Jamaican Ska

Jamaican Ska is a genre of music that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s. It is a combination of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. It is characterized by a walking bass line accented with rhythms on the off-beat. The tempo is usually upbeat and the lyrics often deal with themes of social and political commentary. The instrumentation typically includes electric guitar, electric bass, drums, and horns. Ska has been influential in the development of other genres such as rocksteady, reggae, and 2 Tone.