Ska now and then: The origins and development of Jamaican ska music

Host Freddie Campbell travels the world to discover new bands that play ska music. Ska is style of music that developed in Jamaica in the 1950s as a precursor to Reggae. It has an easily recognisable style, characterised by bars made up of four triplets, with a definitive guitar chop on the offbeat. This is called an upstroke or skank.The music of Jamaica includes Jamaican folk music and many popular genres, such as mento, ska, rocksteady, reggae, dub music, dancehall, ska jazz, reggae fusion and related styles. Jamaica's music culture is a fusion of elements from neighboring Caribbean islands such as Trinidad and Tobago (calypso and soca).