Rebel Reggae
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The defiant, rude-boy-descended militant edge of roots reggae: tough one-drop and rockers grooves (70-80 BPM) driving lyrics of rebellion, resistance and refusal to bow to authority. Bass is heavy and insistent, guitar and organ skanks are sharp, and vocals are proud, warning and combative. The mood is uncompromising and revolutionary, casting the singer as outlaw prophet against the 'system.' Signature devices include rebel imagery, 'stepping razor' bravado and anthemic calls to stand up and fight down oppression.
History
Rebel reggae grew from the rude-boy culture of 1960s Jamaica into the roots era's militant strain, epitomized by Bob Marley & The Wailers' 'Rebel Music' and 'Get Up, Stand Up' and Peter Tosh's fierce solo declarations. UK's Steel Pulse and Jamaica's Black Uhuru sharpened its confrontational stance, while Culture's apocalyptic warnings gave it prophetic weight. The rebel posture influenced punk (The Clash's reggae affinity) and became a lasting archetype of reggae as the music of resistance, feeding both political reggae and later dancehall's badman defiance.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Rebel Music (3 O'Clock Roadblock)(1974) — Bob Marley & The WailersSpotifyYouTube
- Crazy Baldhead(1976) — Bob Marley & The WailersSpotifyYouTube
- Stepping Razor(1977) — Peter ToshSpotifyYouTube
- Handsworth Revolution(1978) — Steel PulseSpotifyYouTube
- General Penitentiary(1979) — Black UhuruSpotifyYouTube
- Two Sevens Clash(1977) — CultureSpotifyYouTube
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)