Music of Jamaica

thumb|Madness (band)|Madness performing in 2005

Junkanoo (also Jonkonnu, John Canoe) is a festival that originated during the period of African chattel slavery in British American colonies. It is practiced most notably today in the Bahamas, Jamaica and Belize, and historically in North Carolina and Miami, where there have been significant settlements of West Indian people during the post-emancipation era. In the present day, there are considerable variations in performance and spelling of the festival, but the shared elements of masquerade (or masking), drumming, dance, and parading continue.

fusion genre of reggae

overview of musical traditions in Jamaica

the act of talking or chanting, usually in a monotone melody, over a rhythm or beat by a reggae deejay

Singjaying is a Jamaican style of reggae vocals combining toasting and singing in an elastic format that encourages rhythmically compelling and texturally impressive vocal embellishments. The performer is called a singjay, a combination of singer and deejay.