reggae

American  

[reg-ey] / ˈrɛg eɪ /

noun

1. a style of Jamaican popular music blending blues, calypso, and rock-'n'-roll, characterized by a strong syncopated rhythm and lyrics of social protest.

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reggae British  

/ ˈrɛɡeɪ /

noun

1. a type of West Indian popular music having four beats to the bar, the upbeat being strongly accented

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reggae Cultural  

1. A form of pop music that originated in Jamaica, combining elements of calypso and rhythm and blues (see blues) with a strongly accentuated offbeat. Bob Marley was the first internationally known reggae musician.

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Etymology

Origin of reggae

< Jamaican English, respelling of reggay (introduced in the song “Do the Reggay” (1968) by Frederick “Toots” Hibbert), a dance name based on rege, *strege a dowdy or raggedy fellow; compare rege-rege ragged clothing, quarrel, row

Example Sentences

Lowell “Sly” Dunbar, the Jamaican drummer whose work in the rhythm section of Sly and Robbie built the backbone of modern reggae, has died.

From Los Angeles Times

At home, they earned a reputation for updating the sound of reggae by incorporating more electronic instruments and textures.

From BBC

Their innovative fusion of rock guitars with reggae rhythms spawned chart-topping hits like Message in a Bottle, Walking on the Moon and Every Little Thing She Does is Magic.

From BBC

His music, which features elements of reggae, Afrobeats and traditional Ugandan rhythms, gained a large following, and established him as a champion for social and political change.

From BBC

The definitive bands working in the style took the loud and rude antagonism of punk and integrated forms outside of rock, incorporating the bass-forward presentation of reggae and the abstraction of art-rock.

From The Wall Street Journal