Socio-historical context of the birth and evolution of Reggae Music in Jamaica (by Waku)

The influence of reggae music and culture can be seen and heard in the earliest form of hip-hop, all the way up to the contemporary hip-hop that we hear today. Reggae music itself is a popular genre and can be heard all over the world. The history that revolves around it is so vast and rich. So the question I ask is, when and how did Reggae music come about? And how has it evolved?

Within Jamaica, the people there were listening to a vast amount of musical genres of the time such as, blues, R&B, calypso music, Jazz, and so on. But of those music genres, the most influential to Reggae and the Jamaican people were Ska and Rocksteady. Both Ska and Rocksteady originated in Jamaica, and it was what every Jamaican folks danced to. It moved their feet on the dance floors because of the fast to moderate backbeats (aka “skank”), horns that blared sweet harmonious melodies, drums that kept the steady beat, and the bass line that resonated the air. This was the music choice for the Jamaicans. But as the musicians experimented with the tempo of the Ska and Rocksteady rhythm, they brought it down to a much slower tempo, giving birth to what is known as Reggae. This genre is what gave the voice to the voiceless in Jamaica.

Michael Manley with his "Rod of Correction"

Around the time when Reggae had just emerged, Jamaica claimed independence from the British in 1962. Within the first ten years after claiming independence, Jamaica showed signs of strong economic growth. But as the country showed signs of growth and wealth, it was accompanied by a growing sense of inequality, and concern that the benefits of growth were not being shared by the urban poor. To seek change in this predicament, two parties fought for political dominance, the conservative Jamaica Labor Party (JLP), and the leftist People’s National Party (PNP). “Every Jamaican politician knew what every Jamaican musician knew – the sound systems were crucial to their success” (Chang, p. 31). Michael Manley, the democratic socialist PNP candidate, used Reggae music to win over the people’s votes for the 1972 elections. Manley had won the elections with the promise of social and economic changes within Jamaica. But the changes that he promised the people, came with repercussions.

Jamaicans were losing jobs and were quickly becoming financial unstable. This sparked people to go on strikes, gun violence between gangs, chaos on the streets, a total social crisis. But with all this violence and warfare happening on Jamaica, one man by the name of Robert Nesta Marley, used the musical form of Reggae to bring Jamaicans together as one by contributing his love for the music and his people in the form of a free concert, the "Smile Jamaica" concert

Bob Marley (center) at singing at the Smile Jamaica concert,
with Michael Manley (Left)

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In my opinion, the rhythm of reggae is that of a heartbeat (“thump-thump, thump-thump”). It beats to almost the exact rhythm of the thing that keeps us alive. To the Jamaican people, Reggae music is their expressionism of a heartbeat, which keeps them moving for a brighter future with no political violence, no war, and living with one love.