780:, the roots reggae displays Africa as a mythical paradise that functions primarily as a motivating symbol, imagined origin, and semantic center. "More so even than earlier sounds, roots reggae always seemed to invite itself directly to Africa, brazenly insisting upon itself as the continent's primary echo, if not recursive mirror". The mythical Africa articulated in roots reggae is shaped by desire, nostalgia and trauma under the pressure of local Caribbean politics. While an imagined Africa is used as an inspiration for resistance and revolution against "Babylon" (corrupted capitalist colonial culture), Africa's actual complexity and contradictions are not investigated.
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Traditional reggae and roots reggae, a subgenre that evolved from traditional reggae, while sharing a common
Jamaican heritage, exhibit distinct characteristics that set them apart. Traditional reggae encompasses diverse themes, including love, everyday life, and dancehall culture, whereas roots
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rhythm and a slower tempo. Rooted in a deep social and political consciousness, its lyrics often tackle issues of poverty, oppression, and spirituality, influenced by the
Rastafarian movement. Musically, roots reggae maintains a specific sonic identity, characterised by deep basslines, skanking
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continued the use of roots reggae, as a musical style and thematically, through the 1980s. In the 1990s younger
Jamaican artists became interested in the Rastafari movement and began incorporating roots themes into their music. Most notable among the new generation of "conscious" artists was
710:, a lot of black, white and mixed roots reggae bands were formed in Europe. Later on roots reggae made its way into the United States with the migration of Jamaicans to New York. This took place with the reforms made to American
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guitar patterns, and the inclusion of horns. While these distinctions exist, the lines between reggae and roots reggae can be flexible, and the two genres share a significant overlap within the broader reggae musical landscape.
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reggae tends to focus its lyrics on social consciousness. Traditional reggae rhythms vary widely, featuring both upbeat and slower tunes. In contrast, roots reggae is marked by a deliberate
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in 1966 played a major part in the development of roots reggae, with spiritual themes becoming more common in reggae lyrics in the late 1960s. Important early roots reggae releases included
738:, whose positive spiritual message and consistent use of roots and rocksteady riddims gave him cross generational appeal with Caribbean audiences. While other notable dancehall stars like
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in the early 1960s. Along with localised traditions and food, reggae music was inevitably brought as well, contributing to the New York City soundscape, such as the development of
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targeting the support of
Jamaica's ghetto communities. Increasing violence associated with the opposing political parties was also a common lyrical theme, with tracks such as
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While roots reggae was largely overtaken in popularity in
Jamaica by dancehall, several artists from the original era, such as Culture, Burning Spear, and
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Chude-Sokei, Louis. When Echoes Return: Roots, Diaspora, and
Possible Africas (a eulogy). Indiana University Press. Issue 104, 2011, pp. 76–92 (article)
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became devout Rastas and changed their musical direction as a result. Other modern roots artists and bands also emerged at this time, including
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was of unequalled importance in spreading reggae and dub, with the diaspora represented by leading sound system operators such as
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The heyday of roots reggae is usually considered the latter half of the 1970s – with artists such as
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musicians in London, as well as definitively shaping later bass dominated genres such as
