When looking at the evolution of the Reggae genre of music, there is a lot more than people think that contributed to its popularity. The most common reference among today’s generation and the Reggae music is undoubtedly, Bob Marley. Although, he really brought this genre of music to the forefront and made it as popular as we know it today, people do not full understand the history of this music and what it evolved from. The evolution of Reggae is contributable to the evolution of the recording studios, primarily in Jamaica at the time. The local Rastafarians, who pioneered and perfected this sound, started this music. Of course, because Jamaica was a British territory at the time, and given its proximity to the United States; there was an influence of American Jazz and Blues on Jamaica. Without getting into too much history of the evolution of Jamaica, it is important to understand that this transition, and their finding an identity, had a lot to do with the type of music they produced and the evolution of their recording systems and businesses. In Jamaica, as the culture changed so rapidly, the type of music did too, and eventually the people began to create Reggae, and not long after that, they were hooked, and had formed a world identity through their music.
When taking the first glance at the Jamaican music industry, it is only right to start with Ken Khouri. The story of Mr. Khouri is an interesting one, as he was influenced by the United States selling of records, and record players. He was in Florida, as his dad was seeking medical attention there, when he purchased his first record and record player. Ken Khouri states what happened after his purchase and what his “first recording was with Lord Flea, Where Did the Littl...
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... Then I believe that Bob Marley and his band really put Jamaican music on the map because of their instant success and popularity. This is logical as to why he is seen as the face of Jamaican music, which he should be, but Ken Khouri deserves the same amount of respect for starting music in Jamaica, because without him, there may have never been the technology to have Bob Marley, or any other Jamaican band recorded, and heard by the world.
After all is said and done, the connection between Jamaica's identity and their music industry is tied together by the discovery of the record studio. Some may wonder whether Jamaica would ever be the same if there have never been this discovery. I for one do not think that Jamaica would have been the same, because this music gave the people of Jamaica an identity, and it is something that I am sure they are forever grateful for.
addition, after WWI, there were many waves of Jamaican peoples that would come to America.
After visiting the country of Jamaica this past summer, I realized how dissimilar some countries can be from the United States. Jamaica was not unlike the United States in a terrible way, but the disparities made me additionally interested in researching about the beautiful and culture-rich country of Jamaica. Even though the majority of facts about the history and culture of the United States and Jamaica are dissimilar, I was surprised to come across some similarities among these two countries.
The Caribbean is comprised of a group of island. Jamaica is one of the greatest Antilles. It has a tropical climate. Each country has its own culture, Jamaicans is not an exemption, and they have an assorted and distinctive one. “Their culture is a complex mixture of African, Arabic, European, East Indian, and Chinese roots combining together to create a rich, dynamic heritage” (Gall, 2009).
Marcus Garvey once said, “The Black skin is not a badge of shame, but rather a glorious symbol of national greatness,” exemplifying not only that the African blood that flows through our veins is indeed wonderful, but is more a national treasure than a national tragedy. Countries across the world, in some form have been altered by the touch of the African influence whether that is socially and/or culturally. The same fate lies with the islands of the Caribbean, especially the island of Puerto Rico located in the Greater Antilles. Of all the African influential branches, Puerto Rican music would be one social phenomenon to be ultimately shaped and modified by African influence directly. Beginning with the African slaves, this paper covers the musically genres created over time containing West African elements, as well as covering the ways in which the Puerto Rican society influenced the music as well as how the music effected the society. This paper will also include the ways in which African descendants in Puerto Rico [musicians] would rise to fame despite existing in an era of open racism. Ultimately, explaining how the music and the people go hand in hand.
The birth of Motown music came to be in a small recording studio aptly named Hitsville, U.S.A. Barry Gordy, who came from a large middle class family had borrowed money in order. The main stage of Motown music came from a small house that had been remodeled into a recording studio, the name of the company was Hitsville, U.S.A. Mr. Gordy had gathered the best jazz and blues players in and Motown was born through his genius. This small but dynamic record company has produced and help make many stars that we all know today such as Diana Ross and the Supreme, The Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and more recently the Jackson 5, Boyz II Men , and Queen Latifah. It is very surprising that both the genre of Motown and Hitsville remind unharmed by racism for the most since Detroit has been historically known for severe racism and segregation. Hitsville U.S.A. was one of the first African American owned record companies, this was just one step in popularizing and taking a step for African’s Americans many talents to become well known and chart topping.
