A genre of music stylized by the influences of American jazz and swing, born out of Jamaica. It underwent three waves, Trad(itional), Two-Tone, and 3rd wave. The guitar is always played on the off beats, or "upstrokes." The bass line is almost always a walking bass line unless the band is more punk influenced (however, ska is what helped bring about punk), and there is a horn line, usually with some swinging stuff. Ska gave birth to many different types of music, such as rocksteady, reggae, punk, rap and hip-hop (it's true).
by Roadie August 17, 2004
by Tee💚 June 4, 2019
Jamaican R&B artists developed their nation's first indigenous music genre when they began to incorporate jazz, African and Calypso rhythms into their songs in the late 1950s. The result was Ska, a fusion of the unique Jamaican mento rhythms with R&B. In Ska, the drum comes in on the 2nd and 4th beats, while the guitar emphasizes the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th beats. Ska bands usually consist of a strong rhythm section, guitars, keyboards and brass. The early Ska music of in the '60s and '70s spawned later revivals. The first was in the U.K. in the '80s, giving rise to bands like Madness and the Specials. The next, known as Third Wave Ska, struck the U.S. in the '90s.
Ska: Laurel Aitken, Don Drummond, Lord Tanamo, No Doubt, Mustard Plug, Hopalong Knut, Reel Big Fish, Skadaddyz, The Toasters, The Skatalites, Less Kro, The Busters, One Cool Guy, The Selecter, RX Bandits, The Planet Smashers, Desmond Dekker, The Specials, The English Beat, Madness, Operation Ivy, Big D And The Kids Table, Bim Skala Bim, Catch 22, Buck-O-Nine, Streetlight Manifesto, The Suicide Machines, Troy's Bucket, Bad Manners, The Forces Of Evil, Go Jimmy Go, Upstanding Youth, Skarface, The Pietasters, Mad Caddies, Save Ferris, Suburban Legends, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The O.C. Supertones, The Scofflaws, and Hepcat.
by ♫ Highway to Hell ♫ February 4, 2010
by JMill May 10, 2005
Probably the most creative of music genres, when done correctly. People who don't like are more than likely dorks and posers who listen to Sum41 and don't know how to play an instrument.
by MandyB January 14, 2005
A genre of music which originated in Jamaica, mid 1900's. Ska is the precursor to reggae music, which in America seems to be a more popular genre, and has never been widely accepted as a true style of music (meaning you won't find it as a tag on iTunes as of today, October 13th, '09). Many people are haters of ska music, and some of my close friends are big fans. I don't see what the big deal is about popularity and social standards. I like ska because it's full of hype and positive energy, and I love to dance to it. I get dirty looks from people when I play ska in the car or on my stereo, especially when they hear the horn section (tends to induce a WHAT-THE-FUCK-ARE-YOU-LISTENING-TO?!" response) And it's funny, if I take the time to play the band "Cake" before a ska song, people are suddenly reminded that having a horn section in a band isn't a reason to tell the DJ to go fuck himself/herself. Let's be honest. I'm a white middle class suburban kid. I'm not a "gangsta", and therefore, I'm not going to be superficial and listen to rap music because everyone else does and because it makes me feel like I'm the shit. If I like a rap song, I'll listen to it because I like the tone, the rhythm, the rhyme: The same reason why I like Ska. I'm going to be cheesy now: Ska has heart and soul. I love it because it makes me happy and makes me feel young. As I grow older, I won't stop listening to Ska, because it's not a dead genre, and it will never die. I'll shut up now. Skank On!
by DingoDog22 October 13, 2009