Ska

This page is about the musical style. For Square Kilometre Array, see SKA.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ska is a form of Jamaican music which began in the late 1950s. Combining elements of traditional mento and calypso with an American jazz and rhythm and blues sound, it was a precursor in Jamaica to rocksteady and later reggae. It is the predominant form of music listened to by the Rudeboy, Mod, and Skinhead movements, amongst others, with artists such as Symarip, Laurel Aitken, The Charmers and The Pioneers aiming songs at these groups as far back as the 1960s.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Musical historians typically divide the history of ska into three waves. Ska's popularity has waxed and waned since its original inception, and has had revivals of note in England in the 1980s and another wave of popularity in the 1990s.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jamaica: Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, 240 kilometers in length and as much as 80 kilometers in width situated in the Caribbean Sea. It is 630 kilometers from the Central American mainland, 150 kilometers from Cuba on the north, and 180 kilometers from the island of Hispaniola, on whic...

Mento: Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced reggae music. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box - a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played. The rhumba box carries ...

Calypso: Calypso might refer to one of several things:...