Reggae, a genre of music that combines aspects of soul and rock with a laid-back tempo and off-beat instrumentals, has been repopularized after gaining traction on platforms like Instagram Reels and TikTok.
Reggae is most known as the genre in which the legendary Bob Marley styled his music around. Marley is one of the most beloved artists to ever make reggae music, other artists such as Inner Circle, Conkarah and Sublime have spread its peaceful message and mellow vibes.
Reggae is a popular style of music that originated in Jamaica in the 1960s. The genre is a product of ska, another popular genre in Jamaica and since its inception, and has become the most popular genre in all of Jamaica. Oftentimes, reggae’s distinct funk and rhythm is identifiable by its distinctive off-beat rhythm and socially conscious lyrics by spreading messages of peace, love and social justice.
On Valentine’s Day of this year, “Bob Marley: One Love” was released in theaters to explain the culturally impactful life of Bob Marley. The film garnered an impressive 92% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes from consumers but faced disapproval from critics receiving a measly 44%.
Following the release of the movie, reggae expanded its reach by exploding onto social media platforms, most notably TikTok, every other video featured songs from the Marley family, as users continue to use songs from the discographies of Bob, Damien and YG Marley.
As of May 7, “Praise Jah in The Moonlight” by YG Marley is still thriving in the TikTok algorithm sitting at 23 on the music charts and being used in over 2.3 million videos.
Bob Marley and the Wailers are holding a spot in the Billboard Top 100 Hot Artists list and seem to have garnered a larger audience since reggae was re-popularized.
Sublime is another band that makes reggae-type music. While their music doesn’t follow the mold of traditional reggae music, it contains key elements of it. Sublime has also been blowing up similarly to most of the younger community on TikTok.
At this year’s Coachella, Sublime made an exciting return with Jakob Nowell, the son of the late Bradly Nowell, following in his father’s footsteps as the lead singer.
The band put on a show, resisting the calls for an encore after their scheduled set. As reported by the Rolling Stone, the band chose to embrace it and walk off the stage with their heads held high.
Sublime’s music has been used in about 10,000 different TikTok videos.
Following the undertaker-like revival of reggae the Reggie on the River event will be returning in the latter half of 2024 in Humboldt County California. The event has not been held since August of 2018 and a French reggae group called L’Entourloop will be making their debut in the United States.
The continuous representation of reggae artists in movies like “Bob Marley: One Love” has catapulted the genre into the minds of the younger generation. Artists like Bob Marley, Sublime and YG Marley will continue to make a global impact on the music industry through spreading their musical message of peace, unity and love.