THE JOURNEY · NINE ERAS, ONE SCROLL

From Kumina drums to the streaming era

Walk the history in order: scroll down to travel through time, and open any era to read it in full — its threads, its arguments, and the people, records and places the archive holds for it. Prefer a theme over a timeline? Try Collections.

01 · THE DEEP ROOTS

Before the record spun, the island already carried rhythm.

Before 1900–1930s

African memory, Maroon traditions, Kumina, Jonkonnu, work songs, church music, quadrille and Caribbean exchange form the deep bedrock.

Read the deep roots

Drummers and dancers at a Kumina ritual. — A Kumina ritualYowaltekatl · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source ↗

02 · MENTO & THE LOCAL RECORD

Jamaican stories become portable.

1930s–1950s

Mento turns everyday life, humour, double meaning, labour, migration and social commentary into songs that travel through hotels, yards, radio and records.

Read the mento years

A Jamaican rumba box: a large plywood box with five metal tongues fixed over a round soundhole, its front hand-painted with the words "CALYPSO", "LIMBO" and "DAYO DAYO" beside a limbo dancer and a calypso singer. Photographed in the International Slavery Museum, Liverpool, in November 2012. — Jamaican rumba box, International Slavery MuseumRept0n1x · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source ↗

03 · THE SOUND SYSTEM REVOLUTION

The dance becomes a technology platform.

1940s–1950s

Imported rhythm and blues, custom speaker boxes, selectors, deejays and guarded records transform neighbourhood dances into a new Jamaican media system.

Read the sound-system years

Loudspeaker boxes stacked into a column at street level — A street speaker stackJohn Martin PERRY · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source ↗

04 · SKA: INDEPENDENCE IN MOTION

The offbeat accelerates. A nation steps forward.

Late 1950s–1966

Local studio musicians, producers, singers and sound-system demand turn imported influences into ska.

Read the ska years

The horn section of The Skatalites playing on stage — The Skatalites horn sectionYerpo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source ↗

05 · ROCKSTEADY, REGGAE & DUB

The tempo drops and the world leans in.

1966–Late 1970s

Rocksteady foregrounds harmony and bass. Reggae broadens the message. Dub turns the studio into an instrument.

Read the reggae years

Black-and-white press portrait of Bob Marley in 1976. — Bob Marley, 1976 press photographDennis Morris; distributed by Island Records · Public domain · Source ↗

06 · DANCEHALL & THE DIGITAL TURN

The live dance retakes the centre.

Late 1970s–1989

Deejays, singers, selectors, producers, fashion and sound-system recordings make the dance itself the engine.

Read the dancehall years

King Jammy at the Amazura night club in New York in 2007. — King Jammy at Amazura, New York, 2007E. Yamaguchi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source ↗

07 · CLASH, STING & THE SPECTACLE

Reputation is tested in public.

1990s

Sound clash, artist rivalry, stage shows, dubplates and confrontations turn lyrical skill and crowd judgement into drama.

Read the clash years

Bass Odyssey selector Worm at the controls alongside DJ Lexxy — Bass Odyssey selectors Worm and DJ LexxyWalfordodyssey · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Source ↗

08 · STREET DANCES & NIGHT ECONOMY

A weekly dance can move a global culture.

2000s

Street dances, dancers, crews, fashion, videographers, selectors and vendors turn nightlife into a worldwide movement laboratory.

Read the street-dance years

A street dance in Kingston, Jamaica: the Passa Passa weekly session in the road. — Passa Passa street dance, Kingstonnickolette · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Source ↗

09 · STREAMING & THE LIVING ARCHIVE

Jamaican music is everywhere and still deeply local.

2010s–Today

Streaming, social video, diaspora networks and collaborations accelerate exchange while local scenes keep inventing.

Read the streaming years