Frederick "Toots" Hibbert, who pioneered and helped globalize the reggae genre via his iconic, GRAMMY-winning band Toots And The Maytals, died Friday (Sept. 11) evening. He was 77. 

While no cause of death has been revealed, Hibbert was hospitalized in an intensive care unit in his native Jamaica in August after showing symptoms of the coronavirus. While he was awaiting results from a coronavirus test, he was placed in a medically induced coma in early September. "Toots is fighting for his life and his family is asking for prayers," Claude Mills, Hibbert's publicist, told Jamaican daily newspaper The Gleaner.

Toots And The Maytals confirmed the news of Hibbert's passing in a post shared on the band's official social media accounts Friday night, writing, "It is with the heaviest of hearts to announce that Frederick Nathaniel 'Toots' Hibbert passed away peacefully tonight, surrounded by his family at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.

"The family and his management team would like to thank the medical teams and professionals for their care and diligence, and ask that you respect their privacy during their time of grief," the post continues.

Born Frederick Nathaniel Hibbert in 1942 in May Pen, Jamaica, he is considered "one of the fathers of reggae music" and is the first known artist to use the word "reggae" on a record, The New York Times writes, as heard on his band's, then known as The Maytals, 1968 song, "Do The Reggay."

Recognized as one of the greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone, Hibbert is known for his powerful, soulful vocal style, which gained him comparisons to soul greats like Otis Redding and Ray Charles. Hibbert is also known for infusing elements of soul music, gospel, R&B, rock 'n' roll and Jamaican mento into Toots And The Maytals' reggae, rocksteady and ska sounds, Rolling Stone writes. 

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Hibbert formed his band, originally known simply as The Maytals, in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1962 alongside Henry "Raleigh" Gordon and Nathaniel "Jerry" Matthias; the group changed its name to Toots And The Maytals in 1972. 

After becoming a big draw within Jamaica's then-nascent ska scene, the group released its debut album, The Sensational Maytals, in 1965. One year later, they won the first-ever Jamaican Independence Festival Popular Song Competition with their song "Bam Bam," which inspired Sister Nancy's 1982 dancehall classic of the same name; the group would go on to win the national song competition in 1969 and 1972, according to Rolling Stone.

In 1967, Hibbert served a nine-month prison term after he was arrested for possession of marijuana; he alleges he was set up by corrupt authorities or music rivals, according to Pitchfork and Rolling Stone. Inspired by the experience, Hibbert wrote the song "54-46 Was My Number," which became one of his group's biggest songs and their first major hit outside Jamaica, Rolling Stone reports. 

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The group crossed over into international markets with their third album Funky Kingston, which released in Jamaica and the U.K. in 1972; an alternate version of the album, released in the U.S. in 1975, charted stateside on the Billboard 200 and was voted as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone.

Toots And The Maytals would go on to receive five total GRAMMY nominations in the reggae field, including a GRAMMY win for Best Reggae Album in 2005 for their 2004 album, True Love. Hibbert, who also recorded and performed as a solo artist, received four GRAMMY nominations, including one win for True Love.

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On Aug. 28, just three days before Hibbert was first hospitalized, Toots And The Maytals released Got To Be Tough, his first studio album in a decade and the first LP he produced himself; it now marks the final Toots And The Maytals album. 

Last month, GRAMMY Museum Founding Executive Director Bob Santelli interviewed Hibbert about Got To Be Tough as part of the organization's Programs At Home series.

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Hibbert is survived by his wife of 39 years, Miss D, and his seven of eight children, according to the Toots And The Maytals Twitter account. 

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On April 30, 2004, producer Clement Seymour "Sir Coxsone" Dodd — an architect in the construction of Jamaica’s recording industry — was honored at a festive street renaming ceremony on Brentford Road in Kingston, Jamaica. The bustling, commercial thoroughfare at the geographical center of Kingston was rechristened Studio One Blvd. in recognition of Coxsone’s recording studio and record label.

