REGGAE REVIVAL

October 31, 2015 1:34 PM

After more than two decades of being dismissed as music for parents and tourists, roots reggae is relevant again in Jamaica. A group of young artists is repopularizing the genre in a new wave that has been named the Reggae Revival. (Revival is a controversial word here, I would learn, but more on that later.) There are enough of them to call it a movement, the best-known being the singers Protoje, a 33-year-old from St. Elizabeth, and Chronixx, 23, from St. Catherine. - Meet the Millennial Musicians Behind Jamaica’s New Movement
posted by beisny (7 comments total)

Oh nice, I have many new things to listen to. Thanks for the post.
posted by Drinky Die at 2:16 PM on October 31, 2015

A lot of the music the article discusses, like Protoje's Kingston Be Wise, is still within the dancehall tradition, but slower and with roots elements. Some of Damian Marley's newer music has a similar sound, though other songs like Welcome to Jamrock have a much heavier sound.

Chronixx sounds to me much more in the singer tradition, like Barrington Levy or some of the artists with a much softer style like Sugar Minott or Gregory Isaacs.

I really like the newer music with the reconnections that people are making to the classic reggae traditions.
posted by Dip Flash at 2:26 PM on October 31, 2015 [1 favorite]

Audio autoplays on that Vogue link.

I'm listening to Chronixx's Dread & Terrible right now. It's interesting -- I can't say I've ever really "got" reggae but I'm finding this more interesting and, I guess, fun than dub I've heard from the 80s-90s, which often seemed to me to be more interested in seeing how deep a stoned feel they can get, ultimately a kind of solipsistic pursuit. Instead, this has a variety of moods and styles, and it's got my head bobbing. I was planning to skip around to get a taste of it and it turns out I'm listening to the whole album.
posted by ardgedee at 2:27 PM on October 31, 2015 [1 favorite]

I never got into dub or dancehall like I did roots reggae (yes, I'm old and white so I fit right into the "parents and tourists" label) so this is much more to my liking. I hope it continues and isn't just a fad.
posted by tommasz at 2:48 PM on October 31, 2015

Love this. I may have introduced a few MeFi's to some of these artists during last years MeFi Music Swap with my mix Modern Roots: Foreign and Domestic.
posted by Arbac at 6:46 PM on October 31, 2015 [2 favorites]

After more than two decades of being dismissed as music for parents and tourists...

Yeah, hey, *parents*? How uncool can you get? It is SO much cooler to not be a parent. As a parent, I urge all of you out there to NOT become parents, cause you'll be just as uncool as tourists. And if you're a parent AND a tourist? Hey, just go shoot yourself.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 5:06 AM on November 1, 2015 [4 favorites]

And if you're a parent AND a tourist? Hey, just go shoot yourself.

It was unkindly phrased, but it is accurate. All the big festivals have been for decades primarily aimed at tourists from the US and Canada, Europe, and Japan; there is some radio time and local shows aimed basically (at the risk of continuing to sound unkind) at parents on date nights.

Any audience younger or more hip mostly meant dancehall (and imported music like rap), along with the singers for love songs. The slower, more blended sound featured in the article is definitely a new turn and is producing some really interesting music, though with what sounds to my ear like far less rap influence than a lot of recent dancehall.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:20 AM on November 1, 2015