who should hail as the king of reggae now?

[kalcidis]

What does that even mean? Reggae and rasta are two different things even though reggae has had a lot of influence from rasta.

(edit: siegi beat me to it)

[Congo Bunny]

Hmmm Jah is for Rastafarians, Reggae is for the people donnot see the direct connection.

If you can't see why Jah is the King of Reggae music then you need to start listening to disco : )

[flashman]

What's the point in there being a king of reggae? I don't know why anyone cares.

[kalcidis]

Congo Bunny; Or you could switch to grounation chants strictly and let us who love reggae for being reggae without any concern about it having to be rasta just enjoy it as it is. Brilliant music.

[Congo Bunny]

Congo Bunny; Or you could switch to grounation chants strictly and let us who love reggae for being reggae without any concern about it having to be rasta just enjoy it as it is. Brilliant music.

yes.... reggae without Rasta.... bit like Disco without flares... it's possible, but highly unlikely.

Without Rasta Bob would never have been the huge hit he was, without Bob Reggae would be a tiny blip on the music scene rather than the massive genre it now is. It is precisely because so many people wanted to be the next Bob, or find the next Bob or exploit the next Bob that we have the reams and reams of reggae to collect today, and it is because of Rasta that Bob didn't just stay one more Rude boy destined to be gunned down

Reggae and spirituality (Rasta) are intrinsically linked

[Siegi]

I didnt say reggae without Rasta but to name a God for a movement king of a music gerne is strange. Simply because god didnt make music.

I think I am on the same page of thinking right now and yeah it feels great.

[kalcidis]

As I said earlier. Reggae and rasta are two separate things even though reggae has a lot of influence by rasta. But if you listen to a lot of reggae there's not any rasta to be found in neither the music or the lyrics. A lot of dancehall, most lovers rock, a lot of early reggae and a lot of reggae in general. Also a lot of what is considered rasta reggae (since roots is considered to be this most often) is really sufferer's music. Ie. music talking about the sufferer rather than about rasta. Not even roots music is necessarily rasta. Thousands of songs to prove this.

But really. If it was like you said then think about a song like Jimmy Cliff - You Can Get It If You Really Want. It has nothing to do with rasta -- does this make it non-reggae? Or take Bad Brains and their rasta-infused hardcore. Would that make it reggae?

Reggae is a music genre. Rasta is a religion or way of life (or how people view it). They are often linked in various ways. Certainly not intrinsically because they both exist without the need of the other.

[Siegi]

That having said. Once too often I come across people who tend to link reggae and rasta as one on one connection. From the rasta point of view I can see that from the reggae point on which I am idonnot see that. Simply because Rasta adopted reggae which was a good thing for the music but reggae isnt stricktly rasta it is also christianity etc and reggae foremost is music and thus in its pure form a none religion thing.

I respect religion in general, I deeply love the music and it isnt important, to me, that the king of reggae was rasta black white or a mix race and so on. Just that the king of reggae made good music.

Good luck with people who say Jah Allah and God are kings of music types. Not my cup of tea.

[flashman]

As I said earlier. Reggae and rasta are two separate things even though reggae has a lot of influence by rasta. But if you listen to a lot of reggae there's not any rasta to be found in neither the music or the lyrics. A lot of dancehall, most lovers rock, a lot of early reggae and a lot of reggae in general. Also a lot of what is considered rasta reggae (since roots is considered to be this most often) is really sufferer's music. Ie. music talking about the sufferer rather than about rasta. Not even roots music is necessarily rasta. Thousands of songs to prove this.

But really. If it was like you said then think about a song like Jimmy Cliff - You Can Get It If You Really Want. It has nothing to do with rasta -- does this make it non-reggae? Or take Bad Brains and their rasta-infused hardcore. Would that make it reggae?

Reggae is a music genre. Rasta is a religion or way of life (or how people view it). They are often linked in various ways. Certainly not intrinsically because they both exist without the need of the other.

Agreed.

[Congo Bunny]

Lovers rock is barely reggae... and I wouldn't count bad brains or ub40 or maxi priest as reggae

There are also 1000's of reggae songs that do mention Rasta or Rasta themes

My point was that without the influence of Rasta then Reggae would have been a tiny blip on the music radar, in much the same was as say twist music is it is (perhaps a little bigger than twist music, although lets not forget there was a point in time when everyone was making albums of twist music) it is exactly because Rasta adopted Reggae that Reggae went on to be so popular and in that way they are intrinsically linked