For a generation of suppressed, restless, working-class youths living in 1960 Jamaica, ska was a medium through which they could find expression.
Since its original appearance, ska has resurfaced twice, each time presenting itself in a different guise to a new generation of music aficionados.
Overcoming its humble beginnings, it has become one of the twentieth century’s most enduring and influential styles of music.
Since the early 1940’s, Jamaica had adopted and adapted many forms of American musical styles. The predominantly black inhabitants of Jamaica took a liking to rhythm and blues music, importing a considerable number of American records that were showcased at dance halls in the early 1960s.
Jamaican musicians took up the elements of rhythm and blues and combined it with traditional Jamaican mento music. The result was the first wave of ska. Musically, ska is a shuffle rhythm similar to mento but with even closer ties to rhythm and blues, placing the accent on the second and fourth beats, often moving in a 12-bar blues frame. The after beat, played on the piano or strummed by a rhythm guitar, came to be characteristic of the form. A horn section, usually consisting of trumpets, trombones, and saxophones, was a vital element. Classic bands, such as the Wailers wrote songs written about Trench Town (a ghetto), rude boys (street thugs), romance, and even religious themes. In 1965, ska began to take a backseat to a newly evolved type of music, called rock steady, which was more dependent than ska had been on rhythm provided by the bass guitar and drums.
Ska was later exported by traveling Jamaican artists to Great Britain, where it became known as "blue beat." By the mid 1970’s, early British punk bands were infusing reggae, a style of music that came from rock steady, into their music. Near the end of the decade, however, there was a resurgence of the influence of ska because of its upbeat, danceable rhythm. This faster paced ska came to be known as two tone. One of the essential messages of twotone ska was the promotion of racial harmony and of having fun in the face of subjugation.
The third wave of ska began in America around 1990. Bands influenced by the two-tone ska scene began to use punk and metal music to a greater extent. The combination, which is much faster than two tone, sounds very different from the original Jamaican brand of ska. In its three different waves, ska has given voice to seemingly voiceless, downtrodden generations. Each time it resurfaces, a new message is taken up; however, the old messages are never forgotten
Which of the following statements about ska music is supported by information in the passage?
A. Rock steady is more dependent than ska on the rhythm provided by the bass guitar and drums.
B. Reggae, which counts ska as one of its primary influences, developed only after it was exported by traveling Jamaican artists to Great Britain
C. Ska’s appeal over the last half century has been limited to voiceless, downtrodden generations.
D. Two-tone is a faster paced form of ska that developed in the late 1970s
E. Mento music places the accent on the second and fourth beats, often moving in a 12-bar blues-frame.
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