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Roots-Archives – Searchable database of
Jamaican Roots Reggae albums from 1970 to 1985
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Barrow, Steve and Dalton, Peter: "Reggae: The Rough Guide", Rough Guides, 1997
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Similar to the oversimplification and limitations of the terminology
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Roots reggae became popular in Europe in the 1970s, especially among
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Marshall, Wayne: Follow Me Now: The
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that deals with the everyday lives and aspirations of
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sufferer, and the rural poor. Lyrical themes include
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Transactions of the
Institute of British Geographers
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continued to produce roots reggae, and artists like
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204:Reggae fusion
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1825:Roots reggae
1824:
1669:Bobo Ashanti
1648:
1641:
1634:
1627:
1622:Kebra Nagast
1620:
1528:Cannabis use
1210:Walking bass
1139:Samba reggae
1134:Roots reggae
1133:
1090:Ragga jungle
925:
921:
911:
902:
890:
882:
878:Bunny Wailer
875:
870:
840:
787:
776:
773:
752:Junior Kelly
736:Garnett Silk
720:
689:
673:Jungle music
657:Coxsone Dodd
617:Hugh Mundell
605:Dennis Brown
578:
543:
534:repatriation
506:spirituality
470:Roots reggae
469:
468:
214:Roots reggae
213:
96:Other topics
35:Roots reggae
26:
18:Roots Reggae
1777:Persecution
1595:Menen Asfaw
1324:Philippines
1314:New Zealand
1251:Dub artists
1105:Reggae rock
1075:Lovers rock
885:. BBC2 2002
744:Buju Banton
700:The Wailers
685:dance music
629:Steel Pulse
625:Black Uhuru
613:Horace Andy
528:and racial
514:black pride
396:Puerto Rico
194:Raggamuffin
179:Lovers rock
1756:Peter Tosh
1751:Bob Marley
1695:Shashamane
1533:Dreadlocks
1430:Studio One
1127:Moombahton
1110:Reggaestep
1058:Dub poetry
851:, p. 251-3
810:References
597:Peter Tosh
593:Bob Marley
530:oppression
526:government
524:, corrupt
522:capitalism
490:revolution
386:Montserrat
381:Martinique
361:Guadeloupe
336:Costa Rica
209:Rocksteady
189:Niyabinghi
169:Dub poetry
62:rocksteady
1705:Reasoning
1688:Festivals
1674:Nyabinghi
1643:Holy Piby
1509:Rastafari
1445:Blue Beat
1390:Suedehead
1375:Rastafari
1304:Australia
1287:Mauritius
1270:By region
1117:Reggaeton
1036:Dancehall
958:149593028
950:0020-2754
760:Anthony B
708:dancehall
704:punk rock
692:left-wing
669:punk rock
665:Jah Shaka
649:Bunny Lee
609:Max Romeo
562:Yabby You
496:, called
486:Rastafari
376:Mauritius
159:Dancehall
105:Rastafari
67:Nyabinghi
1842:Category
1815:Rastacap
1661:Mansions
1400:Dubplate
1385:Skinhead
1380:Rude boy
1297:Zimbabwe
1200:Toasting
1180:One drop
1154:Two-tone
798:See also
791:one-drop
740:Capleton
478:Africans
416:Suriname
406:St Lucia
346:Dominica
306:Barbados
286:Anguilla
239:Toasting
229:Ska punk
224:Ska jazz
1800:Chalice
1792:Related
1765:Society
1343:Related
1319:Pacific
1292:Nigeria
1190:Singjay
1149:Singjay
930:Bibcode
762:, and
748:Luciano
716:hip hop
641:Culture
574:Culture
554:Jamaica
540:History
518:fascism
510:poverty
356:Grenada
341:Curaçao
321:Bonaire
316:Bermuda
301:Bahamas
80:Jamaica
1820:Reggae
1553:Livity
1543:Iyaric
1415:Riddim
1329:Poland
1277:Africa
1204:Deejay
1185:Reverb
1144:Seggae
1063:Psydub
1048:Dembow
1027:Genres
1017:Reggae
956:
948:
847:
764:Sizzla
659:. The
619:, and
502:ghetto
474:reggae
391:Panama
366:Guyana
311:Belize
199:Reggae
174:Kumina
151:Genres
52:reggae
47:Riddim
1616:Bible
1590:Jesus
1370:Mento
1309:Japan
1282:Kenya
1195:Skank
1170:Delay
1085:Ragga
954:S2CID
371:Haiti
184:Mento
1558:Zion
1538:Ital
946:ISSN
845:ISBN
742:and
729:and
675:and
655:and
639:and
331:Cuba
1523:Jah
1053:Dub
938:doi
681:dub
552:to
498:Jah
494:God
219:Ska
164:Dub
90:Dub
57:ska
1844::
952:.
944:.
936:.
926:44
924:.
920:.
856:^
818:^
766:.
758:,
754:,
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718:.
698:.
651:,
647:,
635:,
631:,
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587:,
583:,
520:,
512:,
1501:e
1494:t
1487:v
1206:)
1202:(
1008:e
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960:.
940::
932::
458:e
451:t
444:v
20:)
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