The Best Heavy Reggae Music to Listen to Right Now
Not sure what heavy reggae music to listen to right now? Check out our top picks!
Best Heavy Reggae Music
When it comes to reggae music, there are few things heavier than a good bass line. And when it comes to heavy reggae, there are few bass lines heavier than the ones you’ll find in dub music.
Dub is a subgenre of reggae that was pioneered in the 1970s by producers like Lee “Scratch” Perry and King Tubby. It’s characterized by its heavy use of echo and delay effects, which gives the music a dense, ethereal quality.
If you’re looking for some heavy reggae vibes, here are 10 of the best dub tracks to check out:
1. “Enter the Dragon” by Lee “Scratch” Perry
2. “King Tubby Meets Rockers Uptown” by Augustus Pablo
3. “Fari Capture Dub” by Mad Professor
4. “I Am the Walrus (Dub Version)” by The Beatles
5. “Chase the Devil (Urban Dance Mix)” by Max Romeo
6. “Jah Live (Dub Version)” by Bob Marley & The Wailers
7. “No Protection (Mad Professor Mix)” by Massive Attack
8. “Rude Boy Gone a Jail (Dennis Bovell Remix)” by Bad Manners
9. “Police & Thieves (Dub Version)” by Junior Murvin
10. “Higher Rankin (Alpha & Omega Mix)” by Ranking Joe
Best Reggae Music to Listen to Right Now
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 the word “reggae,” effectively naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience. While sometimes used in a broad sense to refer to most types of popular Jamaican dance music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.
Reggae is based on a rhythmic style characterized by regular beats on the off-beat, known as the skank. Reggae is normally tempo-lined, with one drop per beat. The word reggae was first used in print with the 1968 rocksteady hit “Do the Reggay” by Toots and the Maytals. An earlier guitar-based form of musical style called ska developed in Jamaica around 1960. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. By 1967, ska had evolved into rocksteady, characterized by slower tempos and more soulful vocals. Rocksteady developed into reggae when singers began adding lyrics about Rastafarianism and social issues such as poverty; among these early artists were Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer, who would go on to achieve worldwide fame as members of The Wailers (later Bob Marley & The Wailers).
Current popular reggae artists include Damian Marley, son of Bob Marley; Matisyahu, an American singer-songwriter who embraces his Jewish heritage through his music; Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Capleton, Elephant Man, Mr. Vegas, Sean Paul, Shaggy, Vaughn Benjamin (of Midnite), Sizzla Kalonji,Buju Banton Ziggy Marley