Dodd is said to have acquired a former nightclub at 13 Brentford Road in 1962; his father, a construction worker, helped him transform the building  into the landmark studio. In 1963 Dodd installed a one-track board and began recording and issuing records on the Studio One label. 

Dodd’s Studio One was Jamaica’s first Black-owned recording facility and is regarded as Jamaica’s Motown because of its consistent output of hit records. Studio One releases helped launch the careers of numerous ska, rocksteady and reggae legends including Bob Andy,  Dennis Brown, Burning Spear, Alton Ellis, the Gladiators, the Skatalites, Toots and the Maytals, Marcia Griffiths, Sugar Minott, Delroy Wilson and most notably, the Wailers.

At the street renaming ceremony, a jazz band played, speeches were given in tribute to Dodd’s immeasurable contributions to Jamaican music and many heartfelt memories from the studio’s heyday were shared. In the culmination of the late afternoon program, Dodd, his wife Norma, and Kingston’s then mayor Desmond McKenzie unveiled the first sign bearing the name Studio One Blvd. Four days later, on April 4, 2002, Coxsone Dodd suffered a fatal heart attack at Studio One. His productions, however, live on as benchmarks within the island’s voluminous and influential music canon.

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Born Clement Seymour Dodd on Jan. 26, 1932, he was given the nickname Sir Coxsone after the star British cricketer whose batting skills Clement was said to match. As a teenager, Dodd developed a fondness for jazz and bebop that he heard beamed into Jamaica from stations in Miami and Nashville and the big band dances he attended in Kingston. Dodd launched Sir Coxsone’s Downbeat sound system around 1952 with the impressive collection of R&B and jazz discs he amassed while living in the U.S., working as a seasonal farm laborer.

Many sound system proprietors traveled to the U.S. to purchase R&B records — the preferred music among their dance patrons and key to a sound system’s following and trumping an opponent in a sound clash. With the birth of rock and roll in the mid-1950s, suitable R&B records became scarce. Jamaica’s ever-resourceful sound men ventured into Kingston studios to produce R&B shuffle recordings for sound system play. 

Recognizing there was a wider market for this music, Dodd pressed up a few hundred copies of two sound system favorites for general release, the instrumental "Shuffling Jug" by bassist Cluett Johnson and his Blues Blasters and singer/pianist Theophilus Beckford’s "Easy Snapping," both issued on Dodd’s first label, Worldisc. (Some historians recognize "Easy Snapping" as a bridge between R&B shuffle and the island’s Indigenous ska beat; others cite it as the first ska record.) When those discs sold out within a few days, other soundmen followed Dodd’s lead and Jamaica’s commercial recording industry began to flourish.

"Before then, the only stuff released commercially were mento records that were recorded here, but our sound really hit so we kept on recording. When I heard 'Easy Snapping,' I said 'Oh my gosh!'" Coxsone recalled in a 2002 interview for Air Jamaica's Skywritings at Kiingston’s Studio One. "I thank God for that moment." 

Dodd was the first producer to enlist a house band, pay them a weekly salary rather than per record. Together, they had an impressive run of hits in the ska era in the early ‘60s; during the rocksteady period later in the decade, Dodd ceded top ranking status to long standing sound system rival (but close family friend) turned producer Duke Reid. (Still, Studio One released the most enduring instrumentals or rhythm tracks, also known as riddims, of the period.)  As rocksteady morphed into reggae circa 1968, Dodd triumphed again with consistent releases of exceptional quality. 

In 1979 armed robbers targeted the Brentford Rd premises several times. Dodd left Jamaica and established Coxsone’s Music City record store/recording studio in Brooklyn, dividing his time between New York and Kingston. Reissues of Dodd’s music via Cambridge, MA based Heartbeat Records, beginning in the mid 1980s, followed by London’s Soul Jazz label in the 2000s, and most recently Yep Roc Records in Hillsborough, NC, have helped introduce Studio One’s masterful work to new generations of fans. 

