Music family
Reggae & Caribbean Music Genres
Explore reggae and Caribbean traditions through rhythm, sound system culture, regional identity, and the global reach of island music.
9 genre guides
1900Calypso
A Trinidadian carnival-rooted song tradition built on wit, commentary, and a strong vocal center.
1967Reggae
A Jamaican genre that emerged in the late 1960s, reggae slows the pulse without losing momentum, turning the groove into something spacious, patient, and socially charged. Its early history is tied to the shift from ska and rocksteady, with 'Do the Reggay' and Bob Marley & The Wailers standing as two of the clearest reference points.
1970Roots Reggae
A grounded, spiritually minded reggae style that emerged in Jamaica in the early 1970s and helped define the genre’s most socially conscious side.
1970Soca
A Carnival-born Trinidad and Tobago genre with deep calypso roots, soca grew from Lord Shorty’s early-1970s experiments into a wide modern Caribbean dance form.
1974Lovers Rock
A British-born reggae style with a soft-focus heart: lovers rock emerged in London’s Caribbean communities and made room for love songs that felt intimate, modern, and unmistakably local.
19792 Tone
A concise, source-grounded description of 2-Tone as a British ska revival scene and genre, with documented Coventry origins and early representative recordings from The Specials and The Selecter.
1990Jungle / Drum’n’bass
Jungle and Drum’n’bass are characterized by fast breakbeats, typically between 160-180 BPM, with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, and often features complex sampled loops, synthesizers, and occasionally vocal elements.
View guidePunta Rock
A Garifuna dance genre that modernized older punta traditions with electric instruments and Caribbean-pop drive; well documented through Andy Palacio and related Belizean recordings.
Ska Jazz
A brassy, upbeat fusion style that grew from Jamaica’s ska foundation and kept expanding through later revival scenes.