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Posts tagged as “Ska”

MUSIC MONDAY: “AfroPunk: Reggae Meets Punk” Playlist (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “AfroPunk: Reggae Meets Punk” Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on May 13, 2024

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Threads: @stlmarlonwest IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

While Reggae is a true import from Jamaica, it really gained a global footing in England. It and Punk both arose out of the economic depression and social inequality in the late 1960’s and 1970’s.

Many Reggae songs of the time like Bob Marley’s “Punky Reggae Party” and “Concrete Jungle” were overt commentary on life in London, while many Punk artists adopted some of these traits and spreading a message of rebellion against the Establishment.

He was not the only one to see that punks and Rastas shared a same idea of freedom and of rebellion against social norms and the setting of said norms.

Hope you enjoy this free-wheeling collection of songs celebrating the intersection of Reggae and Punk. As always, stay, safe, sane, and kind.

I’ve included tracks for the “Second Wave” of ska where bands like The Specials, English Beat, and Selector combined traditional ska song and grooves with a sped-up rhythms of punk music, introducing ska to new generations.

I’ve also included tracks from “Rocket To Kingston” credited to Bobby Ramone. It is a melding of the isolated vocal tracks from Bob Marley dropped over edited Ramones backing tracks. It shouldn’t work, but it does.

Marlon West

MUSIC MONDAY: “Silly Games” – The Best of Lovers Rock Playlist (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Silly Games” – The Best of Lovers Rock Playlist (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on August 9, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

This week’s offering is more than a little inspired by the 2020 film Lovers Rock.

Writer-director Steve McQueen’s loving portrait of a house party was one of the best films of last year. I’ve included a few tracks from the soundtrack by Gregory Isaacs, Janet Kay and others.

Though this collection takes us back the last days of the rocksteady era and early days of reggae, it features artists like Ken Boothe, Johnny Nash and John Holt and Hortense Ellis.

They enjoyed international hits with versions of well-known love songs and originals that would go on to be clone classics of the genre.

Happy Monday, and enjoy this reggae mushy stuff.

As always, stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Pressure Drop” – A Ska and Reggae Collection (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Pressure Drop” – A Ska and Reggae Collection (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on May 17, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Happy Monday! I’ll keep it brief this week. This collection gathers decades of ska and reggae.

From pioneers like The Skatalites to new artists including Jaz Elise. Here is hours of roots, rock steady, dancehall, and dub reggae.

I have endeavored to include classics and releases from 2021 in the playlist that will move you all day long. Please enjoy!

And even as we emerge from lock, stay safe, sane, and kind!

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Roots, Rock, Reggae” – a Bob Marley Collection in Honor of his 76th (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Roots, Rock, Reggae” – a Bob Marley Collection in Honor of his 76th (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on February 15, 2021

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Earlier this month was the 76th anniversary of the birth of Robert Nesta Marley.

It is hard to overstate his impact on popular music and culture. Marley was a Rastafari icon, and he infused his music with a sense of social consciousness and spirituality.

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He is still a global symbol of Jamaican music, culture, and Pan-Africanism. He co-founded The Wailers vocal group with Bunny Wailer, Peter Tosh, Beverley Kelso and Junior Braithwaite.

They created early ska and rocksteady in the studios of legendary producers Coxsone Dodd and Lee “Scratch” Perry.

Marley would go on to bring reggae music to an international audience, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.

Rolling Stone has ranked him No. 11 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Here’s a collection includes his many classics, early recordings, live performances, and remixes, and dub reworkings. This playlist is a testament to the lasting impact of Bob Marley.

As always stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Time Tough”- A Tribute to Reggae Legend Toots Hibbert (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: “Time Tough”- A Tribute to Reggae Legend Toots Hibbert (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on September 14, 2020

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

This September 11th also marked the passing of one of the fathers of reggae music: Toots Hibbert.

Starting out with the rock steady pioneer Clement “Coxcome” Dodd, The Maytals emerged as one of the earliest reggae hit-makers. Hibbert holds a firm spot in Jamaica’s musical pantheon as the first artist to use the word reggae on a record, “Do The Reggay,” and to bring the music to the world at large.

