Abstract
Reggae music is an engaged musical genre. It is very famous and at the same time not so well-known. Most of the people think of Reggae music as music of joy, peace and linked to Jamaica, the sunny island where everyone smokes herb freely. But in fact, we will see that Reggae inscribes itself in a whole social movement. First, it claims religious and social demands, and with the years, it became more and more politicized. We shall first examine the origins of Reggae music, where such a genre takes its roots and how it emerged and progressed to be so famous around the world. Then, we will study the main religious messages it gives, through the different singers who are mainly Rastafarians. But Reggae music is still very present nowadays, and through the cliches, we will see how this genre can still be engaged and what its demands are in the 21st century. Reggae music originated in Jamaica in the early 60's. In the streets and ghettos of Kingston, shortly after independence from Britain in 1962, reggae started to evolve from Mento, which was a local form of Jamaican music in the 30's to what it has become today.
