Rastafari Reggae
Located in 2 routes
Reggae as an expression of the Rastafari faith: one-drop roots grooves suffused with praises to Jah, references to Haile Selassie I, Ethiopia and repatriation, and Nyabinghi drum and chant inflections. Tempos are meditative (70-80 BPM), arrangements deep and bass-heavy, and vocals fervent and hymn-like, often invoking biblical and Ethiopian imagery. Percussion frequently nods to the akete hand-drums of Rasta grounations. The mood is devotional, prophetic and defiantly spiritual, treating the music itself as worship and testimony.
History
As Rastafari moved from the margins into Jamaican popular culture in the early 1970s, reggae became its principal vehicle, with Bob Marley & The Wailers' conversion and records like 'Jah Live' broadcasting the faith worldwide. Burning Spear, The Abyssinians and Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus fused reggae with Nyabinghi tradition, while producers steeped in Rasta consciousness shaped the sound. The lineage continued through the 1990s 'conscious' revival with Sizzla and Capleton and into the Reggae Revival, keeping Rastafari theology at the doctrinal center of roots reggae.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Rastaman Chant(1973) — Bob Marley & The WailersSpotifyYouTube
- Jah Live(1975) — Bob Marley & The WailersSpotifyYouTube
- Man in the Hills(1976) — Burning SpearSpotifyYouTube
- None a Jah Jah Children — Ras Michael and the Sons of NegusSpotifyYouTube
- Satta Massagana(1976) — The AbyssiniansSpotifyYouTube
- Praise Ye Jah(1997) — SizzlaSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- Lloyd Bradley, Bass Culture: When Reggae Was King (Penguin, 2000)
- Steve Barrow & Peter Dalton, The Rough Guide to Reggae (Rough Guides, 2004)
- David Katz, Solid Foundation: An Oral History of Reggae (Bloomsbury, 2003)
- Kevin O'Brien Chang & Wayne Chen, Reggae Routes: The Story of Jamaican Music (Temple University Press, 1998)