Reggae

Reggae is a genre of music that has a major influence in the Jamaican society. This genre originated in the 1960’s and is mainly based off of other genres like ska and rocksteady. Reggae mostly consists of drums and the base guitar and has a slower rhythmic beat than the two genres it originated from. Reggae music has evolved to a genre that is mostly based on popular social issues like love, poverty, and faith. Reggae was a big part of the Rastafarian movement is now commonly mistaken for the same genre.

Popularity

Bob Marley played a very large role in bringing reggae music popularity worldwide. He mainly focused on writing about social issues and that is what brought many people to listen to reggae. His lyrics of peace, love, and faith were appealing to a variety of cultures no matter what race or ethnicity. They were all joined by the passion that was shown through reggae. Bob Marley was able to main stream reggae and has one of the biggest influences on this genre. He has many famous quotes that people still remember to this day. One of his most famous being, “Life is one big road with lots of signs. So when you riding through the ruts, don't complicate your mind. Flee from hate, mischief and jealousy. Don't bury your thoughts, put your vision to reality. Wake Up and Live!” this quote is a perfect example of many things that Bob Marley believes in and that the reggae culture believes in. He is emphasizing that when you are going through hard times, you should not let that influence your personality. He believes in being optimistic and a good person. Reggae music is a genre that is very positive and calming because as you can see in the quote, there are many inspirational lines that comes with reggae.


Rastafarian influence in Reggae

The sounds and lyrics of reggae are forever impacted by the Rastafarian way of life. The Rastafarian way of life is a religious movement arising in Jamaica during the 1930. Their beliefs in the spiritual use of cannabis, rejection of Babylon, or western society, and their belief in Zion is riddled throughout reggae and has influenced this genre dramatically. For their beliefs are riddled throughout this genre. A perfect example of the Rastafarians beliefs in reggae is Buffalo Soldier by none only Bob Marley. This song depicts how Africans Americans fought in the American Civil War and how Babylon held them down through slavery and their western beliefs. These two things play hand in hand, for without Rastafarian way of life reggae would be nothing, and without reggae the Rastafarian way of life could not express their beliefs through lyrical harmony.