Reggae

History• It started in Jamaica in the 1960’s and it comes from other genres like Ska and Rocksteady.

• Artists like Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry and The Wailers (Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer) are probably the most recognised names in Reggae and the pioneered the genre through the 60’s and 70’s.

• There were two notable record labels involved in helping Reggae gain success, these were Trojan Records and Island Records.

• In 1974 Eric Clapton covered Bob Marley’s song “I Shot The Sherriff” which helped it cross over into the mainstream.

• Since the 70’s there have been many spinoff genres from reggae, most notably Dancehall, Hip Hop, and more recently Dubstep- which uses reggae samples in a lot of tracks.

• Some modern reggae artists include Damien Marley, Alborosie, The Scientist and Radikal Guru.

Conventions Of The Genre• Tracks consist of mainly percussion and strong bass lines, with a typical tempo of with

singing and guitar. ‘Dub’ tracks are usually without singing and focus on the instruments and can be re-worked versions.

• In the music videos the artist is usually seen performing with cuts to the artist with people

• The videos are all very simple and not overcomplicated which suits the genre perfectly- chilled, and relaxed.

Barrington Levy- ‘Here I Come’ Bob Marley & The Wailers- ‘Easy Skankin’

Damien Marley- ‘Welcome To Jamrock’ Alborosie- ‘Kingston Town’

Target Audience• The target audience for reggae was poor, working class Jamaicans, however the genre ended up being

listened to in all countries by people of all ages and race and it was adopted by the skinhead culture of 1980’s Britain and the Mods- also in Britain.

Skinheads in Britain in the 80’s The Mod subculture

Today, reggae has many forms, reaches many people, and is played by a variety of DJ’s and bands; Matisyahu is a reggae artist who is also a rabbi. And DJ Derek is a English reggae DJ in his late 70’s. Another popular white reggae DJ is David Rodigan who used to be a doctor.

BOB MARLEYBirth name: Robert Nesta MarleyAlso known as: Tuff GongBorn: 6 FebruaryDied: 11 May 1981 (aged 36)Genres: Reggae, Ska, RocksteadyInstruments: Vocals, guitar, piano, saxophone, harmonica, percussionYears active: 1962–1981Most Famous Song: I Shot The Sheriff

Died of foot cancer after injuring his toe playing football.

Bob Marley & The Wailers- 'Easy Skankin'

BARRINGTON LEVYBirth Name: Barrington LevyBorn: 30 April 1964 (age 47)Genres: Reggae, DancehallYears Active: 1976- presentMost Famous Song: Here I Come

Re-recorded his most famous song ‘Here I Come’ with American reggae artist Shaggy under the name ‘Broadway’

Barrington Levy- 'Here I Come'

Damien MarleyBirth Name:Damian MarleyAlso Known As: Junior GongBorn: July 21, 1978 (age 32)Genres: ReggaeYears Active: 1996–presentMost Famous Song: Welcome To Jamrock

Recently recorded a new album with rapper NaS which was very successful.

Damien Marley- 'Welcome To Jamrock'

AlborosieBirth Name:Alberto D'AscolaBorn: Sicily, ItalyGenres: ReggaeYears Active: 1994 – present

His name comes from a combination an offensive term used in Jamaica and his first name.

Alborosie- 'Kingston Town'

ShaggyBirth Name:Orville Richard BurrellBorn: 22 October 1968 (age 42)Genres: Reggae and Hip HopYears Active: 1990 – presentMost Famous Song: Boombastic

It wasn’t him.

Shaggy feat. Barrington Levy- 'Broadway'

Music Videos

• Barrington Levy- 'Here I Come'• Alborosie- 'Kingston Town'• Damien Marley- 'Welcome To Jamrock• Shaggy feat. Barrington Levy- 'Broadway'• Bob Marley & The Wailers- 'Easy Skankin'

All of these music videos are performance videos, I think that this type of video was chosen because its very simple, and this simplicity fits in well with the characteristics of Reggae.