Reggae is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term may also refer to popular music of Jamaica as a whole and from the Jamaican diaspora. The music is deeply intertwined with Rastafari religion, which has heavily influenced its aesthetics.

Reggae emerged in Jamaica in the 1960s. At that time, Jamaica faced major political and social problems, such as a strong period of unemployment and economic depression, many of these problems were inherited from wars, rivalities and violence during the Jamaican Political Conflict, which continues in the country to this day. The 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the word reggae , effectively naming the genre and introducing it to a global audience.

From this social context, reggae emerged as a form of resistance to the problems existing on the island and around the world, through themes in its songs that aim to spread peace, union and end social and political rivalries and injustices. For this reason, reggae was quite important for the country and the world, as it was also essential in other countercultures and musical genres, such as Punk and Hip-Hop , which have directly related ideals and values, which made reggae important in the development of these genres. In relation to hip-hop, there are many artists with Jamaican ancestry such as Snoop Dogg and The Notorious B.I.G., who have already experimented with the genre in some of their work. In relation to punk, reggae became a closely related genre due to Jamaican immigrants who lived in England and interacted with the movement, which made punk rock bands merge their sound with the genre, among them, The Clash (more precisely in their album London Calling ), although punk had more relationships with the ska genre, also sharing the same ideals ​​and objectives as reggae and rocksteady, originating the ska-punk subgenre.

Reggae is also related to the Rude Boy and Skinhead subcultures.

The pioneers of the genre were artists such as Toots and the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff and The Wailers, the latter led by one of the greatest and influential artists in the history of the genre, Bob Marley.

Reggae is also deeply related to the Rastafarian religion, and many of its adherents believe devoutly in the God Jah.

Reggae has spread to several countries around the world such as the United Kingdom, United States, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Nigeria, among others.