REGGAEThis is a new international magazine. In all pages we talk about the topics of reggae, the expansion of this type of Jamaican music, the important singers and people who are important in reggae and Rastafarian movement, the origins of all things related of reggae.

At first of all we talk about the country of this type of music.

Jamaica is an island of the Greate Antilles, is not a big island but it have 2.868.380 habitants.

The tourist go in this country for many reasons but in general is for the culture, the beach and the good weather.

There are three airports, is not a really important country for the economy or politics.

The most important thing is the Rastafarian movement.

The official language of Jamaica is English but Jamaicans primarily speak an English-African language known as “Jamaican Patois”, which has become known through of Reggae music.

The flag consists of a gold saltire, which divides the flag into four sections: two of them green and two black.

What is Rastafarian movement and what symbolize yellow green and red?

-It comes from the Rastafarian religion, which took the name of RAS (Prince) Tafari of Ethiopia, who took the name Haile Selassie I (Power of Trinity) at his coronation in November 1930.

According to scripture, the kings of God's people (Israel) are the descendants of King

David for ever, that is why Rastas, come as the latest Messiah rastafari come from the root of King David and a direct descendant of king Solomon and queen Sheba of Ethiopia. Chronicle told in the Bible in the Book of Kings. They are identified as Christians because they follow the original seed of the holy scripture. David who will be crowned King of Kings and Lord of Lords, conquering Lion of the tribe of Judah, the only one able to open the scroll and break the seven seals. This offspring to be born in the place where the Ark of the Covenant as the Bible says, at this time is in Addis Ababa,Ethiopia.

He was particularly successful and influential with lower-class blacks in Jamaica, mainly in rural communities.

Rastafarians speak out against, poverty, oppression and inequality ..... not just religious ideas but global problems.

One of the most obvious symbols of the Rastafarians are colors. These are red, yellow, and green. These colors were taken from the Garvey movement. The red color represents the church triumphant which is the church of the Rastas. It also symbolizes the blood of the martyrs that have marked the history of the Rastas. The yellow represents the wealth of their homeland. The mackerel represents beauty and vegetation of Ethiopia, the promised land. Sometimes black is used to represent the color of Africans.

Reggae was born in Jamaica.

This style originated in the 60's when Rocksteady and had become popular. Taking this as a base and adding the Rhythm & Blues, Ska, Calypso and African traditional music, was formed this genre.

"Fats Domino" was the group most representative of this period of initiation of Reggae and other person thinks that the real origin was The band Toots & The Maytals released in the late 60's an album titled "Do the Reggae which is for many the originator of this musical style of Jamaica.

Nowadays reggae is associated with the religious ceremonies of the Rastafarian culture

The lyrics of reggae is against racism and all forms of discrimination also has great social and political content.

Some representatives of reggae is Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Beenie Man, Sean Paul, Jimmy Cliff

THE FATHER OF REGGAE

Jimmy Cliff was born 1 April 1948 in St Catherine, Jamaica.

Is a Jamaican musician, singer and actor

Now he is the only currently living musician to hold the Order of Merit( the highest honour that can be granted by the Jamaican government for achievement in the arts and sciences)

He which helped popularize reggae across the world with the song "You Can Get It If You Really Want," and "Many Rivers to Cross"

He began writing songs while still at primary school in St. James.

His talent was evident from childhood, and he began his career appearing at local shows and parish fairs. Feeling ready for the big time at the age of 14, he moved to Kingston and took the surname Cliff to express the heights he intended on reaching. Cliff recorded two unsuccessful singles before he was spotted by Derrick Morgan, who brought him to Leslie Kong. His first single for the budding producer, "Hurricane Hattie," was an instant hit.

BOB MARLEY

Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley was born on 6 February 1945, he was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician.

In 1963, Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, Junior Braithwaite, Beverley Kelso, and Cherry Smith formed a ska and rocksteady group, THE WAILERS.

Bob Marley's third album for Island Records "Natty Dread", released in October 1975, was the first credited to Bob Marley and The Wailers.

"No Woman No Cry", is the essential title track played a significant role in introducing

Rastafarian culture and philosophies to the world. With this album Bob was really famous people in world.

Bob have a white father and black mother, this is the reason that when he was child her friends didn’t like play with he because they look Bob different.

Marley stated that his two biggest influences were the African-centered Marcus Garvey and Haile Selassie. A central theme in Bob Marley's message was the repatriation of black people to Zion, which in his view was Ethiopia, or more generally, Africa.

Bob Marley had a number of children: three with his wife Rita, two adopted from Rita's previous relationships, and several others with different women. The people say that he had fourteen children in total.

He loved his religion, the Rastafarianism. He always talked about Jah, the god of the Rastafarian movement, about the lion, who symbolizes the rasta people, the good effects about cannabis and the society and politics.

Subgenres of Reggae

Early reggae or Skinhead reggae

-Early reggae, also known as "skinhead reggae" was created by British workers in 1960, it has funk music influence. What characterizes the early reggae is the style of play that is very groove. The "skanks" of the guitar in the second and fourth note compass and echo effects. In general, gave more emphasis to the seriousness of the music. The people used wind instruments.The best reggae skinhead groups are John Holt, Toots & the Maytals, The Pioneers and Symarip. Versions were common themes such as Motown, Stax and Atlantic Records, reflecting the popularity of soul music among skinheads.

Roots reggae

-Roots reggae is a spiritual type of music whose lyrics are devoted to appreciate Jah (God). The themes include poverty and resistance to government and racial oppression. Many of the songs of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh are roots reggae.

