Rocksteady: This style is a pit stop located exactly half way on the drive from Ska to Reggae. It is not fast enough to be Ska and not slow enough to be Reggae. This tempo bridge superceded ska in 1966 and kept it’s popularity until 1968, the year that saw the birth of the even slower paced reggae, a form that continues to enthrall listeners around the globe.
from Gospelreggae.com
Reggae: First used to describe a Jamaican musical style in 1968 by Toots Hibbert, the term “reggae,” (which is said to derive from the Latin word “regis”), literally means “to the King.” Reggae eventually became a household name via Bob Marley and his Wailers, Jimmy Cliff and the global vision of legendary producer Chris Blackwell (of Island Records fame).
Reggae is undeniably the grandson of Ska and son of Rocksteady. Though you can trace its inception to the Christian churches of Jamaica in the early 70’s, it soon became a word synonymous with “Rastafari,” a once small Jamaican sect that has since been spread across the world through the musical vibrations of this big, big music from the little rock. Though its often minor-key sounds were sluggish in comparison with its musical predecessors (ska and rocksteady), this genre became hugely popular, overshadowing all that came before it–thanks initially to the legacy of Mr. Marley and his great number of offspring.
In Jamaica, the earliest gospel reggae releases were recorded by Lester Lewis and Change. Christafari and Amarachi pioneered things stateside in the early 90’s with Christafari giving us “Reggae Worship Volume 1,” the first gospel reggae release distributed worldwide. Gospel Reggae is now growing stronger than ever with hundreds of new artists playing the genre throughout the world, and all of this while giving praise to the true King of all Kings, Jesus Christ.
(Quoted from Gospelreggae.com)
“Roots” refers to origins. In the phrase “Hebrew Roots” the term relates to the foundations of the Christian faith which is the faith of the Hebrews.
“Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.”
(-Romans 11:18).
“And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.”
(- Isaiah 11:10).
From this angle, “Hebrew Roots” is synonymous with “Messianic Roots.”
-Teddy
Definition from a Jamaicain perspective:
Roots: The truest form of reggae music. As its name dictates, roots is the true foundation–the cornerstone of a host of musical branches. These are the traditional vintage Jamaican sounds that have almost become extinct with the invention of the computer chip. Very few bands today still play these foundational sounds as they were initially created. General market reggae artists like Culture, Burning Spear, John Brown’s Body, Midnight and Cultura Profetica still carry on this classic sound, while gospel artists such as Christafari, Solomon Jabby, The Israelites, and Leon De Judah are still holding up the torch of roots music for future generations. (Quoted from Gospelreggae.com)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sZ_hOIYMkg&hl=en&fs=1]
Teddy of Yerubilee (Messianic Roots Reggae from Jerusalem) on tour in Nigeria, describing what it’s like to take a bath in places where the water does not consistently run thru the pipes.
This video is a “how-to” blog for those who have always had running water who may someday travel to a part of the world which may not. If you are already accustomed to bathing with buckets then this video will not help you. But if you are a newbie, this info will quickly give you the method you need to know to get yourself clean.
Get Yerubilee’s music at GospelReggae.com, Yerubilee.com, and Amazon.