African Reggae
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reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
music first developed in Jamaica, it has strong rhythmic and thematic associations with Africa and has been called "the quintessential African/third world/black musical form". There are many African reggae musicians with a wide fan base both on the continent and abroad. Well-known African reggae artists are
Alpha Blondy Seydou Koné (; born January 1, 1953 in Dimbokro), better known by his stage name Alpha Blondy, is an Ivorian reggae singer and international recording artist. Many of his songs are politically and socially motivated, and are mainly sung in hi ...
, Pax Nindi aka Harare Dread,
Majek Fashek Majekodunmi Fasheke, popularly known as Majek Fashek (March 1963 – 1 June 2020) was a Nigerian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His 1988 album ''Prisoner of Conscience'' included the single "Send Down the Rain", which won six PMAN Music Award ...
,
Tiken Jah Fakoly Doumbia Moussa Fakoly (born June 23, 1968 in Odienné), better known by his stage name Tiken Jah Fakoly (), is an Ivorian reggae singer and songwriter. Early life Doumbia Moussa Fakoly was born on 23 June 1968 in Odienné, Kabadougou Region, nor ...
, Colbert Mukwevho,Thomani Tshikororo , Ismael Isaac, Radical Dread, Jambo, Soul Raiders,
Lucky Dube Lucky Philip Dube (pronounced ''duu-beh'';
luckydubemusic.com, Retrieved 19 October 2007
3 August 1964 – 18 October 20 ...
, and Serges Kassy.


History

The popularity of Reggae in Africa started with the spread of music by Jamaican artists like Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff in the late 1960s and 1970s. While their music was popular around the world, it was particularly well-received in Africa. One of the first hit songs by an African artist with distinct reggae qualities was "Fire In Soweto" by
Sonny Okosun Sonny Okosun (1 January 1947 – 24 May 2008) was a Nigerian musician, who was known as the leader of the Ozzidi band. He named his band Ozzidi after a renowned Ijaw river god, but to Okosun the meaning was "there is a message". His surname is ...
in 1978. More groups followed suit, and reggae was one of the most popular genres of music in the late 1970s in Africa. In Freetown, Sierra Leone, John Nunley said that reggae was all over the urban soundscape. In 1980, world-famous Jamaican reggae musician
Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements o ...
performed in
Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...
,
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...
, and that concert is often credited as marking the beginning of reggae in Africa.


Reggae in Ivory Coast

Reggae is perhaps most popular in the Ivory Coast. Former member of
The Wailers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
Tyrone Downie Tyrone Downie (20 May 1956 – 5 November 2022) was a Jamaican keyboardist and pianist best known for his involvement as a member of Bob Marley and The Wailers.Foster, Chuck (1999) ''Roots Rock Reggae'', Billboard Books, , p. 66, 116 He studi ...
said in an interview: "The first time I went to Abidjan, I was astonished by the fact that all cafés played reggae, all bands played reggae, you could hear reggae everywhere, in taxis, at people’s houses, at dances, in the ghetto, EVERYWHERE!". Ivorian Reggae Artist Kajim said "Ivory Coast is one of the first countries in Africa known for its reggae...In other parts of the world, when the military take power, you hear other sorts of music on the radio. But here when the military took power they played reggae, because in our country reggae is known as the music of change, the music of combat! Here our music is a weapon, and it is not the same thing in other countries."


Alpha Blondy

In the early 1980s Ivorian Artist
Alpha Blondy Seydou Koné (; born January 1, 1953 in Dimbokro), better known by his stage name Alpha Blondy, is an Ivorian reggae singer and international recording artist. Many of his songs are politically and socially motivated, and are mainly sung in hi ...
emerged as a major African reggae recording artist with the album ''Jah Glory''. The top single from that album was the song "Brigadier Sabari", recounting an incident where the singer was nearly beaten to death by police in
Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city p ...
. It was the first time a West African artist had openly criticized police brutality in popular music. Alpha Blondy has continued to release popular albums through the 2020s that received widespread international popularity and he has been called "The Bob Marley of Africa".


Tiken Jah Fakoly

Born to a family of traditional African oral historians known as
griots A griot (; ; Manding: jali or jeli (in N'Ko: , ''djeli'' or ''djéli'' in French spelling); Serer: kevel or kewel / okawul; Wolof: gewel) is a West African historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet, and/or musician. The griot is a repos ...
, Tiken Jah Fakoly began recording reggae music in 1987 with the band "Djelys", another word for native griots and minstrels. Fakoly's lyrics are often political, like his song Françafrique, which blames France and America of being the origin of poverty and conflicts in most African Countries.


Reggae in South Africa

During the 1970s and 1980s, Jamaican and other reggae artists released songs with politically pointed lyrics about the political situation in South Africa like Peter Tosh'
"Apartheid"
Bunny Wailer Neville O'Riley Livingston (10 April 1947 – 2 March 2021), known professionally as Bunny Wailer, was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and percussionist. He was an original member of reggae group The Wailers along with Bob Marley and Peter Tosh. ...
'
"Botha The Mosquito"
Jimmy Cliff played at Orlando Stadium in Soweto in 1980, and many South Africans were inspired by Bob Marley's performance in Zimbabwe, and Peter Tosh's 1983 visit to Swaziland. Major South African artists included Carlos Djedje, Colbert Mukwevho,
Lucky Dube Lucky Philip Dube (pronounced ''duu-beh'';
luckydubemusic.com, Retrieved 19 October 2007
3 August 1964 – 18 October 20 ...
, Jambo, Thomani Tshikororo, and the band O'Yaba.


References

20th-century music genres Reggae genres
Reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
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