reggae
n. uncountablen. a style of popular music that started in Jamaica in the 1960s. It has a strong, steady rhythm and often features lyrics about social or political issues.
n. a genre of popular music originating in Jamaica during the late 1960s, characterized by a heavy four-beat rhythm with accents on the off-beat. Often associated with Rastafarianism and social commentary.
I love listening to reggae when I am at the beach.
The festival featured several reggae bands that kept the crowd dancing with their deep bass lines and rhythmic guitar chords.
While it evolved from earlier styles like ska and rocksteady, reggae achieved global prominence through its distinctive syncopated beat and the international success of artists like Bob Marley.
From Jamaican Creole rege (“rags; a quarrel”), see rag; originally used in the 1960s to describe a Jamaican dance. Compare ragtime. Broader musical sense popularized by the 1968 Maytals song “Do the Reggay”.
Uncountable when referring to the genre; can be countable when referring to specific types or sub-genres of the music.