Reggae: The Beat Of Music

Years: 1967-???

 

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I must start by saying that I'm not a reggae expert. My wife, Hiz, is considerably more knowledgeable than I am in this regard. My knowledge of this genre, like the vast majority of rockers, is limited to Bob Marley and a handful of more recent bands. However, reggae is a universe in itself, a movement so powerful that an entire subculture, or rather, a spiritual movement, was created around it: Rastafari, which transcended Jamaica's borders and managed to sustain and grow over the years, unlike other subcultures, such as punk. And before you start throwing tomatoes at me, it's true, the Rasta movement was already around long before, but they are deeply intertwined, and it wasn't until the 1970s, hand in hand with the reggae explosion, that it managed to break the island's borders.

A second point is that reggae is much bigger than Bob Marley. He's undoubtedly the guru, the figure to follow, and, to date, the greatest exponent of the genre. But as I said, Reggae is an entire universe, with artists, subgenres, and movements as tangled as Metal itself, which, taken together, must be the most complex, rich, and diverse genres. It's simply that, for those of us not immersed in it, we're unaware of all the richness it contains. This comes from our ignorance (and I'm the first to take issue with it), but I definitely can't agree with comments like Starostin's when he says that all Reggae sounds the same. I could say that all hip hop sounds the same to me, but that would simply demonstrate my complete ignorance of the genre. Reggae has a variety of forms, textures, influences, and has also evolved over time, just like all other genres.

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Let's take it step by step. Reggae comes directly from Ska, which, contrary to what we might think, is a pre-existing genre. Ska emerged in Jamaica in the late 1950s, with the first record distributors on the island, which began importing American Rock & Roll. Local artists took these sounds and mixed them with their own influences to reinterpret them live, adding nuances of jazz, soul, calypso and African sounds, strongly accentuating the rhythm section to make the songs more danceable in their own way. In 1958, Edgard Seaga founded the first Jamaican label, West Indian Records Limited, which would be the first to record local artists with their first musical fusions. A year later, two other record labels were founded, Treasure Isle and Studio One, where the first proper Ska recording was recorded, Easy Snappin, performed by the members of what would later become the Skatalites, THE quintessential Ska band. At the beginning of the 60s, Jamaica was flooded with Ska bands. The name supposedly comes from the sound the guitar made when accentuating the offbeats, emphasizing the second and fourth beats of a 4/4 time signature. According to the musicians, the guitar made something like "Ska-Ska-Ska," and the name stuck. The bass had an accentuated rhythm that contrasted with that of the guitar. By 1964, there were already leading figures, such as the aforementioned Skatalites, Ernest Ranglin, Laurel Aitken, Derrick Morgan, and Alton Ellis.

 

 

By 1965, many of these musicians moved to England, where there was a large West Indian population and their work was better paid. However, at the same time, their music began to filter through not only to the Caribbean natives but also to British mods. To make their sound more accessible to everyone, they softened the rhythm a bit, added more soul and Motown-influenced bases, and made the vocal melodies more complex, creating the first trend, which would become Rocksteady. With this subgenre of Ska, two young Jamaicans named Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and Bunny Wailer started their first group in Kingston in 1965, which would end up being called The Wailers. Their first two albums feature a more accentuated rhythm and more Ska and Rocksteady influence than the sounds we're used to from Marley as a solo artist. These first Wailers albums are extremely interesting because they faithfully reflect the evolution of Ska to Reggae.

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In 1967, rocksteady would be transformed again by Bunny Lee, a musician who slowed down the rhythm even more and added keyboards. The 1967 song "Long Shot Bus' Me Bet," recorded by the Pioneers, would be the first recording of what would be called reggae. The sound began to spread in both Jamaica and England, and soon other artists like Johnny Nash began to use influences from the nascent genre in their songs. The Beatles themselves would admit that ska and reggae had a strong influence on the composition of "Obladi Oblada," released in 1968. Other pioneers of the late 1960s include Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker, Jackie Mittoo, Coxsone Dodd, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Leslie Kong, Duke Reid, Joe Gibbs, and King Tubby. Island Records, founded in Kingston by Chris Blackwell, would become the most important reggae label in its early days, roughly equivalent to Sun Records for the R&R pioneers of the 1950s. But although reggae became very popular in the foreign and London underground community, it was still far from the mainstream, overshadowed by the emerging psychedelic movement and the nascent hard rock and prog movements.

