He reggae it’s a musical genre originating from the island of Jamaicainspired by two other predecessor genres: the ska and rocksteadyand whose first appearance dates back to the end of the sixties of the last century.
Musical genre originating from the Island of Jamaica and born in the sixties
Meanwhile, the main characteristic that distinguishes this musical style is its parsimonious, repetitive and extremely simple rhythm.
rhythm characteristics
Therefore it is that in rhythmic matter we speak of an accentuation off beatbecause reggae accentuates both the second and the fourth beat of each measure, meanwhile, the guitar is the instrument that is used to carry out the aforementioned accentuation of the third beat, or failing that, to maintain the chord from the second to the fourth beat.
Bob Marley, the maximum reference of this genre
Although when one mentions reggae the name and music of Bob Marleyundoubtedly one of his beloved sons and faithful exponents, it should be noted that he was actually a compatriot and colleague of his, known as Count Ossieto whom we owe the origin of this fusion of ska and rocksteady popularly known as reggae.
The grouping The Wailersa group made up of Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer and Bob Marleywould be the one in the year 1963 would popularize the genre to unthinkable limits.
Robert Nesta Marley Booker, better known as Bob Marleyis the performer and composer most identified with reggae worldwide, as we indicated, first through The Wailers group and then more with his own name.
No woman no cry, I shot the sheriff, Jamming and Redemption song are some of the most widespread reggae songs and the most sung by reggae fans.
Marley was the most important but not the only one, there were also other performers and producers (Coxsone Dodd, Duke Reid, King Tubby, Leslie Kong) who invested effort and talent and turned reggae into a massive style.
Also, there was a movie in 1972, The Harder They Comewhich deals with Jamaican criminals, which helped a lot when it came to spreading reggae in the USA and not to mention the takeoff that it would achieve in 1974 when the musician eric clapton He covered the Marley theme I shot the sheriff.
Meanwhile, in England, the Rolling Stones they would do the same when they included rhythm among their themes.
The culture and symbology around reggae
But beyond what is strictly musical, we cannot ignore when approaching this popular musical genre is the association that it holds with a spiritual movement born in Jamaica, the Rastafari, and that has Haile Selassie, the last monarch of Ethiopia, as its leader and considered as the reincarnation of God.
Precisely the performers and followers of this genre are often popularly referred to as Rastafarians.
On the other hand, the reggae fan tends to look with certain uses and customs that to this day have become symbols of this music that we could say is like a “religion” for many of its fans…
The dreadlocks or dreadlocks, are a hairstyle that consists of having the hair tangled and woven, just as the members of the Rastafarian movement wear.
Meanwhile, to protect this hairstyle, Rastafarians usually wear woven caps with the colors of the Ethiopian flag, yellow, green and red.
And a separate paragraph deserves the consumption of the marijuana drug at the behest of the Rastafarian culture and the reggae movement.
Marijuana is a psychoactive drug that is obtained from the hemp plant and that acts directly on the central nervous system of the person who consumes it.
Its use, which is certainly worldwide, is associated with religion, recreation and therapy.
Meanwhile, among the followers of reggae, marijuana is a fundamental part of the musical show since they actively include it in the recitals of this music.
Although it is closely associated with reggae, we cannot ignore the fact that marijuana is deeply entrenched in the world of rock, in concerts of this genre as well, and is part of the enjoyment of those who attend them.
Like any drug, marijuana has harmful effects on health, although many try to minimize these effects compared to other harder drugs, they exist and are forceful, among which psychosis, depression and anxiety, paranoia, disorders panic.
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