Where reggae comes from
Reggae developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s from ska and rocksteady. Bob Marley and the Wailers carried it worldwide, while producers such as King Tubby and Lee "Scratch" Perry created dub by remixing tracks with echo and reverb.
What makes a track sound like reggae
- Off-beat chords
- One-drop rhythm
- Bass as the lead voice
- Dub delays and spring reverb
Typical structure
Verse and chorus with dub-style breakdowns where instruments drop out and echoes take over.
Vocals in reggae
Reggae vocals are relaxed and melodic, sitting on the off-beat, often with harmony backing singers. Ask for "laid-back reggae lead with harmony backing vocals" and keep lines open and singable.
Prompting tips
Ask for "roots reggae" for classic warmth, "dub" for echo-heavy and sparse, or "dancehall" for digital and faster.
A kick on every beat makes it sound like pop. Ask for a "one-drop beat".
Prompts to start from
Roots reggae at 72 BPM, one-drop drums, off-beat skank guitar, deep melodic bass, organ bubble and horns
Dub track with heavy echo on the snare, spring reverb, sub bass and sparse melodica
Sunny reggae instrumental for a beach travel vlog, upbeat skank, light percussion and a whistled melody