Culture Glossary of Jamaican Music

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Showing 103 terms across 6 categories

Sound system culture Acetate An acetate is a soft-lacquer disc cut directly from a mastering lathe, playable only a limited number of times before wear — historically the first physical proof of a new mix before pressing vinyl or cutting a sturdier dubplate.
Production Band Track A band track is the live-musician rhythm recording — drums, bass, and chords — laid down before vocals, serving as the shared backbone for multiple voicings, versions, and dub mixes from one session.
Genres & eras Bashment Bashment is colloquial for high-energy dancehall party music and the events themselves — often associated with harder digital riddims, provocative lyrics, and dances that dominate urban Jamaican nightlife.
Venues & institutions Black Ark The Black Ark was Lee "Scratch" Perry's backyard studio on Washington Boulevard — a 1970s laboratory of dub, roots, and experimental effects where tape delay, voice, and ritual atmosphere merged into unmistakable productions.
Dance & street culture Bogle The Bogle is a foundational dancehall step created by dancer Bogle (Mr. Wacky) — involving rhythmic shoulder and arm movements synced to bass lines — that became one of the most imitated moves of the 1990s yard era.
Dance & street culture Bruk Out Bruk out means to dance with abandon — often in a crouched, energetic style emphasising hip and leg movement — when a riddim hits peak intensity and dancers release full physical expression on the floor.
Production Build A build is the arrangement arc within a riddim or dub mix — adding layers, drops, and breakdowns so tension rises before the bass and drums return at full power, especially in dub and live sound-system playback.
Dance & street culture Butterfly The Butterfly is a dancehall step involving leg crosses and hip rotation — widely taught in the 1990s and 2000s — that appears in queen contests, session circles, and international dancehall workshop curricula.
Sound system culture Champion Sound Champion sound is the title claimed by a sound system that wins a major clash or dominates a season — often reinforced by dubplates, crowd chants, and promotional posters declaring "champion sound" status.
Venues & institutions Channel One Channel One on Maxfield Avenue was the Hookim brothers' studio and label — home to the Revolutionaries band and countless roots and rockers hits that defined 1970s Kingston production alongside Channel One's distinctive drum sound.
Genres & eras Conscious Dancehall Conscious dancehall highlights social, spiritual, or uplift lyrics within dancehall rhythms — from early deejays commenting on poverty to 1990s Rastafarian-themed chat and later revival-influenced artists balancing message and party energy.
Venues & institutions Coxsone Dodd Clement "Sir Coxsone" Dodd was a sound-system operator turned producer who founded Studio One, shaping ska, rocksteady, and early reggae through thousands of releases and the house band that became the Skatalites.
Dance & street culture Daggering Daggering is a controversial dancehall style involving explicit simulated sexual movement between partners — widely debated in Jamaican media in the late 2000s and subject to broadcasting restrictions and public-health discussions.
Genres & eras Dancehall Dancehall names both a music style and the culture of sound-system dances where deejays, selectors, and dancers compete for attention — evolving from rub-a-dub yards through digital riddims to today's global pop crossovers.
Dance & street culture Dancehall Queen A dancehall queen is a woman celebrated for exceptional dancing in session culture — often competing in contests of style, flexibility, and crowd command — with national finals becoming major media events in Jamaica.
Sound system culture Dancehall Session A dancehall session is a party built around a sound system — indoors or on a lawn — where selectors play, deejays may perform live, dancers showcase steps, and the crowd shapes the night through rewinds and energy.
Production Deejay In Jamaica, a deejay is a vocalist who performs spoken or chanted lyrics over riddims — distinct from the selector who plays records. Deejays became headline artists from the 1970s onward as dancehall grew.
Genres & eras Digital Dancehall Digital dancehall is the era from the mid-1980s when programmed riddims replaced many live bands — Sleng Teng being the watershed — enabling rapid voicing turnover and a harder, more electronic yard sound.
Production Digital Riddim A digital riddim is a rhythm track built with drum machines, keyboards, and sequencers rather than a full live band — dominant from the mid-1980s after landmark productions like Sleng Teng reshaped dancehall economics.
Genres & eras Dub Dub is a studio-derived genre where engineers remix existing tracks — stripping vocals, emphasising bass and drums, and adding delay and reverb — pioneered by King Tubby, Lee Perry, and others in 1970s Kingston.
