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Reggae/ Ska

Ska is a form of Jamaican music combining elements of traditional mento and calypso with an American jazz and rhythm and blues sound. It is notable for its shuffling, scratchlike tempo and jazz-like horn riffs on the offbeat. more...

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Originating in Jamaica, possibly in the 1950s, it was a precursor to rocksteady and later reggae. It was the predominant form of music listened to by rude boys, although many ska artists condemned the violent subculture. It is also popular with mods and skinheads, with artists such as Symarip, Laurel Aitken, Desmond Dekker and The Pioneers aiming songs at these groups as early as the 1960s.

Musical historians typically divide the history of ska into three waves. There was revival of note in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and another wave of popularity in the 1990s, mostly based in the United States and Argentina.

Origins

After World War II, Jamaicans purchased radios in increasing numbers, and were able to hear rhythm and blues from Southern United States cities like New Orleans, by artists such as Fats Domino and Louis Jordan. Moreover, the stationing of American military forces during the War and after meant that Jamaicans could listen to military broadcasts of American music, and that there was a constant influx of records from the US. To meet the demand for such music, entrepreneurs like Prince Buster, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, and Duke Reid formed sound systems, which were portable discothèques. Sound Systems would be set up in yards for outdoor dance parties. Soon, a tradition of more than one sound system showing up to a yard party sprung up, creating a dueling DJs effect. Sound System operators were judged by both the power of their systems and the quality of their records. Operators would obtain records from Miami and New Orleans, and these records were hot commodities in Jamaica. Sound system operators often removed labels from the most popular records in order to enjoy a monopoly on the best-liked tunes and draw the most customers.

As jump blues and more traditional rhythm and blues began to ebb in popularity in the early 1960s, Jamaican artists began recording their own version of the genre. Record store owners and sound system operators began to inaugurate record labels. The ska sound is known for the placement of the accented guitar and piano rhythms on the upbeats. Some believe that the early jazz and rock 'n' roll broadcasts from American radio stations were misinterpreted by an eager Jamaican music audience, hence the off-beat rhythms that almost mimick the breakup of weak radio signals that hit the West Indian shores. Others consider ska not a misinterpretation, but its own response to American music. The upbeat sound can be found in other Caribbean forms of music, such as mento and calypso. It has been argued that ska came from the combination of such native and local musical idioms with those of American music. Likewise, the ska sound coincided with the celebratory feelings surrounding Jamaica's independence from the UK in 1962, an event commemorated by ska songs such as Derrick Morgan's "Forward March" and the Skatalites' "Freedom Sound".