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Many likely first heard his songs covered by The Clash, The Specials, and other punk and ska artists. This collection features the Toots & The Maytals versions of “Monkey Man” and “Pressure Drop.” 

I have also included some of his many covers including “Country Road” and collaborations with Willie Nelson, UB40, The Easy Star All-Stars, Los Pericos and others.

Hope you all enjoy this tribute to one reggae and ska music’s most enduring founders. Have a great week, and see you next Monday.

Stay safe, sane, and kind.

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)

MUSIC MONDAY: Celebrating The History and Evolution of Ska Music (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: Celebrating The History and Evolution of Ska Music (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on July 27, 2020

Ska originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to reggae. It combines elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues.

Ska developed further in the 1960s when Prince Buster, Clement “Coxsone” Dodd, and Duke Reid formed “sound systems” to play American rhythm and blues and eventually recorded their own songs.

Most folks divide the history of ska into three periods: the original Jamaican scene of the 1960s; the 2 Tone ska revival of the ’70 & ‘80s, which fused ska rhythms with the faster tempos and harder edge of punk rock, and third wave, which involved bands from a wide range of countries around the world, in the 1990s.

RELATED: You Can Get It If You Really Want It: Reggae Songs of Struggle and Peace (LISTEN)

While primarily dance music, like reggae, ska music has often had social change on its mind. This collection spans all three “waves” and includes The Skatalites, Hortense Ellis, The Specials, Hepcat, and many other masters of the artform.

Do enjoy, and as always stay safe, sane, and kind.

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:2MlNzSpz3TylGXNvpNGp9X”/]

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)
MUSIC MONDAY: Celebrating Reggae Songs of Struggle and Peace (LISTEN)

MUSIC MONDAY: Celebrating Reggae Songs of Struggle and Peace (LISTEN)

By goodblacknews on July 6, 2020

[Photo: Girls dancing in youthclub, Wolverhampton, 1978 © Chris Steele-Perkins/Magnum Photos]

During this time of unprecedented demands of civil rights, our Good Black News playlists have focused on African-American artists during the month of June. But Reggae artists from Jamaica, the U.K., and Africa have long had a thing or two to say about the triumphs and struggle of people of the African diaspora as well.

Reggae came into being in the 1960s as an evolution of the Rocksteady and Ska musical styles. (More on those forms in the weeks to come.) Reggae is a soulful export of Jamaica that expresses in words the pain, struggle, hope, and emotion that is felt by the average person.

Reggae is often marked by its lament-like chanting and emphasizes the syncopated beat. It leans heavily on the use of the Jamaican vernacular and African drumming style.

This collection features a wide range of international artists including, Bob Marley, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Alpha Blondy, Steel Pulse, Hortense Ellis, Bim Sherman, Judy Mowatt, John Holt, and many others.

[spotifyplaybutton play=”spotify:playlist:136V6ZM1WeFQ8P1yMiOQWR”/]

by Marlon West (FB: marlon.west1 Twitter: @marlonw IG: stlmarlonwest Spotify: marlonwest)

Marlon West (photo courtesy Marlon West)

Born On This Day in 1945: Reggae Music Legend Bob Marley (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on February 6, 2013

Bob MarleyNesta Robert Marley, OM (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981), more widely and commonly known as Bob Marley, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae bands The Wailers (1963-1974) and Bob Marley & The Wailers (1974–1981). Marley remains the most widely-known performer of reggae music, and is credited with helping spread both Jamaican music and the Rastafari movement to a worldwide audience.
Marley’s music was greatly influenced by the social issues of his homeland, and he gave voice to the political and cultural nexus of Jamaica as well other oppressive, racist societies throughout the world. His best-known hits include “I Shot the Sheriff“, “No Woman, No Cry“, “Could You Be Loved“, “Stir It Up“, “Get Up Stand Up“, “Jamming“, “Redemption Song“, “One Love” and “Three Little Birds“, as well as the posthumous releases “Buffalo Soldier” and “Iron Lion Zion.” The compilation album Legend (1984), released three years after his death, is reggae’s best-selling album, going ten times Platinum which is also known as one Diamond in the U.S., and selling 25 million copies worldwide.  To learn more about his life and music, click here, and watch “Could You Be Loved” below:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qo42heoLUs&w=420&h=315]
article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson