In the late 1960s, producers such as Lee Perry and King Tubby began stripping the vocals away from tracks recorded for sound system parties. With the bare beats playing, DJs began toasting, or delivering humorous and often obscene jabs at fellow DJs and local celebrities. Over time, toasting became a more and more a complex activity, and was a very big a draw around the dance circuits. But in the early 1970s, the DJs became more of an essential part of Jamaican music culture. One DJ in particular; DJ Kool Herc took the Dee-jaying practice of toasting to New York, where it quickly took up roots into the American environment and germinated into rap music as we know it today. The 1970s, saw Rock Steady evolved into reggae music. Reggae quickly became one of the most popular forms of music in the world, due to a large part to the immense international success of Bob Marley & the Wailers. Bob Marley himself was viewed by some as a messianic figure, particularly throughout the Caribbean, Africa, among the black Americans and the native Australian aborigines. His lyrics on love, redemption song and natural beauty captivated the audiences. Bob Marley gained headlines for negotiating truces between rival gangs later between two violently warring Jamaican political parties. Reggae music was intricately tied to the expansion of Rastafarian religion with its principles of pacifism and pan-Africanisms. |