It was created in 1970 with singers like Burning Spear, Gregory Isaacs, Freddie McGregor, Johnny Clarke, Horace Andy, Ijahman Levi, Barrington Levy, Big Youth, and Linval Thompson, and music groups as Culture, Israel Vibration, The Meditations, and Misty in Roots.In the song "Roots, Rock, Reggae" Marley created a new style of music "off beat" totally different from the rhythms of ska, rock steady, reggae, skank, flyers, rockers and other styles, this beat is closely associated with Marley

Ska

-Ska is a music genre originating in 1950 and popularized during the first half of the 60 that their themes talk about black American music and popular Jamaican rhythms.This style has been built using different languages.They used ska versions for film and television, this style was associated with the Rude Boy and Jamaica's independence from the UK, though it became popular around the world since shortly after it had created. It’s objective is reduce the discrimination.

Dub

-The dub reggae is a genre developed by producers like King Tubby studio or Lee Perry. It’s based on the previously recorded material, and noted for the battery.Augustus Pablo and Mikey Dread are the main creators of this style.

Rockers

-The rockers style was created in 1970 by Sly & Robbie. The rockers is a fluid style and aggressive play of reggae. The Rockers is the golden age of reggae.

Lovers rock

-The lovers rock subgenre originated in south London in the 70's. The lyrics are usually about love. It looks like the blues.The most significant artists of rock lovers are Gregory Isaacs, Freddie McGregor, Dennis Brown, Maxi Priest and Beres Hammond.

HOW DID REGGAE MUSIC SPREAD:Reggae was developed in the 1960s and started spreading to other countries by other types of music that took some characteristics from reggae.

Ska, rocksteady and rock are examples of this spreading of reggae music into other types of music. The Beatles for example with their song Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da that has a slight taste of reggae music or Johnny Nash that he first put reggae in American music charts.

But reggae started being important since 1970s with Jimmy Cliff’s film The Harder They Come that generated interest and popularity in the United States. After that, reggae started being all around known because of Bob Marley that introduced in reggae music the rastafari movement.

REGGAE ALL AROUND THE WORLD:

America:

Reggae in Spanish spreaded from South Caribbean (Venezuela) to the rest of South America. And some new types of music had been created like Samba reggae in Brazil.

Europe:

People from Caribbean emigrated to Umited Kingdom in 1950s. And the contact of this Caribbean music (including reggae) developed new subgenres of music like drum and bass and dubstep. Now, many of the world’s famous reggae singers started they careers in the U.K.

Africa:

In Africa reggae started being popular since the visit to Zimbabwe of Bob Marley in 1980. And reggae music was used in South Africa during the Apartheid. The music bonded people from all demographic groups.

Asia and Australia:

First reggae music in the Philippines where they had similar style of Jamaican reggae (Pinoy Reggae). In Australia was originated in 1980s and New Zealand reggae (a fusion with electronica is the most important reggae music there).

PRINCE BUSTER:Cecil Bustamente Campbell was born in the 28th May of 1938 in Kingston the capital of Jamaica.

He started his career in night clubs in Kingston singing rocksteady and R&B, he created some bands with his friends.

In the 1960s Prince Buster wrote and produced a lot of songs for Blue Beat and after that he had two hit singles in the U.K (Al Capone and Whine and Grine).

He had an Afrocentric view of the world as many other reggae singers that took Marcus Garvey ideas of the Rastafari movement.

He loved boxing and he met the World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali in England and he made a song for Ali "Earthquake on Orange Street".

In 1970s Prince had problems with his money and his businesses with low profits or posting losses and fortunately he could earn money by the revival of ska in the United Kingdom.

Prince Buster now lives in Miami and he just make some shows of ska and reggae music.

KEN BOOTHE:Kenneth Boothe was born in Denham Town in Kingston, the capital of Jamaica in 1948.

He began to sing in the school and he was the youngest of seven children.

He started his career in the 1960s with his neighbour Stranger Cole as “Stranger & Ken”.

They started with R&B music records and he also made another duo with Roy Shirley as “Roy & Ken”.

After that, he started to sing alone in the late 1960s songs of rocksteady and people started calling him Mr. Rock Steady and he signed with Leslie Kong where he continued his successful career.

After Leslie Kong’s death, he formed the group “Conscious Minds” with Harris Lloyd Seaton.

He obtained the number one in the U.K singles charts in 1974 with the song “Everything I Own” written by the light reggae artist David Gates.

After that, he just re-recorded some of his best songs with other versions until the present.

Ken Boothe was awarded the Order of Distinction for his contribution to Jamaican music by the Jamaican government in 2003.

DESMOND DEKKER:Desmond Adolphus Dacres was born in the 16th July 1941 in St Andrew, Jamaica.

Before Bob Marley he was one of the most important artists in Jamaica and he was known outside it.

He took a job in Jamaica as a welder and his job-mates encouraged him to start to sing.

He recorded his first song with Leslie Kong "Honour Your Mother and Father".

He started being important in Jamaica since his fourth single “King of Ska” and after that, he made his band with four brothers Carl, Patrick, Clive and Barry with the name of The Four Aces.

In 1970s Desmond started to introduce “rude boy” lyrics in his songs, with one of the best-known songs “007 Shanty Town” that was in the top 15 in the U.K.

After that he continued with these rude boy songs and the previous themes about religion, morality and promoting repatriation with his “Pretty Africa”.

Desmond was the first artist to have a hit in the United States with a style and Jamaican form.

In the 1980s he lost all of his money, in these years he just re-recorded old singles.

Dekker died of a heart-attack on the 25th May 2006 in Thornton Heath, Great London.

M O A B D U B G I L

S A F R S I J T R Y

D D R E G G A E L S

G O S L G G M C O P

E A O N E L A L J S

D Y B L O Y I I Y G

O A O R S M C F A L

K U B I Y L A F U Q

T R P A I S K M S L

Fine this words: Marley, Bob, Cliff, Reggae, Dub, Jamaica.