which music do you go for as a young people

Reggae Feature Lusaka Star
Music is music, no matter what kind of music it is still music.
Album: Talking Blues
Musician: Bob Marley

Reggae music is finally coming to an age where its musicians and fans would no longer be seen as lay about, vagabonds and scroungers.

With the new generation ragamuffin and ragatone taking the world of music by storm, many have had to change their past misconceptions about reggae music and consider it from a new perspective.
Reggae is a music that originally started in Jamaica by the drumming of the slaves, but can trace its roots to West Africa.

Sociologist Anthony Giddens notes that the slaves managed to keep alive the tradition of African drumming by integrating it with the European musical styles imposed by the slave owners at times.

Giddens continues to say that the emergence of the Rastafarian movement proved crucial for the development of reggae. The movement merged its themes with the Burru style of drumming which produced a unique music calling out to an end of oppression and liberation.

The music as it is now is miles ahead of what was known as reggae in the 1950s. Though the music could be said to be becoming more radical with the Bobo faction within the movement out rightly chanting against the social evils in society, it can also be said to be joining ranks with hip-hop and rhythm and blues (R and B).

In the recent past, old timers in the ragamuffin scenes like Beenieman, Shaggy and Bounty Killer have been introducing more hip-hop beats in to their songs and even doing collaborations with hip-hop and R and B musicians.

Bounty Killer who is one of the popular old school ragamuffin musicians has over the years done a string of songs with hip-hop musicians such as Busta Rhymes, Jero da Damaja, and the Fugees. Beenieman, another old school raga musician, recently did a song with Janet Jackson, and Dermain Marley (Juniour Gong) has done a song along side Mr. Chicks of the Lost Boys, and the female hip-hop rapper Eve.

The collaborations between reggae musicians and musicians from other genres of music is not a new concept in reggae, as it has been attempted by legendary reggae musician Peter Tosh who did the song Don’t Look Back with Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones.

Bob Marley’s son Junior Gong presents an interesting case in reggae music, with most reggae fans and disk jockeys uncertain on whether to classify his music as reggae or hip-hop. Same applies to the musician Wayne Wonder and Shaggy.

Junior Gong together with his brother Kymani Marley, who is also riding high in the reggae chats have in deed proved that talent can run through a family.

Comparing the two musicians with the rest of the Marley’s family only exposes one to disappointments in terms of music. Most of Bob Marley’s family have tried being musicians but have not achieved much in their attempts. Bob’s mother (Cedela Marley), wife (Rita Marley), and the children who formed the band Melody Makers under the guidance of Ziggy Marley have not been a hit in the music industry.

However, the merging of reggae with other music forms is not a new phenomenon. Giddens observes that it was an amalgamation of different music styles that made reggae possible.

He says that in the late 1950s, West Indian musicians began mixing Rastafarian rhythms and lyrics with elements of American jazz and black R and B. This combination eventually developed into ‘Ska’ music, and then, in the late 1960s, into reggae.

Giddens continues to note that in the 1980s and 1990s, reggae was fused with hip-hop to produce new sounds, as can be heard in the work of the groups Wu-Tang Clan and the Fugees.

The change in reggae within itself to create a variety of forms can be credited to producers and musicians who have been willing to experiment with beats and vocals.

Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare have been identified as being among the most influential producers who led to the rise of the modern dancehall. Their work as part of Peter Tosh’s hand could best be described as ground breaking and indicated the start of a new style within reggae music.

The two producers, with Tosh’s encouragement came up with new beats that included instruments that were not used in reggae and tried new ideas with the arrangement of beats.

It is also through the willingness of musicians to try out new ideas that reggae has been able to grow to its current status.

From the days of Daddy I-Roy, who was one of the first reggae musicians to chant reggae lyrics over the radio, at a time when Bob Marley only had a dream of becoming a musician, the music has come a long way with new categories of the music being established.

These categories include variety such as roots reggae, dancehall, ragamuffin, chant, and more recently ragatone and new generation ragamuffin.

Marcia Griffins, one of the former member of the I-Three (back-up vocals in Bob Marley’s band), credits the new generation ragamuffin artists like Elephantman and Lexxus as having open new venues in which reggae can attract more fans.
Ragatone, on the other hand, is an interesting mix of music that has aspects of ragamuffin, techno (rave/dance) and Latino hip-hop.

Earlier on, ragatone did borrow heavily from the ragamuffin rhythm, with the prominent among them being the Bam-bam beat (as previously used by musicians such as Pliers in the song Bam-bam).

However, the ragatone beats are advancing by the day with established musicians such as Enrique Iglesias and R. Kelly trying their hands on the music genre.

It is, however, sad to note that as reggae advances, most of the songs that are being produced are neglecting the underlying messages that formed the basis of the music, which are equal rights, justice and respect for all mankind.