Roots reggae
Encyclopedia
Roots reggae is a subgenre of reggae
that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of the artists concerned, including the spiritual side of Rastafari and with the honoring of God, called Jah
by rastafarians. It also is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer, and the rural poor. Lyrical themes include spirituality
and religion, poverty
, Black pride
, social issues, resistance to government and racial oppression
, and repatriation to Africa
.
after the visit of Haile Selassie to Jamaica
in 1966 played a major part in the development of roots reggae, with spiritual themes becoming more common in reggae lyrics in the late 1960s. Important early roots reggae releases included Winston Holness's "Blood & Fire" (1970) and Yabby You
's "Conquering Lion" (1972). Political unrest also played its part, with the 1972 election campaign of Michael Manley
targeting the support of Jamaica's ghetto communities. Increasing violence associated with the opposing political parties was also a common lyrical theme, with tracks such as Junior Murvin
's "Police & Thieves" and Culture
's "Two Sevens Clash".
The heyday of roots reggae is usually considered the latter half of the 1970s – with singers such as Johnny Clarke
, Cornell Campbell
, Bob Marley
, Peter Tosh
, Burning Spear
, Max Romeo
, Horace Andy
, Hugh Mundell
, and Lincoln Thompson
, and groups like Black Uhuru
, Steel Pulse
, Israel Vibration
, The Gladiators and Culture – teaming up with producers such as Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Bunny Lee
, Joseph Hoo Kim
and Coxsone Dodd
. The experimental pioneering of such producers within often-restricted technological parameters gave birth to dub
, and is seen by some music historians as one of the earliest (albeit analogue) contributions to modern dance music
production techniques.
Roots reggae also became very popular in Europe in the 1970s, especially among left-wing white youths in Western Europe. The Wailers' popularity in Europe opened the door for other artists, and roots reggae artists became popular with punk rock fans. When Jamaicans turned to dancehall
, a lot of black, white and mixed roots reggae bands were formed in Europe. Later on roots reggae also made its way into the United States
with the mass migration of Jamaicans to New York. This took place with the reforms made to American immigration laws in the early 1960s. Along with localized traditions and food, reggae music was inevitably brought as well, contributing to the New York City
soundscape.
While roots reggae was overtaken in popularity in Jamaica by dancehall
, several artists from the original era, such as Culture
, Burning Spear
, and Israel Vibration
continued to produce roots reggae. In the 1990s several dancehall stars became interested in the Rastafari movement and began incorporating roots themes into their music. Modern roots singers also emerged, including Luciano
, Bushman
, and Junior Kelly
.
Reggae
Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...
that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of the artists concerned, including the spiritual side of Rastafari and with the honoring of God, called Jah
Jah
Jah is the shortened form of the divine name YHWH , an anglicized version of the Tetragrammaton . The name is most commonly associated with the Rastafari movement or within the word hallelujah, although Christian groups may use the name to varying degrees. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses use a...
by rastafarians. It also is identified with the life of the ghetto sufferer, and the rural poor. Lyrical themes include spirituality
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
and religion, poverty
Poverty
Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...
, Black pride
Black pride
Black pride is a slogan indicating pride in being black. Related movements include black nationalism and Afrocentrism.The slogan has been used in the United States by African Americans to celebrate heritage and personal pride. The black pride movement is closely linked with the developments of the...
, social issues, resistance to government and racial oppression
Oppression
Oppression is the exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner. It can also be defined as an act or instance of oppressing, the state of being oppressed, and the feeling of being heavily burdened, mentally or physically, by troubles, adverse conditions, and...
, and repatriation to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
History
The increasing influence of the Rastafari movementRastafari movement
The Rastafari movement or Rasta is a new religious movement that arose in the 1930s in Jamaica, which at the time was a country with a predominantly Christian culture where 98% of the people were the black descendants of slaves. Its adherents worship Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia , as God...
after the visit of Haile Selassie to Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
in 1966 played a major part in the development of roots reggae, with spiritual themes becoming more common in reggae lyrics in the late 1960s. Important early roots reggae releases included Winston Holness's "Blood & Fire" (1970) and Yabby You
Yabby You
Vivian Jackson , better known as Yabby You , was a reggae vocalist and producer, who came to prominence in the early 1970s through his uncompromising, self-produced work.-Biography:...
's "Conquering Lion" (1972). Political unrest also played its part, with the 1972 election campaign of Michael Manley
Michael Manley
Michael Norman Manley ON OCC was the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica . Manley was a democratic socialist....
targeting the support of Jamaica's ghetto communities. Increasing violence associated with the opposing political parties was also a common lyrical theme, with tracks such as Junior Murvin
Junior Murvin
Junior Murvin is a Jamaican reggae musician. He is best known for the single "Police and Thieves", produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry in 1976. Murvin's soaring voice and the infectious rhythm made "Police and Thieves" into an international hit during the summer of that year. It peaked at #23 in the...
's "Police & Thieves" and Culture
Culture (band)
Culture was a Jamaican roots reggae group founded in 1976. Originally they were known as the African Disciples.The members of the trio were Joseph Hill , Albert Walker and Kenneth Dayes ....
's "Two Sevens Clash".
The heyday of roots reggae is usually considered the latter half of the 1970s – with singers such as Johnny Clarke
Johnny Clarke
Johnny Clarke , Whitfield Town, Kingston, Jamaica) is a reggae musician.-Biography:Clarke grew up in the Kingston ghetto of Whitfield Town. In 1971 he won a talent contest in Bull Bay, his prize a meeting with producer Clancy Eccles, with whom he recorded his first song, "God Made the Sea and the...
