Reggae playlists

Roots reggae is the song: voice, message, one-drop, the words that name the struggle and the praise. Dub is what happens when the mixing desk becomes the singer. Bass and drums stay, vocals ghost in and out, echo and space do the talking. Hear a roots tune first, then its dub version, and the family makes sense. Use the Roots and Dub filters and play one after the other.

Reggae in the roots sense is song and riddim as testimony. Dancehall grew out of the same Kingston sound-system night. From the late 1970s the deejay toasts over the riddim, digital from 1985, and the floor is the point. Same roots, different heat. The Dancehall filter is that current.

Cali reggae (California reggae, sometimes reggae rock) is west-coast bands taking the one-drop into rock, hip-hop and the festival stage. Sublime opened the door in the 1990s; Long Beach, San Diego and Orange County bands kept walking through. It is not Jamaica and does not pretend to be. The Cali Reggae filter is that lane.

A riddim is the backing track a whole season of songs can share. Bass, drums, the groove named and versioned. One riddim, many voicings. Real Rock from 1967 alone carries hundreds of songs. New Music and Fusion on this page are where you hear riddims still getting recut.