Sound system culture Dub Box A dub box is a custom-built preamp and effects unit — often associated with King Tubby's setup — used to manipulate bass, echo, and EQ live while playing records, blurring performance and mixing in real time.
Sound system culture Dub Fi Dub Dub fi dub describes a clash format where sounds trade instrumental dub versions rather than (or in addition to) vocal cuts — testing who has the deeper catalogue of mixes, specials, and exclusive versions.
Genres & eras Dub Poetry Dub poetry is spoken-word performance over reggae or dub rhythms — associated with Linton Kwesi Johnson, Mutabaruka, and Oku Onuora — merging Caribbean oral tradition with studio-backed political commentary.
Sound system culture Dubplate A dubplate is a custom-cut acetate or vinyl disc carrying an exclusive version of a track — often a voicing commissioned for one sound system — used as ammunition in clashes and as a badge of status on the circuit.
Venues & institutions Duke Reid Arthur "Duke" Reid was a former policeman and Treasure Isle founder whose sound-system fame translated into rocksteady hits — known for gun-toting stage persona, brass-heavy mixes, and Bond Street studio dominance in the mid-1960s.
Venues & institutions Dynamic Sounds Dynamic Sounds on Brentford Road was Byron Lee's studio and record shop — a major 1960s–1970s facility competing near Studio One — hosting sessions for reggae, ska exports, and international acts recording in Kingston.
Genres & eras Early Reggae Early reggae marks the transition from rocksteady to the fully developed reggae beat circa 1968–1972 — organ stabs, tighter drums, and growing Rastafarian themes before roots reggae's 1970s peak.
Venues & institutions Federal Records Federal Records — founded by Ken Khouri — operated Jamaica's first pressing plant and recording studio from the 1950s, cutting early mento, ska, and rocksteady sides before the facility was later acquired by Tuff Gong.
Sound system culture Foundation Sound A foundation sound is a long-established sound system with deep roots in a community or era — respected for history, catalogue knowledge, and often for carrying older rub-a-dub and roots selections alongside current hits.
Dance & street culture Gun Salute Dance Gun salute dances are choreographed moves mimicking firearm gestures — often synced to hard dancehall riddims — that sparked public concern in Jamaica about violence in popular culture and influence on youth behaviour.
Venues & institutions Harry J Harry J Studio on Roosevelt Avenue — founded by Harry Johnson — hosted landmark sessions including Bob Marley & the Wailers' Catch a Fire and numerous rocksteady and roots sides with top Kingston musicians.
Sound system culture Horn In sound-system hardware, a horn is a flare-loaded driver that projects mid and high frequencies over distance — paired with bass bins so outdoor dances carry intelligible vocals and brass across a crowd.
Production Instrumental An instrumental is a track without lead vocals — the raw version, dub, or melodica-and-horn arrangement released for sound systems, singers seeking voicing opportunities, and collectors of rhythm tracks.
Festival & event culture Jamaica Carnival Jamaica Carnival is the island's soca- and dancehall-inflected masquerade season around Easter — with road marches, sound trucks, and fetes that blend Caribbean carnival traditions with local sound-system and bashment culture.
Venues & institutions Jammy's Yard Jammy's yard on St. Lucia Road was King Jammy's home studio and community hub — ground zero for the digital riddim revolution where Sleng Teng and hundreds of follow-up productions were voiced and tested.
Sound system culture Juggling Juggling describes rapid, seamless mixing of current hits and crowd favourites at peak dancehall energy — often on digital riddims — with the selector cutting between voicings on the same instrumental without losing momentum.
Venues & institutions King Tubby's Studio King Tubby's studio at 18 Dromilly Avenue in Waterhouse was the birthplace of modern dub — where Osborne Ruddock remixed multitracks, cut dubplates, and trained engineers like Scientist in bass-heavy innovation.
Venues & institutions Lee Scratch Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry was a producer, vocalist, and studio visionary behind the Upsetter label and Black Ark — pioneering dub techniques, experimental overdubs, and mythic persona that influenced punk, electronic music, and reggae revivalists.
Dance & street culture Log On Log On is a dancehall step involving a rowing or steering motion — popularised by Elephant Man — that dancers perform in unison when the associated riddim drops in sessions across Jamaica and the diaspora.
Genres & eras Lovers Rock Lovers rock is smooth, romantic reggae — often with rocksteady-influenced harmonies — that developed among British Caribbean communities in the 1970s while remaining connected to Jamaican rhythm tracks and vocal styles.
Genres & eras Mento Mento is Jamaica's folk-popular acoustic tradition — banjo, rumba box, and witty lyrics — that predates ska on record and often appeared on hotel entertainment circuits, sometimes marketed abroad as "calypso."
Sound system culture Mic Man The mic man is the host or hype man on a sound — introducing selectors, taunting rivals, rallying the crowd, and sometimes toasting between tunes to keep energy high during clashes and sessions.
Production Mix Down Mix down is the final blend of multitrack recordings into a stereo (or mono) master — in Jamaica often where dub engineers reshaped balances, added delay, and decided how much bass the dance would receive.
Sound system culture Mobile Sound System A mobile sound system is a transportable rig — vans, trucks, and hand-built boxes — assembled to bring music to lawns, street corners, and country dances across Jamaica, defining how music reached audiences outside formal venues.
Sound system culture Mute To mute a rival sound in clash culture means decisively outperforming them — so thoroughly that the opponent's set feels silenced. The term is metaphorical bravado, not a technical mute button.
Festival & event culture National Dancehall Queen National Dancehall Queen is Jamaica's flagship dance competition — historically tied to major festivals — where women compete in style, choreography, and crowd command for the national crown and industry visibility.
Production One Drop One drop is a reggae drum pattern emphasising the third beat of the bar with kick and rim shot while leaving the first beat open — creating the loping feel associated with roots reggae and many classic Studio One sides.
Production Overdub Overdubbing is adding new parts — vocals, horns, percussion, or effects — onto an existing tape, a standard studio practice in Kingston from rocksteady onward and central to dub's remix process.
Dance & street culture Passa Passa Passa Passa was a weekly street dance in Kingston — filmed and broadcast widely in the 2000s — where dancers, fashion, and current riddims converged, accelerating how session culture reached television and the internet.
Venues & institutions Penthouse Penthouse Records and studio — founded by Donovan Germain — became a 1980s–1990s hit factory for lovers rock, conscious reggae, and dancehall voicings with polished production that dominated radio and export markets.
Production Plate Plate is studio slang for a lacquer or metal master disc in the cutting chain — and by extension the dubplate itself — linking mastering engineers, pressing plants, and sound systems in one fragile pipeline.
Sound system culture Preamp A preamp boosts and shapes the signal from turntables, CDJs, or mixers before it reaches power amplifiers, letting engineers tune bass, balance horns, and squeeze maximum clean volume from a stack.
Sound system culture Pull Up Pull up means stopping and restarting a tune from the top — or from a key drop — at the selector's or crowd's request, closely related to rewind but sometimes emphasising a specific instrumental moment or deejay entry.
Genres & eras Ragga Ragga — short for raggamuffin — describes faster, often sample-heavy dancehall of the late 1980s and 1990s where deejays delivered rapid-fire lyrics on hard digital riddims that crossed over to hip-hop and pop charts abroad.
Venues & institutions Randy's Randy's Record Mart and studio on North Parade — run by Vincent and Patricia Chin — was a downtown Kingston hub for rocksteady and reggae sessions and the commercial roots of what became VP Records.
Festival & event culture Rebel Salute Rebel Salute is Tony Rebel's annual roots-focused festival — historically overnight at St. Ann — emphasising conscious lyrics, no-alcohol policy, and Rastafarian-aligned line-ups distinct from mainstream dancehall carnival energy.
Production Recut A recut is a new cutting or pressing of a rhythm or vocal — sometimes with altered mix, updated voicing, or refreshed dub — issued when a tune's demand outstrips the first run of vinyl or acetate.
Genres & eras Reggae Reggae is Jamaica's best-known export — a family of rhythms and vocal styles from the late 1960s onward marked by emphasis on the third beat, bass weight, and often Rastafarian or social themes, recognised by UNESCO in 2018.
Genres & eras Reggae Fusion Reggae fusion describes reggae and dancehall blended with hip-hop, R&B, pop, EDM, or Afrobeats — a commercial and creative strategy that accelerated from the 1990s as Jamaican artists pursued international markets.
Genres & eras Reggae Revival Reggae revival names a 2010s movement of younger Jamaican artists returning to live-band roots reggae, rocksteady feels, and conscious lyrics — associated with Protoje, Chronixx, and Kabaka Pyramid among others.
Festival & event culture Reggae Sumfest Reggae Sumfest in Montego Bay is Jamaica's largest commercial reggae and dancehall festival — multi-night concerts showcasing international headliners, younger yard stars, and media events that shape summer touring schedules.
