond Dekker, which became an international hit in 1969. At the start of the 1970s the first popular reggae artist to score hits outside of Jamaica was Jimmy Cliff, best known for "Wonderful World, Beautiful People", "You Can Get It If You Really Want", "Many Rivers To Cross" and "The Harder They Come", all made famous by Jamaica's first feature film ''Film/TheHarderTheyCome'', in which Cliff himself played the starring role. The feature became a CultClassic in Jamaica and in the midnight movie circuit in the USA, also thanks to its soundtrack which was bought even by people who never saw the movie in their entire life. In the wake of its popularity Music/BobMarley & The Wailers, who were already well known in the Caribbean at this point became the first reggae artists to record an entire album, ''Music/CatchAFire'' (1972) in the same conditions as a Western rock band. His next albums provided huge mainstream hit singles like ''I Shot The Sherrif'', ''Get Up, Stand Up'' (from ''Music/{{Burnin}}), ''No Woman, No Cry'' (from ''Music/NattyDread'', but more popular in the live version found on ''Music/RastamanVibration'' (1976)), ''Roots, Rock Reggae'' (''Music/RastamanVibration'' (1976), ''Exodus'', ''Jammin''', ''One Love'' (''[[Music/ExodusAlbum Exodus]]'' (1977), ''Redemption Song'', ''Could You Be Loved'' (''Music/{{Uprising}}'' (1980)) and ''Buffalo Soldier'' (''Music/{{Confrontation}}'' (1981)), which further solidified his international superstardom. Marley made reggae so popular that countless Jamaican artists now got their own change to record albums. By the end of the 1970s several new wave and punk bands and ska groups in Western countries started playing their own reggae music, including Music/{{Madness}}, Music/ThePolice, Music/TheSpecials, Music/TheClash, Music/{{UB40}}, the tremendously popular Dutch band Doe Maar,...

* SweetDreamsFuel: The genres known for being uplifting and dreamy whether ot not you choose to listen to it stoned.

Reggae evolved out of ska and rocksteady near the end of the 1960s. One of the first notable reggae songs was "Israelites" by Desmond Dekker, which became an international hit in 1969. At the start of the 1970s the first popular reggae artist to score hits outside of Jamaica was Jimmy Cliff, best known for "Wonderful World, Beautiful People", "You Can Get It If You Really Want", "Many Rivers To Cross" and "The Harder They Come", all made famous by Jamaica's first feature film ''Film/TheHarderTheyCome'', in which Cliff himself played the starring role. The feature became a CultClassic in Jamaica and in the midnight movie circuit in the USA, also thanks to its soundtrack which was bought even by people who never saw the movie in their entire life. In the wake of its popularity Music/BobMarley & The Wailers, who were already well known in the Caribbean at this point became the first reggae artists to record an entire album, ''Music/CatchAFire'' (1972) in the same conditions as a Western rock band. His next albums provided huge mainstream hit singles like ''I Shot The Sherrif'', ''Get Up, Stand Up'', ''No Woman, No Cry'', ''Roots, Rock Reggae'', ''Exodus'', ''Jammin''' and ''Could You Be Loved'', which further solidified his international superstardom. Marley made reggae so popular that countless Jamaican artists now got their own change to record albums. By the end of the 1970s several new wave and punk bands and ska groups in Western countries started playing their own reggae music, including Music/{{Madness}}, Music/ThePolice, Music/TheSpecials, Music/TheClash, Music/{{UB40}}, the tremendously popular Dutch band Doe Maar,...

Reggae evolved out of ska and rocksteady near the end of the 1960s. One of the first notable reggae songs was "Israelites" by Desmond Dekker, which became an international hit in 1969. At the start of the 1970s the first popular reggae artist to score hits outside of Jamaica was Jimmy Cliff, best known for "Wonderful World, Beautiful People", "You Can Get It If You Really Want", "Many Rivers To Cross" and "The Harder They Come", all made famous by Jamaica's first feature film ''Film/TheHarderTheyCome'', in which Cliff himself played the starring role. The feature became a CultClassic in Jamaica and in the midnight movie circuit in the USA, also thanks to its soundtrack which was bought even by people who never saw the movie in their entire life. In the wake of its popularity Music/BobMarley & The Wailers, who were already well known in the Caribbean at this point became the first reggae artists to record an entire album, ''Music/CatchAFire'' (1972) in the same conditions as a Western rock band. His next albums provided huge mainstream hit singles like ''I Shot The Sherrif'', ''Get Up, Stand Up'', ''No Woman, No Cry'', ''Roots, Rock Reggae'', ''Exodus'', ''Jammin''' and ''Could You Be Loved'', which further solidified his international superstardom. Marley made reggae so popular that countless Jamaican artists now got their own change to record albums. By the end of the 1970s several new wave bands and ska groups in Western countries started playing their own reggae music, including Music/{{Madness}}, Music/ThePolice, Music/TheSpecials,...

