Whats happened to reggae?

[I-Lion Tafari]

Going to a record shop in the 70s and buying a reggae album was fun. You could be shure that there were all killer no filler tunes. Maybe 1 out of ten tunes was cheesy.
Today... maybe 3 killers out of 10, forget about the rest.

Today´s DJ´s do not toast like the old school DJs used to do in the 70s till mid-80s. They shout out loud (like barking dogs:-)) )without any idea of rhythms or melodies or quality of their words.
They really hurt my ears, I can´t stand it.

Sad to see the reggae world becoming more and more superficial.

[I-Lion Tafari]

...and they forget about love and run after the money and when money has gone they stand there like fools. Check out financial crisis on blood (wall) street...

[OrginialRockersStylee]

That's a thing I admit but also notice the good music the 90ties and the new century already has seen.

[ico4498]

A sign of the time.

yes.

rejoice with the great legacy of reggae classics. time goes on ... next generation of youths want a sound and theme that separates them from (the music of) their parents. its not the end of the world, the sky ain't falling, ah just time.

elder generations made a tradition of looking down their noses at their kid's music. wouldn't it be a pleasant change to simply acknowledge that the music isn't the only thing that changed? hopefully, the great reggae music we love & time, changed us as well.

for the record, badness, slackness or an evolving genre are not phenomena. violence, rudie nuh fear, explicit sex ,predate reggae.

Hans has it right, just time ...

[OrthodoxReuBen (silver)]

Iman personally feel that Reggae is in great shape right now. I'm surprised that noone speaks of the PRO-gressive Steppers Movement that survives in the UK, France, Holland, Germany, and yes, even in San Diego,CA (give thanx to BlackHeart Warriors HIFI for that)..Thats some real Roots right there.
Everyone seems to focus on the Jamaican Dj aspect of Reggae but, Im truly sorry to say this, Reggae from JA hasn't been PRO-gressive in a loooong time. Most music from JA is now just copying lame hip-hop music from the states (computer vocoder voice and all)..
Producers/Artists/EnJAHneers such as ABA SHANTI, MIXMAN, JAH SHAKA, KING SHILOH, RAS MUFFET, etc. keep that flame burning bright. Roots Reggae is all about righteous lyrics, drum and bass and that is why STEPPERS is leading the way.

[rootsmusic]

if you are looking for some modern roots these bands and singers are pretty good still keeping the vibes alive imo

Groundation
Midnite
Kush And The Blood Fiyah Angels
Stranger
Wet City Rockers
Bambu Station
Clinton Fearon and the boggie brown band


singer wise ill just throw these two names out

Dezaire and batch

[eeZee]

I agree with massiv who say dat true roots reggae & lover rock is slowly fading, i mean will we ever have artists like Bob Marley, Jacob Miller, Peter Tosh, Burning Spear, Dennis Brown or groups like The Heptones, Culture, Abyssinians i mean the list is endless...but we have to give it to the surviving artiste who belongs to that crowd like Beres Hammond who still find time to cook something.

Also to youngsters like Luciano, Lutan Fyah,I-Wayne, JahCure, Morgan Heritage crew, Marley Brothers,et al who are trying their best to keep roots & lovers music alive.

Respect

[Mr. Smart]

Well, I'd just like to step in here and say there is plenty of great roots music out there in my opinion (& let's be honest, this subject is purely subjective).

Here's a few of my recent faves.

The Plane Land - Ritchie Spice (Rub-A-Dub as mentioned above)
Hollow display - Taj Weekes & Adowa
Boxers & Stocking - Queen Ifrika
Holy Mount Zion - Alborosie
August Town - Duane Stephenson (modern classic!)
Jah Knows - Natural Black
People's Choice - Ray Darwin
The Answer - The Black Seeds
Nah Easy - Bobby Tenna
Rat Race - Busy Signal
Waste Too Much Time - Sebastian Sturm (check out his new album - truly great)
I won't Change - Chezidek
Love - Junior Banton & Scorcha

There you go, Check out those bad boys.

[Greg]

its all about whats goin on in your hood. its almost just like it was back in the day, its all local roots music keeping the real tadition alive. granted not every neighborhood has good reggae bands there but i guarantee if you look hard enough you will find something that fits your taste in reggae music. maybe its just where i live but it seems their is a million reggae bands here in san diego. some are good some are not but the point is that people are listening to the music and being influenced by it. thus creating a new scene new style, progress. as long as the foundation is tru to the roots you can add on anything you want to it with exception to a few styles in "music" that should not be added.
just an opinion

[rootspostman]

hi to all i'm from argentina and i think that in latin america and speccially in argentina people is really knowing the true reggae world and there are a lot of bands that are making traditional roots reggae with refreshes of technology and the new sounds,but always respecting the roots, and i think that they are making best roots than in ja. the diference is that never would have the jamaican mood (idon't know if its the right world,but you mean what i say)check riddim,nonpalidece,dread mar.i if you can