Sound system culture Rewind A rewind is the crowd-demanded instant replay of a just-played track — the selector pulls the record back or restarts the digital file so dancers can hear a favourite drop again, often signalling a tune has "touched" the session.
Production Rhythm Section The rhythm section is the core studio band — drums, bass, guitar, keyboards, and percussion — laying the foundational track before singers, deejays, and dub engineers add voicings and mixes.
Production Rhythm Track A rhythm track is the underlying beat and chord pattern — live or programmed — onto which vocals are added; in Jamaica the term is often interchangeable with riddim in studio talk, though riddim carries wider cultural meaning.
Production Riddim Versioning Riddim versioning is the practice of releasing many songs on the same instrumental backbone — each voicing a distinct lyric and melody — so audiences compare performances while producers maximise return on one rhythm.
Production Rockers Rockers names a drum feel with steady kick on every beat or strong downbeats — harder and more rock-influenced than one drop — associated with Sly and Robbie and the Channel One revolutionaries era.
Genres & eras Rockers Era The rockers era names the late-1970s period when harder, rock-influenced drumming and prominent syndrum sounds dominated roots and early dancehall — especially through Sly and Robbie and Channel One sessions.
Genres & eras Rocksteady Rocksteady slowed ska's tempo around 1966, foregrounding bass lines and soulful vocal harmonies in a brief but influential window before reggae's fuller one-drop emerged — often recorded at Treasure Isle and Studio One.
Genres & eras Roots Reggae Roots reggae centres Rastafarian spirituality, African identity, and social protest in the 1970s one-drop style — heavy bass, spiritual lyrics, and studio bands at Channel One, Joe Gibbs, and other Kingston facilities.
Sound system culture Rub-a-Dub Rub-a-dub names a mid-tempo, bass-heavy dancehall style and session vibe associated with late-1970s and early-1980s yards, where deejays toasted over stripped-down band tracks and sound systems played extended mixes.
Sound system culture Selector The selector is the sound-system operator who chooses and sequences records during a dance or clash, reading the crowd and shaping the night's energy through track selection, transitions, and timing.
Dance & street culture Signal the Plane Signal the Plane is a dancehall move with arm gestures mimicking airport ground crew directing aircraft — tied to popular songs and session chants — that crowds perform collectively when selectors replay the associated riddim.
Production Singjay A singjay blends singing and deejay-style delivery in one performance — switching between melodic hooks and spoken bars on the same riddim, a hallmark of late-1980s and 1990s dancehall and conscious reggae.
Sound system culture Siren A siren is an effect — live air horn, sample, or synth — blasted over a drop to heighten excitement during clashes and peak session moments, signalling dominance or hyping a rewind-worthy tune.
Genres & eras Ska Ska is Jamaica's upbeat post-independence popular music of the late 1950s and 1960s, driven by offbeat guitar chops, walking bass, and horn sections — the recorded sound of downtown Kingston's new studios and sound systems.
Dance & street culture Skanking Skanking is a rhythmic dance associated with ska and reggae — bouncing steps and arm movements matching the offbeat — performed in dance floors, stage shows, and punk-ska scenes influenced by Jamaican records abroad.
Genres & eras Slackness Slackness names sexually explicit or provocative dancehall lyrics and performance styles — debated in Jamaican media, politics, and church communities since the digital era amplified raw yard talk on radio and television.
Sound system culture Sound Battle A sound battle is informal rivalry between systems — through dubplates, selection, and crowd size — that may or may not culminate in a formal clash, sustaining competitive energy across a season of dances.
Sound system culture Sound Boy Sound boy names the crew member who maintains amplifiers, wiring, and turntables or decks — troubleshooting hum, blown tweeters, and power issues so the selector can focus on performance when volume and reliability matter most.
Sound system culture Sound Clash A sound clash is a staged competition between two or more sound systems, judged on selection, dubplates, crowd response, and often verbal sparring between selectors and mic men before a paying audience.
Sound system culture Sound System A sound system is a collective built around powerful custom amplification, selectors, and crew — originating in 1950s Jamaica — that plays recorded music for public dances and evolved into a global template for DJ culture.
Sound system culture Sound Tape Sound tape refers to circulated recordings of sound-system sets — cousins to yard tapes — traded among fans to capture selector sets, rare dubplates, and live deejay appearances from a particular era or venue.
