By Jonathan Anthony Burkett

Reggae did not appear out of nowhere. Before the world knew it, Jamaican music went through a fast and exciting evolution, moving from the bright energy of ska to the cool sway of rocksteady and finally to the deep, steady pulse of reggae. Understanding those steps helps you hear reggae with fresh ears, and it shows how a small island built one of the most influential music traditions on earth.

Before ska: mento, radio and sound systems

Jamaica already had a folk-pop tradition called mento, played on acoustic instruments like banjo, guitar, hand drums and the rumba box, a large thumb piano that served as a bass. Mento songs were often witty and down to earth, and they are sometimes confused with Trinidadian calypso.

By the 1950s, Jamaicans were also hearing American rhythm and blues, both from records and from radio stations whose signals reached the island from the southern United States. Sound system operators raced to get the hottest R&B records for their dances. When the supply of those records began to dry up, Jamaican producers started recording local musicians to fill the gap, and something new began to grow.

Ska: the sound of a new nation

Ska emerged around the turn of the 1960s. It took the shuffle of R&B and flipped the emphasis, with guitar and piano hitting hard on the offbeat, the "and" between the main beats. Horns blared, tempos were quick and the music was made for dancing.

Ska's rise lined up with Jamaica's independence from Britain in 1962, and it became the soundtrack of a hopeful moment. Producers like Clement "Coxsone" Dodd of Studio One and Duke Reid of Treasure Isle ran rival studios and sound systems. Prince Buster was a key figure as both artist and producer. The Skatalites, a band packed with brilliant jazz-trained players, defined the instrumental side of the sound. And in 1964, Millie Small's "My Boy Lollipop" became an international hit that introduced many listeners abroad to Jamaican music.

Rocksteady: slowing it down

Around the middle of the 1960s, the tempo dropped. Rocksteady was slower, smoother and more focused on singing. The bass guitar became more melodic and prominent, and vocal harmony groups flourished.

Rocksteady only lasted a few years as the dominant style, but it left a deep mark. Singers such as Alton Ellis and groups like The Paragons made romantic, soulful records that are still loved today. Many rhythms first recorded in this era would be reused and reworked for decades, a habit that became central to Jamaican music.

Reggae arrives

Toward the end of the 1960s, the music shifted again. Reggae kept the offbeat guitar "skank" but built a heavier, more hypnotic groove, with the bass and drums locked together. The "one drop" drum pattern, which leaves the first beat of the bar empty and lands the weight on the third, became one of its signature feels.

Toots and the Maytals' 1968 single "Do the Reggay" is often credited as one of the first songs to use the name. The new sound quickly took on more serious themes. Many artists drew on the Rastafari faith and sang about spirituality, justice, history and life in Jamaica's poorer communities.

Here is a quick way to tell the three styles apart:

• Ska: fast, horn-driven, upbeat, made for energetic dancing.
• Rocksteady: slower and smoother, with sweet vocal harmonies and a stronger bass line.
• Reggae: heavier and more hypnotic, bass-led, often with spiritual or social messages.

Reggae goes global

In the 1970s, reggae reached audiences around the world. The 1972 film The Harder They Come, starring Jimmy Cliff, and its soundtrack introduced many people to the music. Bob Marley and the Wailers became international stars, carrying reggae's message of unity and resistance to every continent.

Jamaican music kept evolving. Producers created dub by remixing tracks in the studio, and by the end of the decade dancehall was taking shape. Each new style built on everything before it, and you can still hear ska, rocksteady and early reggae inside today's Jamaican music.

What stands out in this story is how quickly a small island kept reinventing its sound, often with limited resources and enormous creativity. Musicians listened to the world, took what they loved and turned it into something unmistakably Jamaican.

That tradition lives on in artists everywhere who blend Jamaican sounds with other styles. Jonathan Anthony Burkett, who was raised in Jamaica by his grandparents, records inspirational hip hop and soul, and his signature song One Life features reggae artist Ambelique.

Start your own listening journey

Try listening in order: a few ska classics, then rocksteady, then early reggae. You will hear the tempo slow, the bass grow and the mood deepen, almost like watching the music grow up in real time. Then explore how artists today carry those roots forward, starting with Jonathan's songs on Spotify.

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