Reggae
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Reggae.
Introduction.
Reggae is predominate form of West Indian popular music of the 1970s and 1980s, characterized by a heavily accented offbeat and a thick bass line. The lyrics often refer to Rastafarianism.
Reggae musicians include Bob Marley, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, and the group Black Uhuru. Reggae is also played in the UK, South Africa, and elsewhere.
There are several reggae styles. The practice of issuing singles with, on the B-side, a dub version, or stripped down instrumental remix, was designed fore use in clubs, where disc jockeys who added a spoken vocal part became to be known as toasters; in turn they released records. A fast reggae-rap style called ragga emerged in the early 1990s. Like rap texts, reggae lyrics tend to be political-historical (reggae artists such as Burning Spear, Gregory Isaacs), sexually explicit (Shabba Ranks), or describe Ghetto violence (Cobra)...