* Dub music, probably the most famous offshoot. "Dub" basically means instrumental remixes of songs, emphasising the drum and bass (you'll find this basic track referred to as "riddim"), adding short snatches of vocals and soaking everything in lots of [[EchoingAcoustics reverb]] and other studio effects. Got started as a distinct subgenre in TheSeventies thanks to guys like Errol Thompson, Lee "Scratch" Perry and Herman Chin Loy. Insanely influential on electronic music (especially drum and bass and {{Dubstep}}), PunkRock, PostPunk, HipHop, possibly more so than reggae itself.
* Roots reggae, like normal reggae except the lyrics are largely concerned with spiritual matters and social critiques. Exponents of this include: Burning Spear, Johnny Clarke, Horace Andy (yes, the guy who works with Music/MassiveAttack), Big Youth, Culture, The Meditations, and others.
* Rockers, a more aggressive way of playing reggae created by Sly and Robbie in the mid-1970s.
* Lovers rock, which emerged in TheSeventies out of South London and is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: reggae love songs. Examples of this include: Gregory Isaacs, Freddy [=McGregor=], Dennis Brown, Maxi Priest and Beres Hammond.
* Dancehall, probably the most divisive genre on the list. This genre uses electronic instrumentation and {{Sampling}} a lot, and involves a deejay singing and rapping or toasting over raw and fast rhythms, so it's probably closer to HipHop than reggae itself. Examples of this would be: Sean Paul, Beenie Man, Yellowman, King Jammy, Shabba Ranks, Elephant Man, Buju Banton and others. The genre's sadly infamous for aggressive, violently homophobic lyrics - for example, Buju Banton's 1993 hit "Boom Bye Bye" is about executing gay men. Probably the main source of protests and controversy due to the severe ValuesDissonance between [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Jamaica Jamaica]] and the rest of the Western countries over LGBT rights.

Reggae is UsefulNotes/{{Jamaica}}'s most famous genre, that emerged in TheSixties from {{Ska}} and Rocksteady. You probably know it because it was popularised outside Jamaica by BobMarley, and other followers of the genre such as UB40 and ThePolice.

* Roots reggae, like normal reggae except the lyrics are largely concerned with spiritual matters and social critiques. Exponents of this include: Burning Spear, Johnny Clarke, Horace Andy (yes, the guy who works with MassiveAttack), Big Youth, Culture, The Meditations, and others.

** ''Music/{{Exodus}}''

* Dancehall, probably the most divisive genre on the list. This genre uses electronic instrumentation and {{Sampling}} a lot, and involves a deejay singing and rapping or toasting over raw and fast rhythms, so it's probably closer to HipHop than reggae itself. Examples of this would be: Sean Paul, Beenie Man, Yellowman, King Jammy, Shabba Ranks, Elephant Man, Buju Banton and others. The genre's sadly infamous for aggressive, violently homophobic lyrics - for example, Buju Banton's 1993 hit "Boom Bye Bye" is about executing gay men. Probably the main source of protests and controversy due to the severe ValuesDissonance between [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Jamaica Jamaica]] and the rest of the Western countries over LGBT rights.

* Dancehall, probably the most divisive genre on the list. This genre uses electronic instrumentation and {{Sampling}} a lot, and involves a deejay singing and rapping or toasting over raw and fast rhythms, so it's probably closer to HipHop than reggae itself. Examples of this would be: Yellowman, King Jammy, Shabba Ranks, Elephant Man, Buju Banton and others. The genre's sadly infamous for aggressive, violently homophobic lyrics - for example, Buju Banton's 1993 hit "Boom Bye Bye" is about executing gay men. Probably the main source of protests and controversy due to the severe ValuesDissonance between [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Jamaica Jamaica]] and the rest of the Western countries over LGBT rights.

* Lovers rock, which emerged in TheSeventies out of South London and is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: reggae love songs. Examples of this include: Gregory Isaacs, Freddy McGregor, Dennis Brown, Maxi Priest and Beres Hammond.

Reggae is UsefulNotes/{{Jamaica}}'s most famous genre, that emerged in TheSixties from {{Ska}} and Rocksteady. You probably know it because it was popularised outside Jamaica by BobMarley.

* Dancehall, probably the most [[{{Understatement}} divisive]] genre on the list. This genre uses electronic instrumentation and {{Sampling}} a lot, and involves a deejay singing and rapping or toasting over raw and fast rhythms, so it's probably closer to HipHop than reggae itself. Examples of this would be: Yellowman, King Jammy, Shabba Ranks, Elephant Man, Buju Banton and others. The genre's sadly infamous for aggressive, violently homophobic lyrics - for example, Buju Banton's 1993 hit "Boom Bye Bye" is about executing gay men. Probably the main source of protests and controversy due to the severe ValuesDissonance between [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Jamaica Jamaica]] and the rest of the Western countries over LGBT rights.

* Dub music, probably the most famous offshoot. "Dub" basically means instrumental remixes of songs, emphasising the drum and bass (you'll find this basic track referred to as "riddim"), adding short snatches of vocals and soaking everything in lots of [[LiveFromKhazadDum reverb]] and other studio effects. Got started as a distinct subgenre in TheSeventies thanks to guys like Errol Thompson, Lee "Scratch" Perry and Herman Chin Loy. Insanely influential on electronic music (especially drum and bass and {{Dubstep}}), PunkRock, PostPunk, HipHop, possibly more so than reggae itself.

* Dub music, probably the most famous offshoot. "Dub" basically means instrumental remixes of songs, emphasising the drum and bass (you'll find this basic track referred to as "riddim"), adding short snatches of vocals and soaking everything in lots of [[LiveFromKhazadDum reverb]] and other studio effects. Got started as a distinct subgenre in TheSeventies thanks to guys like Errol Thompson, Lee "Scratch" Perry and Herman Chin Loy. Insanely influential on electronic music, PunkRock, PostPunk, HipHop, possibly more so than reggae itself.

* Dancehall, probably the most [[{{Understatement}} divisive]] genre on the list. This genre uses electronic instrumentation and {{Sampling}} a lot, and involves a deejay singing and rapping or toasting over raw and fast rhythms, so it's probably closer to HipHop than reggae itself. Examples of this would be: Yellowman, King Jammy, Shabba Ranks, Elephant Man, Buju Banton and others. The genre's sadly infamous for aggressive, violently homophobic lyrics - for example, Banton's 1993 hit "Boom Bye Bye" is about executing gay men. Probably the main source of protests and controversy due to the severe ValuesDissonance between [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Jamaica Jamaica]] and the rest of the Western countries over LGBT rights.