"The best time I’ve ever had was when I acquired my studio at 13 Brentford Rd. because you can do as many takes until we figured that was it," Coxsone reflected in the 2002 interview. "God gave me a gift of having the musicians inside the studio to put the songs together. In the studio, I always thought about the fans, making the music more pleasing for listening or dancing. What really helped me was having the sound system, you play a record, and you weren’t guessing what you were doing, you saw what you were doing." 

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Coxsone Dodd’s passing, read on for a list of 10 of his greatest productions.

The Maytals - "Six and Seven Books of Moses" (1963)

In 1961 at the dawn of Jamaica’s ska era, Toots Hibbert met singers Nathaniel "Jerry" Matthias and Henry "Raleigh" Gordon and they formed the Maytals. The trio released several hits for Dodd including the rousing, "Six and Seven Books of Moses," a gospel-drenched ska track that’s essentially a shout out of a few Old Testament chapters. 

Moses is credited with writing five chapters, as the lyrics state, "Genesis and Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers Deuteronomy," but "the Six and Seven books" are in question. Many Biblical scholars say Moses wasn’t the scribe, believing those chapters, including phony spells and incantations to keep evil spirits away, were penned in the 18th or 19th century. 

Nevertheless, there’s a real magic formula in The Maytals’ "Six and Seven Books of Moses": Toots’ electrifying preacher at the pulpit delivery melds with elements of vintage soul, gritty R&B, and classic country; Jerry and Raleigh provide exuberant backing vocals and seminal ska outfit and Studio One’s first house band, the Skatalities deliver an irresistible, jaunty ska rhythm with a sophisticated jazz underpinning. 

The Wailers - "Simmer Down" (1964)

A flashback scene in the biopic Bob Marley: One Love depicts the Wailers (then a teenaged outfit called the Juveniles) approaching Dodd for a recording opportunity; Dodd inexplicably points a gun at them as they recoil in terror. Yet, there isn’t any mention of such an inappropriate and unprovoked action from the producer in the various books, documentaries, interviews and other accounts of the Wailers’ audition for Dodd. 

The Wailers’ first recording session with Dodd in July 1964, however, yielded the group’s first hit single "Simmer Down." At that time, the Wailers lineup consisted of founding members Bob Marley, Bunny Livingston (later Wailer) and Peter Tosh alongside singers Junior Braithwaite and (the sole surviving member) Beverley Kelso. When Junior left for the U.S., Dodd appointed Marley as the group’s lead singer.

The energetic "Simmer Down" cautions the impetuous rude boys to refrain from their hooligan exploits. The Skatalites’ spirited horn led intro, thumping jazz infused bass and fluttering sax solo, enhances Marley’s youthful lead and the backing vocalists’ effervescence. The Wailers would spend two years at Studio One and record over 100 songs there, including the first recording of "One Love" in 1965; by early 1966, they would have five songs produced by Dodd in the Jamaica Top 10. 

Alton Ellis -"I’m Still In Love" (1967)

Jamaica’s brief rocksteady lasted about two years between 1966-1968, but was an exceptionally rich and influential musical era. The rocksteady tempo maintained the accentuated offbeat of its ska predecessor, but its slower pace allowed vocal and musical arrangements, affixed in heavier, more melodic basslines.

Alton Ellis is considered the godfather of rocksteady because he had numerous hits during the era and released "Rock Steady," the first single to utilize the term for producer Duke Reid. Ellis initially worked with Dodd in the late 1950s then returned to him in 1967. The evergreen "I’m Still in Love" was penned by Alton as a plea to his wife as their marriage dissolved: "You don’t know how to love me, or even how to kiss me/I don’t know why."  Supporting Alton’s elegant, soulful rendering of heartbreak, Studio One house band the Soul Vendors, led by keyboardist Jackie Mittoo, provide an engaging horn-drenched rhythm, epitomizing what was so special about this short-lived time in Jamaican music.

