According to the history of Jamaica, the slaves from Africa brought over drums called “BURRU” which were used in an arrangement called talking drums. These were used during Jonkanoo celebrations, which were a Christmas time activity; the planters encouraged these until they found out that the slaves were using their drums and conch shells to communicate with each other. By the turn of the century, Calypso from Trinidad and Tobago and Samba from Central America were introduced to the Jamaicans to form a new mix of music called Mento.
Mento was the popular music in Jamaica before ska, rocksteady and reggae. It was an established style in both rural and urban areas as early as the turn of the 20th century. Mento bands usually include one or more of the following: banjo,
Reggae music brought us the worlds first 3rd world music star, Bob Marley who is the lead singer of a group called Bob Marley and the Wailers, they took Reggae to the masses ad made it popular. Bob Marley was the biggest contributor to Reggae music he made music from late 1963 up until 1981 when he died an untimely death from cancer. But their were and still are many famous Reggae groups.
This style was considered the beat of the 1990’s, this was basically just leaving the bass line to a song and cutting out the lyrics so that other singers can dub over it with their lyrics. This style of music is very big in clubs and dancehalls.
By 1969 the new, enduring sound of reggae had established itself. Reggae is a combination of traditional African Rhythm and blues and indigenous
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