Sound system culture Speaker Stack A speaker stack is a tower of enclosures — woofers, mid-range drivers, tweeters, and horns — wired together and tuned so a sound system can project bass and clarity across an outdoor dance or clash arena.
Sound system culture Special A special is an exclusive recording commissioned for one sound system — usually naming or praising that sound in the lyrics — cut to dubplate and withheld from general release so rivals cannot play the same ammunition.
Production Steppers Steppers denotes a four-on-the-floor or marching kick-drum feel in reggae and dub — steadier and more driving than one drop — often used for militant roots material and heavier late-1970s productions.
Festival & event culture Sting Sting is an annual boxing-day stage show in Jamaica — produced by Isaiah Laing — featuring dancehall and reggae artist line-ups, sound-system elements, and high-profile clashes that draw massive local and diaspora audiences.
Dance & street culture Street Dance Street dance in Jamaica means outdoor and informal dances — lane, corner, and lot parties — where sound systems set up without stadium infrastructure, breeding fashions, rivalries, and steps that later appear on festival main stages.
Venues & institutions Studio One Studio One at 13 Brentford Road in Kingston was Clement "Coxsone" Dodd's label and studio — foundational to ska, rocksteady, and early reggae with the Skatalites, Wailers, and Burning Spear among its thousands of releases.
Dance & street culture Thunderclap Thunderclap names a sharp, percussive dancehall step and associated tune era where dancers emphasise sudden stops and hits in the music — matching bass drops with clap-like body accents on the dancefloor.
Production Toasting Toasting is rhythmic spoken commentary over an instrumental — the precursor to modern deejaying — where the performer praises the crowd, comments on the tune, or boasts over a version in live and recorded settings.
Venues & institutions Treasure Isle Treasure Isle at 17 Bond Street was Duke Reid's studio and label — the rocksteady powerhouse behind the Paragons, Alton Ellis, and instrumental sides that collectors still associate with the genre's golden two-year peak.
Venues & institutions Tuff Gong Tuff Gong is Bob Marley's label and later recording complex in Kingston — named from his nickname — carrying the Wailers catalogue and hosting sessions for family and affiliated artists across reggae generations.
Sound system culture Tweeter A tweeter is a high-frequency driver in a sound-system enclosure, reproducing percussion detail, vocal clarity, and the sizzle that lets a mix cut through open air when bass is overwhelming the mid-range.
Genres & eras Two Tone Two Tone was a British late-1970s movement blending Jamaican ska and rocksteady with punk energy and multiracial line-ups — named after 2 Tone Records — bringing ska revival hits to UK and European audiences.
Production Version A version is the instrumental or B-side arrangement of a vocal track — often with emphasis on drums and bass — cut from the same session and released so sound systems and singers can reuse the rhythm.
Production Versioning Versioning broadly describes Jamaica's remix economy — instrumental B-sides, dub mixes, and subsequent voicings built from the same core track — extending a rhythm's commercial and cultural life across years.
Production Voicing A voicing is a singer or deejay's recorded performance on an existing rhythm track — the vocal cut that turns a band track or digital riddim into a finished song for release or sound-system play.
Production Voicing Session A voicing session is a studio booking where singers and deejays record vocals over an existing rhythm track — often several artists in one day — producing the stack of voicings that labels release over following weeks.
Venues & institutions Volcano Volcano sound system and associated label — led by Jah Screw and linked to producer Henry "Junjo" Lawes — was a powerhouse of 1980s rub-a-dub and dancehall, voicing Yellowman, Eek-A-Mouse, and countless yard anthems.
Dance & street culture Willie Bounce The Willie Bounce is a dancehall step popularised in the 2000s — associated with Elephant Man's hit — featuring bouncing knee movements and arm swings that crowds replicate in sessions and on television dance shows.
Festival & event culture World Clash World Clash is a premier international sound-system clash franchise — originating in New York — pitting top sounds from Jamaica, the UK, and elsewhere before massive audiences with strict dubplate rules and global bragging rights.
Dance & street culture World Dance World dance refers to export and adaptation of Jamaican street dances — via music videos, tours, and social media — as international fans learn steps like Bogle, Log On, and Signal the Plane outside the island.
Sound system culture Yard Tape A yard tape is an informal recording of a live session or clash — historically cassette, now digital — circulated among fans to preserve exclusive dubplates, freestyles, and crowd reactions unavailable on official releases.

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Culture Glossary of Jamaican Music

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