The History of Jamaican Music

Jamaican music is ultimately influenced by the history and culture of the people of Jamaica. The island has a rich and diverse history, and is the third largest island in the Caribbean. It was originally populated by the Arawak people, who were present when Columbus arrived during his second voyage to the New World.

In the years after Columbus's arrival, Spanish colonists began to make their way to the island. The Spanish brought African slaves. After the Spanish exit from the island, populations of former slaves remained. Later, the British would establish a colony on the island, bringing additional African slaves with them.

Jamaica became a major Trans-Atlantic slave trade center, and was also heavily involved in sugarcane production. Major slave uprisings occurred throughout the period of British colonial rule. Concentrations of free Black people established small encampments throughout the island. They built towns and villages and continued to establish a culture unique to the island, influenced not only by their own history as slaves but also by the diverse ethnic and cultural roots of their African ancestors.

When the British Empire abolished slavery in 1832, the former Jamaican slaves joined their free counterparts as a population of Jamaican citizens. The high population of people of African descent influenced the music and culture of Jamaica. The continuous influx of new slaves from Africa and other parts of the world during the colonial period had a significant influence on the traditions, culture, art, language and music of Jamaica as well.

The African influence in Jamaican music is apparent. The call and response singing style which is very common in various genres of Jamaican music is found in many West African cultural even today. The rhythms common in reggae music are definitively African as well. Most Jamaican music is sung in a Creole language or form of pigeon English known as Patois that contains elements of both various African languages and English.

There are influences of European music in the music of Jamaica as well. During the period of slavery in Jamaica, slaves were required to perform European music for their masters. Slave bands performed traditional European waltzes, reels, and other dance songs. These styles are present in historical Jamaican folk music. European influence was very strong in Jamaica's new folk music compositions until the middle of the 20th century when Jamaica's Cultural Revolution pushed these elements further into the history of the island's culture, paving the way for newer and more unique forms of authentically Jamaican music.

Mento music originated in Jamaica in the late 1940s. It is somewhat similar to Trinidadian calypso music. It is sometimes referred to as Jamaican calypso, though it is in fact a genre in and of itself. The music has elements of both African and European music and incorporates drums, guitar, banjo, and the rumba box. Mento lyrics usually center on intriguing and bawdy topics, including political and social subjects.

In the early 1960s, Jamaican Mento combined with American R-B and boogie-woogie music to create a new genre known as Ska. Ska music is soulful, packed with harmonious singing, dance rhythms, and horns. Ska songs were frequently composed about the topic of love.

Ska music and a shorter-lived and slower style known as Rocksteady music are both strong influences in the development of the most well known and lasting form of Jamaican music. The slower style of Rocksteady was somewhat similar to Ska music, though often did not include a horn section. It slowed down the beats found in Ska and existed as a unique genre of Jamaican music for a short period of time in the late 1960s. It rather quickly evolved into what is present-day reggae music.

Reggae emerged as a new form of Jamaican music in the late 1960s and has since become a cultural cornerstone. The music rejects many of the European and American musical influences and purposely attempts to reincorporate the sounds, instruments and styles of traditional African music.

When it first became a genre of music in the 1960s, it took on a very political bend, with a cultural revolution taking place simultaneously. The Jamaican Rastafarians sought to empower their people though music. Emphasis was placed on African roots and uniquely Jamaican heritage to instill self-pride in the people of Jamaica.

Jamaican musical history does not end with traditional reggae. Instead, the music of reggae inspired a dance style of music which became popular in the 1970s and continues to be very present in Jamaican culture today. This style is often referred to as Dancehall Music. In more recent years, it has transformed into Bashment music which is an increasingly angry and violent genre.

Bashment modernized reggae, bringing stronger and quicker beats to the music. It also reflects the violent and poor economic conditions of the island, and is similar in many ways to the more explicit-lyric, gangster-style rap music of the United States.

Jamaican music has influenced other styles the world over. There are many American and British groups and musicians that have incorporated ska, mento and reggae styles into their music. Reggae is also very popular in Africa and becoming increasingly popular in other parts of the world as well, including the unlikely emergence of Israeli Reggae in the last decade.BookIt.com is an online travel company determined and dedicated to becoming the leader in providing travelers with the most intuitive online booking experience full of relevant information, helpful guides and travel tips. Rest assured that BookIt.com is working to provide you with the best online travel experience by offering deeply discounted travel arrangements, the best web interface and fantastic customer service! Find great deals on jamaica Hotels at BookIt.com!