mento

American  

[men-toh] / ˈmɛn toʊ /

noun

1. Music. a genre of Jamaican acoustic folk music prominent from the 1930s to 1950s, having African origins with European and Trinidadian influences and featuring songs with light-hearted or witty lyrics.

---

Example Sentences

Although this song was from “Calypso,” the 1955 Belafonte album that was a blockbuster in its day, its lilting beat is a Jamaican mento, distilled down to skeletal guitar and bass.

From New York Times • Apr. 26, 2023

Ska was born as Jamaican dance music, first played in the 1950s, that combined the Caribbean sounds of mento and calypso with the imported R&B that was popular in Black America at the time.

From Washington Post • Jun. 17, 2021

The market also offers mento music, the mostly acoustic precursor to reggae that was practically invented in Port Antonio.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2013

Back at Geejam, the Jolly Boys, local legends "discovered" by the Flynns more than half a century ago—perform regular mento sets when not touring Europe and Asia.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 12, 2013

M. viridis, subtus albescens, uropygio caud�que c�ruleis; vertice, strig� oculari, fasci�que lat� collari nigris; mento, superciliisque albis; rectricibus mediis elongatis.

From Zoological Illustrations, Volume II or Original Figures and Descriptions of New, Rare, or Interesting Animals by Swainson, William