Reggae

Reggae ( ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also refers to the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. The 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals titled "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the word reggae, effectively naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience.

Reggae is distinguished by a slower tempo than ska or rocksteady, a strong emphasis on the downbeat in the drum and bass, and short, staccato guitar or piano chords on the offbeat. The bass guitar plays a central role, with a thick, heavy tone and the high frequencies reduced to accentuate the low end. Call-and-response patterns are common, and the rhythm section often uses the bass as a percussion instrument, a feature carried over from rocksteady. Notable rhythm players include Jackie Jackson, Carlton Barrett, Lloyd Brevett, Paul Douglas, Lloyd Knibb, Winston Grennan, Sly Dunbar, and Anthony "Benbow" Creary.

Reggae is closely associated with Rastafari, an Afrocentric religion that emerged in Jamaica in the 1930s promoting pan-Africanism. From the 1970s onwards, its international success helped to spread Rastafarian beliefs, with musicians often seen as cultural messengers and agents of change.

Reggae has reached audiences worldwide, often fusing with other genres and incorporating local instruments. In Latin America, reggae en Español originated in Panama before spreading to Venezuela and across South America. In the United Kingdom, Caribbean music, including reggae, has been popular since the late 1960s, spawning several subgenres and fusions, with many reggae artists beginning their careers there. European musicians have also drawn heavily on Jamaican and Caribbean traditions. In Africa, the genre's profile was boosted by the visit of Bob Marley to Zimbabwe in 1980.