Reggae

U-Roy obituary

Jamaican deejay who brought the lyrical art of ‘toasting’ to prominence

Peter Mason

23, Feb, 2021 @5:52 PM

‘Right now I’m into Libyan reggae’: the music label delving into the Arab world's back catalogue

Jannis Stürtz has trawled Casablanca and rooted around a factory in Sousse for music. The Habibi Funk founder talks about his passion for Tunisian disco, Sudanese jazz and Lebanese soft rock

Alexis Petridis

22, Feb, 2021 @7:00 AM

U-Roy: the singularly musical toaster was a vital part of reggae's bloodline

His inspired technique made toasting into an international phenomenon, yet he was endearingly modest to the end

Lloyd Bradley

19, Feb, 2021 @11:00 AM

U-Roy, legendary reggae toaster, dies aged 78

‘The originator’ of toasting on record helped revolutionise soundsystem culture in Jamaica – and inspire the birth of hip-hop

Laura Snapes

18, Feb, 2021 @2:36 PM

The Guardian view on two-tone nostalgia: the pride of Coventry | Editorial

Editorial: Britain’s city of culture for 2021 is rightly celebrating a musical movement that still carries a potent message

Editorial

11, Feb, 2021 @6:38 PM

Remembering a tragedy: culture inspired by the New Cross fire

Poetry, music and fiction produced by black artists in response to the deadly 1981 blaze in south-east London

Kadish Morris

17, Jan, 2021 @11:00 AM

Lovers Rock gives life to the joyful Black history of blues parties | Micha Frazer-Carroll

Steve McQueen’s film captures the underground spaces that my mum’s generation carved out for themselves in the 1970s, says the Independent columnist Micha Frazer-Carroll

Micha Frazer-Carroll

24, Nov, 2020 @7:00 AM

Could Steve McQueen start a lovers rock revival with Small Axe?

Streaming services expect rise in searches for the 70s pop-reggae genre, a staple of the blues parties that shaped UK music

Lanre Bakare Arts and culture correspondent

23, Nov, 2020 @7:00 AM

'Well put together': the style legacy of lovers rock

Lovers Rock, the latest film in Steve McQueen’s Small Axe series, focuses on the British reggae genre of the same name – and its clothes. From sharp suits to frilled frocks, dressing up to the nines was central

Lauren Cochrane

20, Nov, 2020 @12:12 PM

Bob Marley's 30 greatest songs – ranked!

As Tuff Gong releases a limited edition series of Marley albums, we pick the greatest work of reggae’s biggest star

Alexis Petridis

19, Nov, 2020 @12:00 PM

Steve McQueen: 'It's rebel music that moves me'

The director on the reggae-fuelled house parties he witnessed as a child - lovingly recreated in his new film, Lovers Rock – and how their raw energy shaped his taste in music

Sean O’Hagan

15, Nov, 2020 @8:00 AM

A thousand teardrops: how doo-wop kickstarted Jamaica's pop revolution

A pair of new compilations trace the roots of reggae’s sublime songcraft back to the influence of 1950s crooners, with their close harmonies and swooning romance