Although there is a variety of music that could be examined to trace its evolution through time, there is one genre in particular that is quite interesting to examine. Though it differs from other types of music, it will be looked at in conjunction with Reggae music as they have similar ties. Reggae music is quite prominent today in the United States, parts of Africa, and of course Jamaica. Reggae is notoriously known for its most influential artist Bob Marley, and it is not unusual for one to have heard a few, if not many of his songs. Reggae’s popularity is steadily increasing and is doing so through both expansions of the music as well as increasing knowledge on the genre.
From the country’s earliest days, Jamaica experienced colonial status, with paternal influences from the West. Spain initially maintained ascendancy over the colony; yet, as they embarked upon their sesquicentennial reign, the Empire’s grasp began to loosen. Primarily incessant interstate conflict, between the Empire and its bordering nations, wreaked havoc. Contrastingly, England continued to thrive and experience heightened success in their colonial endeavors. Indeed, as Spain began losing dominance over Jamaica, England looked to the Caribbean to increase their economic hegemony; in 1650, the British successfully cap...
Reggae The Story Of Jamaican Music BBC Documentary. vols., 2012. Online. Internet. 22 Mar. 2014. . Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wv1Iy26qlLk&feature=youtube_gdata_player.
I am not going to waste your time by writing exhaustively about how and where Reggae began for three reasons: 1) you definitely know; 2) you have read at least 25 papers before mine with explicit and redundant descriptions of the birth of Reggae; and 3) I don’t think that much else matters for the purpose of this paper besides the reason behind the formation of Reggae culture. Karl Marx once said, “Jamaican history is characteristic of the beastliness of the true Englishman,” which alone designates causation for a raging revolution. Jamaica was stolen, pillaged, exploited, cultivated, massacred, raped, and defecated on by the British empire. With its social darwinistic institutionalized racism ...
Rap Music, a genre of R&B that includes rhythmic poetry put over a musical background. The background consists of beats combined with digitally isolated sound bites from other recordings. The first recording of rap was made in 1979 and the genre began to take notice in the U.S. in the mid-1980s. Though the name rap is often used back and forth with hip hop. The name hip-hop comes from one of the earliest phrases used in rap on the song “Rapper’s Delight” by Sugarhill Gang. “I said a hip hop, hippie to the hippie, the hip, hip a hop, and you don't stop, a rock it to the bang bang boogie, say, up jump the boogie, to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat.”. In addition to rap music, the hip-hop subculture also formed other methods of expression like break dancing, graffiti art, a unique slang vocabulary, and fashion sense.
Music is “The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre” ( Farlex, Inc 2013). Caribbean music has its own unique history, is very diverse with each island having its own unique genre of music. With so many different types of music out there and different performing artists these artists are looking for ways to make money by becoming popular.
In the year 1952 in Memphis, Tennessee, Sam Phillips opened Sun Recording Company. Their slogan was “We Record Anything, Anywhere, Anytime”. They were the first recording studio to record African American musicians. African American musicians played black jazz and blues that inspired Ike Turner to write and record “Rocket ’88.” (A&E Biography Channel UK “SAM PHILLIPS The man who Invented Rock & Roll”.
There are several possible explanations for the rapid growth of Rastafari. One major factor in its expansion was the emergence in the late 1960s of reggae music, a derivative of American rhythm and blues and Jamaican ska. Reggae helped spread the philosophy of Rastafari to the wider Jamaican audience and the world. During that period of time, Bob Marley and the Wailers were the principal popularizers of reggae.
Music has always played an essential role in the lives of the Jamaican people. This is predominantly true for the poor majority of the country. Before Jamaica began in the recording industry, these Jamaicans could maintain their traditions from one generation to the next through music. Music could be heard at funerals, work, religious occasions, and any social events. These folk songs were not recorded, but they have significantly affected the reggae forms heard
Ska comes with a lot longer history than the majority of genres which are famous these days. It started as a precurser to Reggae in the Jamaican music in the middle of the 1950s. Ska's background is where the expression "rude boy", describing a Ska admirer, originates from, since "rude" was the equivelent to "cool" in the jargon of that period of time. In the 60's, Reggae separated off from Ska as its own distinctive style, and Ska fell under obsucrity.