"I’m Still In Love" has been covered by various artists including Sean Paul and Sasha, whose rendition reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2004. Beyoncé utilized Jamaican singer Marcia’s Aitken’s 1978 version of the tune in a TV ad announcing her 2018 On The Run II tour with Jay-Z. In February 2024, Jennifer Lopez sampled "I’m Still in Love" for her single "Can’t Get Enough."

Bob Andy - "I’ve Got to Go Back Home" (1967)

 The late Keith Anderson, known professionally as Bob Andy, arrived at Studio One in 1967. He quickly became a hit-making vocalist, and an invaluable writer for other artists on the label. He penned several hits for Marcia Griffiths including "Feel Like Jumping," "Melody Life" and "Always Together," the latter their first of many hit recordings as a duo. 

A founding member of the vocal trio the Paragons, "I’ve Got to go Back Home" was Andy’s first solo hit and it features sublime backing vocals by the Wailers (Bunny, Peter and Constantine "Vision" Walker; Bob Marley was living in the USA at the time.) Set to a sprightly rock steady beat featuring Bobby Ellis (trumpet), Roland Alphonso (saxophone) and Carlton Samuels’ (saxophone) harmonizing horns, Andy’s lyrics poignantly depict the challenges endured by Jamaica’s poor ("I can’t get no clothes to wear, can’t get no food to eat, I can’t get a job to get bread") while expressing a longing to return to Africa, a central theme within 1970s Rasta roots reggae. 

The depth of Andy’s lyrics expanded the considerations of Jamaican songwriters and one of his primary influences was Bob Dylan. "When I heard Bob Dylan, it occurred to me for the first time that you don’t have to write songs about heart and soul," Andy told Billboard in 2018. "Bob Dylan’s music introduced me to the world of social commentary and that set me on my way as a writer."  

Dawn Penn - "You Don’t Love Me" (1967)

Dawn Penn’s plaintive, almost trancelike vocals and the lilting rock steady arrangement by the Soul Vendors transformed Willie Cobbs’ early R&B hit "You Don’t Love Me," based on Bo Diddley’s 1955 gritty blues lament "She’s Fine, She’s Mine," into a Jamaican classic. The song’s shimmering guitar intro gives way to the forceful drum and bass with Mittoo’s keyboards providing an understated yet essential flourish.

In 1992 Jamaica’s Steely and Clevie remade the song, featuring Penn,  for their album Steely and Clevie Play Studio One Vintage. The dynamic musician/production duo brought their mastery (and 1990s technological innovations) to several Studio One classics with the original singers. Heartbeat released "You Don’t Love Me" as a single and it reached No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Several artists have reworked Penn’s rendition or sampled the Soul Vendors’ arrangement including rapper Eve on a collaboration with Stephen and Damian Marley. Rihanna recruited Vybz Kartel for an interpretation included on her 2005 debut album Music of the Sun, while Beyoncé performed the song on her I Am world tour in 2014 and recorded it in 2019 for her Homecoming: The Live Album. In 2013, Los Angeles-based Latin soul group the Boogaloo Assassins brought a salsa flavor to Penn's tune, creating a sought-after DJ single. 

The Heptones - "Equal Rights" (1968)

"Every man has an equal right to live and be free/no matter what color, class or race he may be," sings an impassioned Leroy Sibbles on "Equal Rights," the Heptones’ stirring plea for justice.

Harmony vocalist Earl Morgan formed the group with singer Barry Llewellyn in the early '60s and Sibbles joined them a few years later. The swinging bass line, played by Sibbles, anchors a stunning rock steady rhythm track awash in cascading horns, and blistering percussion patterns akin to the akete or buru drums heard at Rastafari Nyabinghi sessions.

Besides leading the Heptones’ numerous hit singles during their five-year stint at Studio One, Sibbles was a talent scout, backing vocalist, resident bassist and the primary arranger, alongside Jackie Mittoo. Sibbles’ progressive basslines are featured on numerous Studio One nuggets (many appearing on this list) and have been sampled or remade countless times over the decades on Jamaican and international hits.