, Cornell Campbell
Cornell Campbell
Cornell Campbell aka Don Cornell or Don Gorgon is a reggae singer, best known for his trademark falsetto voice, and his recordings at Studio One in the late 1960s and his later work with Bunny Lee in the 1970s.-Biography:Cornel has one of the sweetest falsettos of any Jamaican vocalist and uses it...
, Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
, Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh
Peter Tosh, born Winston Hubert McIntosh , was a Jamaican reggae musician who was a core member of the band The Wailers , and who afterward had a successful solo career as well as being a promoter of Rastafari.Peter Tosh was born in Grange Hill, Jamaica, an illegitimate child to a mother too young...
, Burning Spear
Burning Spear
Winston Rodney, OD , also known as Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer and musician. Burning Spear is known for his Rastafari movement messages.-History:...
, Max Romeo
Max Romeo
Max Romeo is a reggae and roots reggae recording artist who has achieved chart success in his home country, and in the UK. Romeo was responsible for launching an entirely new sub-genre of reggae, whose overtly suggestive lyrics caused an outcry but took a massive hold of the music scene regardless...
, Horace Andy
Horace Andy
Horace Andy is a roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", "Angel", "Five Man Army" and a cover version of "Ain't No Sunshine"....
, Hugh Mundell
Hugh Mundell
Hugh Mundell was a Jamaican reggae singer and songwriter.-Biography:Mundell was introduced to reggae by reggae performer and producer Boris Gardiner who was a friend of the family...
, and Lincoln Thompson
Lincoln Thompson
Prince Lincoln Thompson, known as Sax, was a Jamaican singer, musician and songwriter with the reggae band the Royal Rasses, and a member of the Rastafari movement...
, and groups like Black Uhuru
Black Uhuru
Black Uhuru are a Jamaican reggae group formed in 1972, initially as Uhuru . The group has undergone several line-up changes over the years, with Duckie Simpson always maintaining group control and ownership...
, Steel Pulse
Steel Pulse
Steel Pulse is a roots reggae musical band. They originally formed at Handsworth Wood Boys School, in Birmingham, England, composed of David Hinds , Basil Gabbidon , and Ronald McQueen .-History:...
, Israel Vibration
Israel Vibration
Israel Vibration is a reggae harmony trio, originating from Kingston, Jamaica. Lascelle "Wiss" Bulgin, Albert "Apple Gabriel" Craig, and Cecil "Skelly" Spence all overcame childhood polio, and went on to be one of the most successful roots groups to form in Jamaica in the late 1970s...
, The Gladiators and Culture – teaming up with producers such as Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Bunny Lee
Bunny Lee
Edward O'Sullivan Lee, better known as Bunny "Striker" Lee is a prominent, prolific and successful record producer best known for his work in the 1960s and 1970s.-Biography:...
, Joseph Hoo Kim
Joseph Hoo Kim
-Career:Shortly after the Jamaican government banned gaming machines in the early 1970s, Joe Joe Hookim and his brother Ernest, abandoned their jobs as machine operators, and jumped into the music business. By 1973, the Hookims had opened their own studio, Channel One, with Joe Joe as its hands-on...
and Coxsone Dodd
Coxsone Dodd
Clement Seymour "Sir Coxsone" Dodd, CD was a Jamaican record producer who was influential in the development of ska and reggae in the 1950s, 1960s and beyond...
. The experimental pioneering of such producers within often-restricted technological parameters gave birth to dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
, and is seen by some music historians as one of the earliest (albeit analogue) contributions to modern dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
production techniques.
Roots reggae also became very popular in Europe in the 1970s, especially among left-wing white youths in Western Europe. The Wailers' popularity in Europe opened the door for other artists, and roots reggae artists became popular with punk rock fans. When Jamaicans turned to dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
, a lot of black, white and mixed roots reggae bands were formed in Europe. Later on roots reggae also made its way into the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with the mass migration of Jamaicans to New York. This took place with the reforms made to American immigration laws in the early 1960s. Along with localized traditions and food, reggae music was inevitably brought as well, contributing to the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
soundscape.
While roots reggae was overtaken in popularity in Jamaica by dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
, several artists from the original era, such as Culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, Burning Spear
Burning Spear
Winston Rodney, OD , also known as Burning Spear, is a Jamaican roots reggae singer and musician. Burning Spear is known for his Rastafari movement messages.-History:...
, and Israel Vibration
Israel Vibration
Israel Vibration is a reggae harmony trio, originating from Kingston, Jamaica. Lascelle "Wiss" Bulgin, Albert "Apple Gabriel" Craig, and Cecil "Skelly" Spence all overcame childhood polio, and went on to be one of the most successful roots groups to form in Jamaica in the late 1970s...
continued to produce roots reggae. In the 1990s several dancehall stars became interested in the Rastafari movement and began incorporating roots themes into their music. Modern roots singers also emerged, including Luciano
Luciano (singer)
Luciano is a Jamaican second generation roots reggae artist and poet....
, Bushman
Bushman (reggae singer)
Bushman is a Jamaican reggae singer. He was raised in the Rastafari culture from a young age.-Biography:Born Dwight Duncan in Prospect Beach, St. Thomas, Jamaica in 1973, he was raised as a Rastafarian. He attended the Lysson All Age School, where his music teacher noticed his potential for music...
, and Junior Kelly
Junior Kelly
Junior Kelly is a reggae singer known for his commitment to the faith of the Rastafari movement and its Bobo Shanti mansion...
.