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This situation changed in the 1970s, when it began to take the form we know today. In 1972, Jimmy Cliff, who was then, along with the Wailers, one of the leading figures of reggae in Jamaica, starred in the film *The Harder They Come*, and with it, propelled reggae to the United States, which until then had been reluctant to accept the genre. Jimmy Cliff, not Marley, was the first reggae superstar in the United States, and he was the one who first brought the Rolling Stones from the United Kingdom to Jamaica. Curiously, it wasn't a reggae artist who lit the fuse and sparked the explosion. It was none other than Eric Clapton in 1974, who was fascinated by the song "I Shot The Sheriff" by a then-unknown Bob Marley & The Wailers, from the album Burnin'. The original Wailers had emigrated to London in 1972 and signed with Island Records in Jamaica and CBS in England for their subsequent albums, which are considered massive. In fact, many consider Burnin' and Catch a Fire to be the first two, but the Wailers had already had a long recording career with smaller labels. The fact is that Clapton stumbled upon Burnin', loved the Sheriff's song, and in 1974 reinterpreted it in his own way with his wild and powerful Fender Stratocaster, without completely shedding its reggae roots. The song was a smash hit and made everyone go looking for the original. And Kapooom!!! Reggae definitively exploded in 1974, becoming THE big thing.

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The influence of the new genre was tremendous. Bands like the Rolling Stones began including heavily reggae-influenced songs on their albums, particularly Black & Blue. Mick initially disagreed (hypocritical as always, look at him now with his Superheavy songs), but Keith was really into music, so much so that he bought a house in Jamaica and spent long periods studying musical structure and learning from the culture that was embracing the movement. This is how songs like "Cherrry Oh Baby" came about, proving that Keith was all about hard rock and blues, hahaha. Another example of bands that couldn't escape the influence of this powerful explosion is Led Zeppelin, who included "D'yer M'aker" on their album Houses of the Holy, a song that's still heavy, but with an undeniable reggae influence, which earned them much criticism.

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By 1974, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer left the original Wailers, just before embarking on an impressive world tour. It's never really known what led to that split, but it's said to have been due to differences with Bob, and that Tosh in particular resented Marley for the rest of his life. The fact is that Bob was already considered a superstar, called by many the first "Third World Rock Star." He surrounded himself with a new band, with ever-changing but highly talented members, and gave a new meaning to his music, taking complete creative control. From then on, Marley would forge his legend and release his most famous albums.

 

Now, Reggae is not just a musical issue, but it was surrounded by many elements, mostly taken from the Rastafari movement, and here I'm not sure if Bob Marley was responsible. The Rasta movement is much later than all this, emerging in the 30s, also in Jamaica. It is not a religion, but a spiritual movement with a belief system that is much more interesting and profound than it seems from the outside. It is based on the belief that the Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie I, who ruled from 1930 to 1974, represented the Messiah or the second coming of Jesus to earth and was a representative of Jehovah or Jah. He would lead humanity to the earthly paradise, which is represented as Zion, and was located in Ethiopia, or more generally, in Africa. Babylon represents Western civilization, corrupt and trying to prevent the triumph of Zion and Jah. The Rasta movement is Afrocentric, and initially preached black supremacy, but in 1963 Selassie completely eliminated racism from the doctrine, becoming absolutely inclusive and without distinction between races, genders, or age. It is not a movement of blacks against whites, as is sometimes believed, and currently the majority of its followers are in fact white. So much so that it would end up being a symbol of inclusion and the search for equality among all humanity. Otherwise, they believe in the Bible, in the Trinity, and have some similarities with Christianity, and others with Judaism, such as the organization by the 12 Tribes according to the month of birth. Another symbol is the lion of Judah, which was taken as a representation of Jah by the Rasta culture. The representative colors, red, yellow, and green, are taken from the Ethiopian flag. From Hindu culture, they borrowed the sacred use of marijuana, or Ganjah, which is considered a sacrament to cleanse the soul and body, in addition to expanding consciousness and creating a state of peace. I don't know, but this freedom to consume weed must have undoubtedly made things easier for many musicians in their search for inspiration.

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The point is that this would cause them problems because it isn't even legal in Jamaica, and in the 1970s, it brought more problems than solutions, as Rastas considered it proof of the existence and attacks of Babylon. On the other hand, they are against alcohol abuse and the use of any other type of drug, sometimes even certain medical procedures, which, as we'll see, would prove fatal for one of our acquaintances. Oh, and they're vegetarians. Finally, we have the use of dreadlocks, which is perhaps their most distinctive symbol besides the red-yellow-green cap. In part, they symbolize the mane of the Lion of Judah, and were taken from some biblical verses in which men are supposedly not supposed to cut their hair. Since the black race genetically has such curly hair, dreadlocks were the only option to follow this divine instruction. But it's also a ritual that symbolizes patience in weaving and caring for dreadlocks, and the longer they are, the more they symbolize the time they have evidently dedicated to the Rastafari movement. Although it should be clarified, not every Rastafarian wears dreadlocks, nor is every person who wears dreadlocks a Rastafarian. As we can see, the movement is a mixture of many elements from many religions, but it is not a religion in itself. It is not a religion to the extent that its members are free to choose the main currents or traditions of Judaism, Catholicism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, etc. that best suit them, since they are influenced by all of them. What's all this about? So Corvan is a Rastafarian and wants to convert everyone? Nah, if he were a Rasta, he'd know a lot more about Reggae! This broad description is because Bob Marley, who was born Catholic, converted to Rastafarianism in the late 1960s. When his popularity exploded in 1974-75, he had already incorporated many of the elements that characterize the Rasta movement into his way of life, his image, his beliefs, and obviously, his lyrics. The Rasta culture or movement is strongly linked to Reggae music, and it was the musical genre, and Bob in particular, who would give it an impressive projection outside the island, to the point that many think they are one and the same. Reggae and music were simply the medium Bob chose to spread his ideas and beliefs, but the truth is that he uses a lot of the slang and symbols of the movement itself, which would also end up being considered part of Reggae, and therefore seem to go together seamlessly.