In a December 2023 interview Sibbles echoed a complaint expressed by many who worked at Studio One: Dodd didn’t fairly compensate his artists and the (uncredited) musicians produced the songs while Dodd tended to business matters. "When we started out, we didn’t know about the business, and what happened, happened. But as you learn as you go along," he said. "I have registered what I could; I am living comfortably so I am grateful." 

 The Cables - "Baby Why" (1968)

Formed in 1962 by lead singer Keble Drummond and backing vocalists Vincent Stoddart and Elbert Stewart, the Cables — while not as well-known as the Wailers, the Maytals or the Heptones — recorded a few evergreen hits at Studio One, including the enchanting "Baby Why." 

Keble’s aching vocals lead this breakup tale as he warns the woman who left that she’ll soon regret it. The simple story line is delivered via a gorgeous melody that’s further embellished by Vincent and Elbert’s superb harmonizing, repeatedly cooing to hypnotic effect "why, why oh, why?" 

Coxsone is said to have kept the song for exclusive sound system play for several months; when he finally released it commercially, "Baby Why" stayed at No. 1 for four weeks. 

"Baby Why" is notable for another reason: although the Maytals’ "Do The Reggay" marks the initial use of the word reggae in a song, "Baby Why" is among a handful of songs cited as the first recorded with a reggae rhythm (reggae basslines are fuller and reggae’s tempo is a bit slower than its rocksteady forerunner.) Other contenders for that historic designation include Lee "Scratch Perry’s "People Funny Boy," the Beltones’ "No More Heartache," and Larry Marshall and Alvin Leslie’s delightful "Nanny Goat." 

Burning Spear - "Door Peeper" (1969)

Hailing from the parish of St. Ann, Jamaica, Burning Spear was referred to Studio One by another St. Ann native, Bob Marley. Spear’s first single for Studio One "Door Peeper" (also known as "Door Peep Shall Not Enter") recorded in 1969, sounded unlike any music released by Dodd and was critical in shaping the Rastafarian roots reggae movement of the next decade.

The song’s biblically laced lyrics caution informers who attempt to interfere with Rastafarians, considered societal outcasts at the time in Jamaica, while Spear’s intonation to "chant down Babylon" creates a haunting mystical effect, supported by Rupert Willington’s evocative, deep vocal pitch, a throbbing bass, mesmeric percussion and magnificent horn blasts. 

As Spear told GRAMMY.com in September 2023, "When Mr. Dodd first heard 'Door Peep' he was astonished; for a man who’d been in the music business for so long, he never heard anything like that." Dodd’s openness to recording Rasta music, and allowing ganja smoking on the premises (but not in the studio) when his competitors didn’t put him in the forefront at the threshold of the roots reggae era.

"Door Peeper" was included on Burning Spear’s debut album, Studio One Presents Burning Spear, released in 1973 and remains a popular selection in the legendary artist’s live sets.

Joseph Hill - "Behold The Land" (1972)

In the October 1946 address Behold The Land by W. E. B. DuBois at the closing session of the Southern Youth Legislature in Columbia, South Carolina, the then 78-year-old celebrated author and activist urges Black youth to fight for racial equality and the civil rights denied them in Southern states. The late Joseph Hill’s 1972 song of the same name, possibly influenced by Dubois’ words, is a powerful reggae missive exploring the atrocities of the transatlantic slave trade from which descended the discriminations DuBois described.

Hill was just 23 when he wrote/recorded "Behold The Land," his debut single as a vocalist. Hill’s haunting timbre summons the harrowing experience with the wisdom and emotional rendering of an ancestor: "For we were brought here in captivity, bound in links and chains and we worked as slaves and they lashed us hard." Hill then gives praise and asks for repatriation to the African motherland, "let us behold the land where we belong."

