Where this was said
Reggae Goes Global: London, Africa, New Zealand, and Hip-Hop
At 57:25 · chapter starts 55:30
Reggae's export journey is one of music's great diffusion stories. In Britain, the Windrush Generation — Caribbean migrants who arrived in the UK post-WWII — brought their music with them to London, which became the genre's de facto second city. [1] — Chuck "The Windrush Generation brought Caribbean music to London after World War II, and reggae's 2-and-4 rhythm lodged itself deep in British cul…" 55:20 The 2-and-4 rhythm lodged itself into the DNA of British acts across the spectrum: from ska-adjacent groups like The Specials, Madness, and UB40 to punk-adjacent artists like The Clash and even the Sex Pistols. Johnny Rotten was a reggae fan, and Public Image Limited — which he founded after the Pistols — has Lee Scratch Perry-style dub running through it. In Africa, South African and Ivory Coast artists took up Rastafari culture; in Uganda and Ghana, reggae artists like Bobi Wine became actual political leaders. In New Zealand, Bob Marley's 1979 Auckland concert lit a spark in Māori musicians who adopted and transformed the genre with their own vocal harmonies. The hip-hop connection runs through DJ Kool Herc, born in Kingston, who brought Jamaican toasting to the Bronx at age 12. [2] — Chuck "Reggaetón didn't come from nowhere. It emerged from underground Spanish-language reggae-rap scenes in Panama and Puerto Rico, drawing direc…" 59:44 And the reggaetón line from Kingston to Bad Bunny via Puerto Rico and Panama closes the circle on reggae's global reach.
Bob Marley's 1979 Auckland concert sparked a Māori reggae movement in New Zealand, with Māori musicians adopting the genre and infusing it with their own vocal harmonies and culture.
DJ Kool Herc, widely credited as a founding father of hip-hop, was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and brought Jamaican toasting traditions with him when he moved to the Bronx at age 12.
Reggaetón emerged from an underground Spanish-language reggae-rap scene in Puerto Rico and Panama, with a direct musical lineage traceable to Jamaican reggae, and now defines artists like Bad Bunny.
Reggaetón didn't come from nowhere. It emerged from underground Spanish-language reggae-rap scenes in Panama and Puerto Rico, drawing directly on Jamaican reggae's rhythms and attitude. The line from Kingston to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl performance is a straight one.
