Reggae's Influence On American Culture

In conclusion, reggae music is a powerful social force that represents the pressures of everyday life. Music in general is about bringing certain important issues to the forefront for people to think about. It is not an overstatement to say that almost the whole world has been culturally influenced by reggae music. The research that I have gathered did demonstrate how reggae’s emotional message has changed over last several decades. What I learned is that the names and styles of reggae have changed over the years but the traditions and intentions of the music has not. Reggae has always been a genre that has stood at the edge of political and social change. That said, the legacy of Bob Marley’s pan-African roots reggae poses serious challenges with contemporary reggae artist. Reggae artist from Bob’s era reflected this heritage in their music and became the voice of the legacies of colonialism. It became a powerful tool to help Jamaican’s define themselves socially, culturally, politically
“The major impact that reggae music has had on the USA concerns rap music. Numerous American rappers of Jamaican background became famous such as Notorious B.I.G, Busta Rhymes or Heavy D among others” (Dagnini 2010). Even two of Bob Marley's sons, Stephen and Damian surprised many with solo releases that had hip-hop and dancehall with their father’s traditional reggae sound. Today’s mainstream reggae is more of a crossover style using a mixture of Reggae and Hip-Hop, Rap, R&B instrumental music and Dancehall Reggae. Reggae is slowly being lost due to the next generation of musicians who are mixing it up with contemporary influences from around the globe. One of Bob’s grandchildren Mersa states; “I am one of the new generation of Marley's, but I am still experimenting at the same time….my plan is to do something new with my roots” (Serwer,