The Soul Defenders — a self contained entity but also a Studio One house band with whom Hill made his initial recordings as a percussionist — provide a persistent, bass heavy rhythm that suitably frames Hill’s lyrical gravitas, as do the melancholy hi-pitched harmonies.

In 1976 Hill formed the reggae trio Culture and the next year they catapulted to international fame with their apocalyptic single "Two Sevens Clash," which prompted Dodd to finally release "Behold The Land." Culture would re-record "Behold The Land" over the years including for their 1978 album Africa Stand Alone and the song received a digital remastering in 2001.

Sugar Minott - "Oh Mr. DC" (1978)

In the mid-1970s singer Lincoln "Sugar" Minott began writing lyrics to classic 1960s Studio One riddims, an approach that launched his hitmaking solo career and further popularized the practice of riddim recycling — which is still a standard approach in dancehall production. Sugar, formerly with the vocal trio The African Brothers,  penned one of his earliest solo hits "Oh, Mr. DC" to the lively beat of the Tennors’ 1967 single "Pressure and Slide" (itself a riddim originally heard, at a faster pace, underpinning Prince Buster’s 1966 "Shaking Up Orange St.")

"Oh, Mr. DC" is an authentic tale of a ganja dealer returning from the country with his bag of collie (marijuana); the DC (district constable/policeman) says he’s going to arrest him and threatens to shoot if he attempts to run away. Sugar explains to the officer that selling herb is how he supports his family: "The children crying for hunger/ I man a suffer, so you’ve got to see/it’s just collie that feed me." To underscore his urgent plea, Sugar wails in an unforgettable melody, "Oh, oh DC, don’t take my collie." 

The irresistibly bubbling bassline of the riddim nearly obscures the song’s poignant depiction of Jamaica’s harsh economic realities and the potential risk of imprisonment, or worse, that the island’s ganja sellers faced at the time. Sugar’s revival of a Studio One riddim and reutilization of 10 Studio One riddims for each track of his 1977 album Live Loving brought renewed interest to the treasures that could be extracted from Mr. Dodd’s vaults.

Special thanks to Coxsone Dodd’s niece Maxine Stowe, former A&R at Sony/Columbia and Island Records, who started her career at Coxsone’s Music City, Brooklyn.

How 'The Harder They Come' Brought Reggae To The World: A Song By Song Soundtrack Breakdown

Updated Friday Oct. 13, 2023 to include info about Kendrick Lamar's most recent GRAMMY wins, as of the 2023 GRAMMYs.

A GRAMMY veteran these days, Kendrick Lamar has won 17 GRAMMYs and has received 47 GRAMMY nominations overall. A sizable chunk of his trophies came from the 58th annual GRAMMY Awards in 2016, when he walked away with five — including his first-ever win in the Best Rap Album category.

This installment of GRAMMY Rewind turns back the clock to 2016, revisiting Lamar's acceptance speech upon winning Best Rap Album for To Pimp A Butterfly. Though Lamar was alone on stage, he made it clear that he wouldn't be at the top of his game without the help of a broad support system. 

"First off, all glory to God, that's for sure," he said, kicking off a speech that went on to thank his parents, who he described as his "those who gave me the responsibility of knowing, of accepting the good with the bad."

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He also extended his love and gratitude to his fiancée, Whitney Alford, and shouted out his Top Dawg Entertainment labelmates. Lamar specifically praised Top Dawg's CEO, Anthony Tiffith, for finding and developing raw talent that might not otherwise get the chance to pursue their musical dreams.

"We'd never forget that: Taking these kids out of the projects, out of Compton, and putting them right here on this stage, to be the best that they can be," Lamar — a Compton native himself — continued, leading into an impassioned conclusion spotlighting some of the cornerstone rap albums that came before To Pimp a Butterfly.

"Hip-hop. Ice Cube. This is for hip-hop," he said. "This is for Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle. This is for Illmatic, this is for Nas. We will live forever. Believe that."

