Brief History of Ska

Ska music evolved as a combination of Caribbean calypso music heavily influenced with American jazz, rhythm, and blues. The new sound was characterized by walking bass lines, jazzy horn riffs, and a distinctly syncopated guitar and/or piano, where the guitar typically accented the upbeat, or backbeat. This style of syncopation is credited to Prince Buster, who once told guitarist Jah Jerry during a recording session to "change gears".

The birth of ska music coincided with Jamaica's independence from the UK in 1962, an event commemorated by ska songs such as Derrick Morgan's "Forward March", and The Skatalites' "Freedom Sound". Other famous ska artists include Desmond Dekker, The Heptones, Duke Reid, Toots and the Maytals, The Wailers, Derrick Morgan, Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, Prince Buster, and Laurel Aitken.



As more and more Jamaicans turned to a life of crime and violence, the "rude boys" culture was born. The rude boy culture originated in the ghettos of Kingston, coinciding with the popular rise of ska music, dancehall celebrations, and sound system dances. Rude boys sometimes found temporary employment from sound system operators in the form of disrupting competitors' dances -- leading to the term dancehall crasher. Many of these rudies started wearing sharp suits, thin ties, and pork-pie or Trilby hats, inspired by United States gangster movies and soul music groups. Ska bands often played to the rude boy culture, which was reflected in songs by the likes of the Soul Brothers ("Lawless Street"), and the Heptones ("Gunmen Coming to Town"). Desmond Dekker's "007 Shanty Town" release was the most definitive of the rude boy documentary titles, reaching No. 14 in the UK charts. The rude boy culture continued throughout the mid 60's, until the the ska beat was eventually slowed down and Rocksteady was born.

Dreadlocks

Although not universal to Rastas, dreadlocks are closely associated to the religious followers of the Rastafari movement. Followers often quote two separate verses from the Old Testament,

All the days of the vow of his separation there shall no razor come upon his head: until the days be fulfilled, in the which he separateth himself unto the Lord, he shall be holy, and shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. - Numbers 6:5,

and

They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in the flesh. - Leviticus 21:5.



One of the titles associated with Emperor Haile Selassie I is Conquering Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Dreadlocks have thus come to symbolize the mane of a lion, in particular the Lion of Judah. For the Rastas the razor, scissors, and the comb are the three Babylonian (or Roman) inventions, thus the dreadlocks symbolize the rebellion against Babylon. Although not all persons with dreadlocks are necessarily Rastifarian, in reggae music a follower of Rastafari may be referred to simply as a Dreadlock or Natty (natural) Dread. Non-believers who cut their hair are often referred to as baldheads.

BigUpRadio

The website BigUpRadio provides two free radio streams, one dedicated to roots reggae, and the other to dance hall. The stations play 24 hours, with no advertisements. The music will queue up and stream in Winamp, so you can listen to reggae all day long, even with your browser closed. If you hear something special, just check the Winamp playlist to see the artist and song title.

There are many other resources at the website, including reviews, events, culture, and news. They also link to other streaming reggae stations... keep an eye out for interviews featuring world-famous reggae artists!