769:, 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
699:, 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
727:, 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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691:' popularity in Europe opened the door for other artists, and roots reggae artists became popular with
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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
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Marshall, Wayne: Follow Me Now: The
Zigzagging Zunguzung Meme.
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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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1814:Roots reggae
1813:
1658:Bobo Ashanti
1637:
1630:
1623:
1616:
1611:Kebra Nagast
1609:
1517:Cannabis use
1199:Walking bass
1128:Samba reggae
1123:Roots reggae
1122:
1079:Ragga jungle
914:
910:
900:
891:
879:
871:
867:Bunny Wailer
864:
859:
829:
776:
765:
762:
741:Junior Kelly
725:Garnett Silk
709:
678:
662:Jungle music
646:Coxsone Dodd
606:Hugh Mundell
594:Dennis Brown
567:
532:
523:repatriation
495:spirituality
459:Roots reggae
458:
457:
203:Roots reggae
202:
85:Other topics
24:Roots reggae
15:
1766:Persecution
1584:Menen Asfaw
1313:Philippines
1303:New Zealand
1240:Dub artists
1094:Reggae rock
1064:Lovers rock
874:. BBC2 2002
733:Buju Banton
689:The Wailers
674:dance music
618:Steel Pulse
614:Black Uhuru
602:Horace Andy
517:and racial
503:black pride
385:Puerto Rico
183:Raggamuffin
168:Lovers rock
1745:Peter Tosh
1740:Bob Marley
1684:Shashamane
1522:Dreadlocks
1419:Studio One
1116:Moombahton
1099:Reggaestep
1047:Dub poetry
840:, p. 251-3
799:References
586:Peter Tosh
582:Bob Marley
519:oppression
515:government
513:, corrupt
511:capitalism
479:revolution
375:Montserrat
370:Martinique
350:Guadeloupe
325:Costa Rica
198:Rocksteady
178:Niyabinghi
158:Dub poetry
51:rocksteady
1694:Reasoning
1677:Festivals
1663:Nyabinghi
1632:Holy Piby
1498:Rastafari
1434:Blue Beat
1379:Suedehead
1364:Rastafari
1293:Australia
1276:Mauritius
1259:By region
1106:Reggaeton
1025:Dancehall
947:149593028
939:0020-2754
749:Anthony B
697:dancehall
693:punk rock
681:left-wing
658:punk rock
654:Jah Shaka
638:Bunny Lee
598:Max Romeo
551:Yabby You
485:, called
475:Rastafari
365:Mauritius
148:Dancehall
94:Rastafari
56:Nyabinghi
1831:Category
1804:Rastacap
1650:Mansions
1389:Dubplate
1374:Skinhead
1369:Rude boy
1286:Zimbabwe
1189:Toasting
1169:One drop
1143:Two-tone
787:See also
780:one-drop
729:Capleton
467:Africans
405:Suriname
395:St Lucia
335:Dominica
295:Barbados
275:Anguilla
228:Toasting
218:Ska punk
213:Ska jazz
1789:Chalice
1781:Related
1754:Society
1332:Related
1308:Pacific
1281:Nigeria
1179:Singjay
1138:Singjay
919:Bibcode
751:, and
737:Luciano
705:hip hop
630:Culture
563:Culture
543:Jamaica
529:History
507:fascism
499:poverty
345:Grenada
330:Curaçao
310:Bonaire
305:Bermuda
290:Bahamas
69:Jamaica
1809:Reggae
1542:Livity
1532:Iyaric
1404:Riddim
1318:Poland
1266:Africa
1193:Deejay
1174:Reverb
1133:Seggae
1052:Psydub
1037:Dembow
1016:Genres
1006:Reggae
945:
937:
836:
753:Sizzla
648:. The
608:, and
491:ghetto
463:reggae
380:Panama
355:Guyana
300:Belize
188:Reggae
163:Kumina
140:Genres
41:reggae
36:Riddim
1605:Bible
1579:Jesus
1359:Mento
1298:Japan
1271:Kenya
1184:Skank
1159:Delay
1074:Ragga
943:S2CID
360:Haiti
173:Mento
1547:Zion
1527:Ital
935:ISSN
834:ISBN
731:and
718:and
664:and
644:and
628:and
320:Cuba
1512:Jah
1042:Dub
927:doi
670:dub
541:to
487:Jah
483:God
208:Ska
153:Dub
79:Dub
46:ska
1833::
941:.
933:.
925:.
915:44
913:.
909:.
845:^
807:^
755:.
747:,
743:,
739:,
707:.
687:.
640:,
636:,
624:,
620:,
616:,
604:,
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592:,
588:,
584:,
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572:,
509:,
501:,
1490:e
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1191:(
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949:.
929::
921::
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440:t
433:v
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