Originating Location: Jamaica

Originating Era: early 1960s

Contents 1 Key Artists 2 Key Albums 3 Genre Description 4 Further Reading

Key ArtistsEdit

• The Skatalites
• Desmond Dekker
• Prince Buster
• The Specials
• Madness
• Skankin' Pickle
• The Mighty Mighty Bosstones
• Reel Big Fish
• Five Iron Frenzy
• Streetlight Manifesto

Key AlbumsEdit

• Madness - One Step Beyond
• Desmond Dekker - 007 (Shanty Town)
• Reel Big Fish - Turn Off The Radio

Genre DescriptionEdit

Even though ska is often thought of as "speed-reggae", ska actually came first and begat reggae. There have been three main waves of ska; first wave, which was the original, and featured folks like Prince Buster and Desmond Dekker, second wave, which was more centralized in the UK, and featured a bit of a poppier sound, though influenced by the punk scene which was going on at the time, with acts like Madness, and the third wave, based out of California and Hawaii, which was much more influenced by 90s punk and pop-punk. There are often waves of popularity of ska music, and each time it combines the older genre with elements of music popular at the time in varying degrees.

Artists in this Genre

Labels in this Genre

Further ReadingEdit

• Wikipedia Page