reggae

Definition

A music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s and is heavily associated with Rastafarianism, featuring a heavy bass line and percussive rhythm guitar on the offbeat, often with close vocal harmonies.

Etymology

From Jamaican Creole rege (“rags; a quarrel”), see rag; originally used in the 1960s to describe a Jamaican dance. Compare ragtime. Broader musical sense popularized by the 1968 Maytals song “Do the Reggay”.

Example Sentences

• "Near-synonym: (earlier) bluebeat"
• "I want to do the reggay with you / Come onto me, do the dance"
• "I mean, the very name reggae. I mean, it wasn’t called reggae in the first place. It came from blue beat, just ska, you know? Ska and blue beat, the era, and then reggae. Because it was a dance, originally. And the DJs thought, “That’s a nice name,” and the kept saying “reggae music, reggae music” on the air all the time. “Reggae music, reggae music, the DJs on the radio. So everyone kept on saying “Reggae music”. They classed it as …(other Matumbi band members join in) Reggae."