 

Reggae is also one of the genres with the greatest political charge and social meaning in its lyrics. After spirituality classes we go to history classes. Jamaica, as we all know, was a British colony until its independence in 1958. During its first years as an independent country, it enjoyed strong economic growth and prosperity, but this was misleading because England maintained its investments and continued to have a certain economic control over the Caribbean island. Furthermore, towards the end of the 60s, social differentiation began to become marked again when the political class (particularly the Jamaican Labor Party or JLP) began to misuse resources (where have I heard that?) and poverty became more pronounced. In 1969, Michael Manley of the People's National Party emerged, making a more inclusive and left-leaning proposal and ultimately winning the 1972 elections. Despite Manley's efforts, Jamaica was still overly dependent on the British economy, and in 1974, when the Middle East oil crisis broke out and the Arab League sent crude oil prices soaring in economic retaliation for US support for Israel, the entire Western world was in shock. In other words, a tremendous economic crisis ensued, which in England triggered inflation and raised unemployment rates to stratospheric levels; we can already imagine what it caused in Jamaica when England withdrew its investments because it could not sustain them. This led to two things. In England, it was the Punk movement, which was nothing more than a manifestation of the helplessness of all young people at having no job opportunities, which ended with London in flames. And two, exactly the same in Kingston, but under the banner of Reggae as an anthem to demand that their government put things right. Jamaica in the 70s was a veritable powder keg, and it was notable that Marley, having become the figure he was, returned from London to reestablish himself in his country amidst the level of insecurity. The demonstrations were violent (often sponsored or rigged by Edward Seaga, leader of the JLP) and the police response was sometimes brutal. Marley and Manley called for sanity and the unity of Jamaica. At one of the concerts, Marley achieved what seemed impossible: getting Seaga and Manley to shake hands, in one of the clearest demonstrations of the power of Rock (Take it, Bono!). It is said that the CIA was strongly linked to the JLP and was behind the 1976 attack in which Bob was shot. Punks not only copied this pseudo-political activism, but several incorporated reggae sounds, especially after '78, and thus groups that had originally been more punk-inflected would end up founding New Wave, like The Police. Now, do you believe me when I say it's a far more influential, interesting, and powerful genre than it seems?

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Bob Marley died on May 11, 1983, but as proof that he isn't Reggae, the genre is still alive 30 years after Bob's death. Without going into too much detail, it has a ton of subgenres like Roots Reggae, Ska (which, although it comes before, is considered a subgenre), Dub, Lovers, and Rockers among the direct genres. And among the so-called indirect ones, strong influences are attributed to Rap, Hip Hop, Dance Hall, and even the nauseating reggaeton that began in the '80s as a crude copy in Spanish.

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There are countless musicians besides those already mentioned, from Inner Circle, Burning Spear, Black Uhuru, Matisyahu (now you understand why Jewish Reggae isn't so crazy???), UB40, Sublime, Aswad, Third World, Sly and Robbie, Ziggy Marley, Steel Pulse, Toots and the Maytals, Scratch Perry, Sugar Minot, Musical Youth, Trinity, Johnny Nash, Easy Star All Star…

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I'm probably missing a lot of names, but as I said, I'm no expert. Except for Easy Star All Star and possibly the Skatalites in the very near future, I don't think I'll review any. Perhaps it's more feasible (also in the very long term) to review Latin American reggae bands, to whom I owe my taste in Hiz. Groups like Los Cafres (Argentina), Gondwana (Chile), Los Pericos (Argentina), La Yaga (Mexico), Cultura Profética (Puebla), La Celestina (Mexico), Fidel Nadal, Pablito Molina, and some pieces by Todos Tus Muertos (Argentina), Sudakaya (Ecu), De Bruces (Colombia), Los Rastrillos (Mexico), among many others. I'll be considering the Cadillacs, although they have slight influences, as part of Rock in general.

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Anyway, Reggae, as you can see, is a universe in itself, far more complete and complex than the vast majority of Rock genres. Their fresh sounds never age and nourish both the body through rhythm and the soul, thanks to the spirituality and peace their lyrics generally convey.

Rhythm, the heart of Reggae, couldn't be missing from The Cavern!
 

 

By Corvan  

Sep/21/2011

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