Ya Mon

Reggae developed in the 1960s from a fusion of traditional Jamaican music such as mento (folk music) as well as drawing influence from American jazz and rhythm and blues, and it evolved out of the earlier genres of ska and rocksteady.  It tends to use offbeat rhythms and bass percussion giving it a jumpy feel and musically, it’s got a slow, syncopated groove that seems perfect for an island vacation and is great for dancing.  It is heavily associated with Rastafarianism, a religious movement that took root in Jamaica in the 1930s.  Reggae lyrics are often about injustice and they comment on social, economic and political inequality.  Lyrically, much of reggae music comes from a deep sense of animosity and the need for survival and to be fighters, so it is widely perceived as a voice of the oppressed expressing the sounds and pressures of ghetto life.  Reggae music and marijuana have a long history together and smoking pot or ganja is embedding in Jamaica’s culture.  Bob Marley was by far the most famous reggae musician of all time and he is famous for being pro-marijuana.

Defies Literal Definition

Last week we had Spirit Heart Essence where the theme was to find Soul music.  This week the theme is to find Funk music.  Take some time to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this music challenge, and even better, read as many of them as you can as you will probably find many enjoyable songs and it is quite possibly that you will learn a thing or two.  Share your music with others and post a video, try do some research and let everyone know something about the song that you post.  Tell everyone why you like the song, whether it was a hit, or what you think the song is about.  Show the lyrics, let’s all listen to our favorite songs and explore some new music.  Try to find a song that fits the theme, then write your post and create a pingback, or you can just place your link in the comments section.

Suggestions
• Try to use the prompt words or at least conform to a general theme, as you see it.  If the song you select does not meet the criteria, then please explain why you chose this song.
• It would be good if you could post the lyrics to the song of your choice, as this is helpful for the people that want to follow along with the music.
• Please try to include the songwriter(s) – it’s a good idea to give credit where credit is due. It would also be a good idea to give credit to the singer and the band associated with your song.
• Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be, but please try not to include too many videos as that just makes it take longer to look at all of the other posts.
• Link to the YouTube video, or you can pull it into your post, so others can listen to the song.
• Ping back to this post or place your link in the comments section below.
• Read at least one other person’s blog, so we can all share new and fantastic music and create amazing new blogging friends in the process.
• Feel free to suggest future prompts.
• Have fun and enjoy the music.

This week I will be writing about The Paragons song ‘The Tide Is High’, and next week, I will be writing about the song ‘Wayfaring Stranger’ by Emmylou Harris.  The upcoming prompts will be:
April 30, 2023 – Gospel music
May 7, 2023 – Boy Bands
May 14, 2023 – Girl Groups
May 21, 2023 – Disco