Reggae’s origins are varied, and for a genre, which throws itself in your face as simple, basic, grass-root music, it is but natural. Reggae in its rudiments, dates back to the origins of African slave music, composed for planters during balls and slave holidays.

Its origin has also been traced back to the word "Regga", the name of a Bantu tribe on Lake Tanganyika. Undeniably unique to Jamaica, reggae is also believed to have its roots in New Orleans R&B. There is a school of thought that identifies reggae as a direct successor of an existing style called "rock-steady". But there are others, which believe that reggae's direct forefather is ska, an up-tempo, rhythmic variation based on the New Orleans, R&B Jamaican musicians heard broadcast from the US on their transistor radios. Relying on skittering guitar and syncopated rhythms, ska was their interpretation of R&B and it was quite popular in the early '60s. However, during one very hot summer, it was too hot to either play or dance to ska, so the beat was slowed down and reggae was born. The word jumped to fame, when Bob Marley claimed that the word had a Spanish origin, meaning "the king's music". Reggae has the unique character of stressing on the second and fourth beats. Since then, reggae has proven to be as versatile as the blues, as it lends itself to a number of interpretations, from the melodic rock steady of Alton Ellis and the rock and folk-influenced songwriting of Bob Marley to the trippy, near-psychedelic soundscapes of dub artists like Lee "Scratch" Perry. It has crossed into the mainstream through the bright, bouncy "reggae sunsplash" festivals and pop-oriented bands like UB40, but more adventurous reggae artists, such as Marley and Perry, have influenced countless reggae, folk, rock and dance artists. Their contributions resonate throughout popular music.

Ragga:

Ragga refers to reggae in which the backing instrumentation (or the vast majority of it) is digital. The style is most commonly associated with dancehall, and while not all dancehall reggae is electronic (and therefore not ragga), there is a great deal of overlap between the two. "Ragga" is short for "raggamuffin," originally a term for a Kingston ghetto youth; the music took on that name as it became the younger generation's style of choice in the mid- to late '80s. The first ragga record was Wayne Smith's 1985 single "Under Me Sleng Teng," which was produced by King Jammy and built around a rhythm that was discovered pre-programmed on a Casio keyboard. Its impact was immediate, spawning a host of imitators and establishing Jammy for a time as Jamaica's most dominant producer. During the '90s, ragga remained firmly entrenched as the most popular sound in Jamaican dancehalls. It began to incorporate hip-hop sampling techniques, and several of its artists scored pop crossover hits in the U.S.; ragga was also an important influence on the U.K.'s thriving jungle/drum'n'bass scene.

Ska:

Ska represents the true beginning of Jamaican popular music, coming to prominence during the early and mid-'60s right around the time the island was granted its independence. Ska ensembles were generally a blend of electric instrumentation and horns most popular in jazz (saxophone, trumpet, trombone). Although structurally simple, ska has a bevy of influences, synthesizing American R&B, jump blues, Jamaican mento, calypso and other Caribbean styles, big-band swing, Afro-Cuban jazz, pocomania and other local religious folk music, and European ballroom dances.

Rocksteady:

Rocksteady was a style of popular music that developed out of ska in the 1960s. In its simplest terms, rocksteady is half-speed ska with the trombone replaced by piano and prominent bass. The lyrics are more socially and politically conscious, and there is a greater focus on harmonies, particularly in trios like the Heptones, Gaylads, Dominoes, Aces, and Wailers. Other major figures include Alton Ellis and Ken Boothe. With its relaxed beat and social-protest lyrics, the music served as a forerunner to reggae.

Lovers Rock:

A romantic, R&B-influenced form of reggae, Lovers Rock was a product of the U.K. reggae scene, becoming popular in the late '70s as mainstream roots reggae increasingly devoted itself to social protest and Rastafarian spirituality. From ska to reggae, Jamaican music had long been influenced by American soul, but lovers rock blurred the lines to a greater extent than ever before, pairing the smooth sounds of Chicago and Philly soul with reggae basslines and, to a greater or lesser extent, rhythms. While never quite prevalent in Jamaica, lovers rock was adopted as an alternate style by several major roots-reggae figures, including John Holt, Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown, and Freddie McGregor, who used it to broaden their repertoires and appeal to wider audiences. Dancehall vocalist Sugar Minott adopted a similar tactic during the '80s when he relocated from Jamaica to the U.K. Lovers rock maintained its popularity with its core urban audience into the '90s, and while it remained a style that few artists pursued exclusively, it helped singer Maxi Priest score several international hit singles.

Dub:

Dub derives its name from the practice of dubbing instrumental, rhythm-oriented versions of reggae songs onto the B-sides of 45 rpm singles, which evolved into a legitimate and accepted style of its own as those re-recordings became forums for engineers to experiment with the possibilities of their mixing consoles. The practice of re-recording reggae tracks without vocals dated back to 1967, when DJs found that dancehall crowds and partygoers greatly enjoyed being given the opportunity to sing the lyrics themselves. Around 1969, some DJs began talking, or "toasting," over these instrumentals (known as "versions"), frequently reinterpreting the already familiar original lyrics. The results were seen by many reggae fans as stripping the music down to its purest essence. 45-rpm singles with dub versions on the B-sides became ubiquitous and fledged dub albums began to appear in 1973. y 1976, dub's popularity in Jamaica was second only to Rastafarian roots reggae, and the sound had also found acceptance the U.K. The downtempo atmospherics and bass- and rhythm-heavy textures of dub had a lasting influence outside of reggae and during the 90’s, dub was frequently incorporated into the melting-pot eclecticism of underground avant-garde rock, and Britain's thriving electronica/drum'n'bass scene owed a great deal to dub's mixing and production techniques.

Dub Poetry:

Dub Poetry is an extension of the DJ toasting over instrumental dub tracks that developed in Jamaican dancehalls during the 1970s. There are two major differences that separate dub poetry from standard DJ patter: 1) instead of simply keeping the party jumping, dub poetry is socially and politically conscious, often aimed just as much at preaching about injustice to non-Jamaican audiences; and 2) where toasting developed as a performance-centered, often improvisational art, dub poetry's intellectualism and agenda didn't translate to the party atmosphere in which most live toasting was conducted — hence, dub poetry was pre-written and gained its following through studio recordings. The two major dub poets are Mutabaruka and Linton Kwesi Johnson, who enjoyed their prime during the late '70s and early to mid-'80s.

Dancehall:

Dancehall developed in the '80s as "ragamuffin," a hybrid style featuring a DJ or "sing-jay" half-singing, half-rapping with often bawdy ("slack") themes. The musical structure is rooted in reggae though the rhythms, played by drum machines, are considerably faster. By the '90s, dancehall crossover was common, with many gangsta-rappers incorporating dancehall rhythms and its rapid-fire toasting. Major dancehall figures include Yellowman and Shabba Ranks.

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