To Pimp a Butterfly singles "Alright" and "These Walls" earned Lamar three more GRAMMYs that night, the former winning Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song and the latter taking Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (the song features Bilal, Anna Wise and Thundercat). He also won Best Music Video for the remix of Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood." 

Lamar has since won Best Rap Album two more times, taking home the golden gramophone in 2018 for his blockbuster LP DAMN., and in 2023 for his bold fifth album, Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

Watch Lamar's full acceptance speech above, and check back at GRAMMY.com every Friday for more GRAMMY Rewind episodes. 

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Half a century after its release, the breakthrough 1972 film The Harder They Come remains remarkable for its unfiltered depiction of Jamaica, its people, their speech and their music. 

Produced and directed by the late Perry Henzell, The Harder They Come was the first movie made in Jamaica by an entirely Jamaican cast and crew, premiering in Kingston to an enormous, riotous crowd. When the film opened in the States in early ‘73, it introduced American audiences to rocksteady, reggae, Rastafari and conditions on the island beyond the tranquil images shown in travel brochures. 

The Harder They Come was a star-making vehicle for a two-time GRAMMY winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Jimmy Cliff, who portrays Ivanhoe Martin — a character loosely based on the outlaw/folk hero Rhygin who became Jamaica’s most wanted in 1948 after escaping from prison; Rhygin committed a series of robberies and murders before he was gunned down by police. In the film, Ivan is also an aspiring reggae singer and low-level ganja dealer whose endeavors are met with sabotage and betrayals.

Cliff’s portrayal is riveting and authentic. Born James Chambers in a rural community outside of Montego Bay, Cliff lived in the overcrowded, impoverished communities of west Kingston in his early teens. While pursuing a career as a singer, Cliff saw firsthand the crime, violence and the survival of the fittest mindset within the ghetto areas where reggae was birthed.

"That film was the first of its kind, a masterpiece, almost like a documentary with Perry depicting what he saw going on in Jamaica, and what I saw in the ghetto," Jimmy Cliff told me in a 2017 interview following a performance at his alma mater, the Somerton All Age and Infant School. The Harder They Come delineated the glaring contrasts between the island’s elites and the poor Black masses dwelling in overcrowded, squalid tenement yards, the corruption within the island’s music industry, the police force’s control of the ganja trade and their power to ban songs when they want to defeat the message or in the case of Ivan, the messenger.  

The Harder They Come is also notable for the many Jamaican music personalities that appear in brief roles. Former policeman turned rocksteady producer Duke Reid portrays, naturally, a police commissioner; artist/producer and ska icon Prince Buster plays a club selector; popular radio personality Don Topping a.k.a. El Numero Uno appears as himself. Leslie Kong — who produced the majority of the tracks on The Harder They Come soundtrack — is the sound engineer working alongside Hilton, the unscrupulous producer.  (In 1962, a teenaged Cliff persuaded Kong and his brothers to venture into recording, which yielded Cliff’s breakthrough hits "Hurricane Hattie" and "Miss Jamaica," for the Kongs’ Beverley’s Records label.) 

The film’s messaging was underscored by rocksteady and reggae music. While a few hits by Jamaican artists had already reached topped charts — among them Millie Small’s ska ditty "My Boy Lollipop" climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100; Desmond Dekker’s "Israelites" topped the UK charts and peaked at No. 9 in the U.S. and Dave and Ansell Collins’ cheerful, primarily instrumental track, "Monkey Spanner" was also a UK No. 1. — "those songs were seen as novelties, especially in America," Cliff continued.

"The Harder They Come put the audio together with the visuals of where the music comes from, the people who make it; it showed the music’s identity," said Cliff, whose international hits prior to the film include "Hard Road to Travel" — the film’s working title. "My character Ivan was a rebel and back then, in universities in America and in England, the youths were rebellious, too, so the movie and the music came at the right time and had a huge impact, it opened up the international market."

The Harder They Come soundtrack  initially appeared in U.S. stores in February 1973 (released on Mango/Island) two months before the release of the Wailers’ seminal Catch a Fire but didn’t reach the Billboard Top 200 until 1975. Music chart metrics, however, don’t wholly reflect the impact of the soundtrack or the film. In 1973, The Harder They Come played for 26 weeks at the Orson Welles Cinema in Cambridge, Ma., then returned  in 1974, where it remained a midnight attraction for an additional seven years. At Manhattan’s Elgin Theater, the film was shown at midnight for 80 consecutive weekends. Besides the incidental use of reggae and rocksteady tunes  to enhance many pivotal moments, the compelling scenes featuring Toots and the Maytals and Jimmy Cliff performing their songs, also elevated the profile of Jamaica’s sounds.

The Harder They Come soundtrack has topped many critics’ best albums lists over the years; in 2022 the soundtrack was selected for preservation by the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress —the second reggae release to earn that distinction.   

"When Perry did The Harder They Come, no one understood Jamaican English, nobody understood reggae or knew what Jamaica really was like," comments Justine Henzell, the director's eldest child. "Perry wasn’t trying to make a movie for everyone; because it was so authentically Jamaican, he found a sweet spot between being culturally specific and universally accessible. He didn’t even know he was doing that 50 years ago but that’s what every filmmaker is looking for because audiences want to be taken into a new world, have a new experience, a cinematic journey."

The Harder They Come’s musical journey begins with "You Can Get It If You Really Want," produced by Leslie Kong, one of four songs written and sung by Cliff in the film. In the opening scene, Ivan is traveling on a rickety, crowded country bus that’s making its way through wet, mountainous roads en route to the capital city, Kingston. Over a fluttering reggae beat, Cliff’s crystalline vocals deliver lyrics that reinforce his character’s determination to make it as a singer: "You can get it if you really want but you must try, try and try, try and try, you’ll succeed at last." 

Cliff initially released "You Can Get It If You Really Want," in July 1970; Desmond Dekker’s rendition of the song reached No.  2 on the UK charts shortly thereafter and Cliff re-recorded the song for the film/soundtrack.

Ivan steps off of the bus on a busy Kingston street, and within minutes, a pushcart vendor runs away with all of his possessions, including the mango he brought for his mother. Playing underneath the chase scene is Scotty’s "Draw Your Brakes," an adaptation of the 1965 jaunty ska hit, "Stop That Train," by the Spanishtown Ska Beats (also known as the Spanishtonians), produced by Prince Buster. The song incorporates the vocals from Keith and Tex’s 1976 cover of "Stop That Train," while Scotty’s expressive patois lyrics provide a livelier take on the original’s theme of a lover’s betrayal. 

Vocal trio the Melodians had a No. 1 hit in Jamaica in 1970 with the exquisite "Rivers of Babylon"; the song’s verses reference Psalm 137 and its bridge quotes Psalm 19, drawing parallels between the Biblical exile of the Israelites in Babylon and the oppression suffered by poor Black Jamaicans. The song is first heard when Ivan arrives in Kingston to break the news to his mother that her mother has died. Ivan also reveals he wants to remain in the city but his mother tells him he should return to the country because she lacks the resources to help him. 

"Rivers of Babylon" spoke to the issues faced by Rastafarians, whose lifestyle — including their worship of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie I as Lord and Savior — was much maligned at the time and their settlements intermittently razed by authorities. Rastafarians use the word Babylon to identify police or any system they deem oppressive. 

Upon its release, "Rivers of Babylon" was banned from airplay in Jamaica: the authorities considered the song’s direct references to Rastafari "subversive." Producer Leslie Kong challenged the embargo, saying the lyrics paralleled the scriptures recited in the island’s churches on Sundays; the ban was lifted, and the song soared to the top of local charts. Artists as diverse as Willie Nelson and Sublime have covered "Rivers of Babylon," while a 1978 disco rendition by Germany’s Boney M topped the UK charts for five weeks and cracked the U.S. top 40.

The Slickers — brothers Derrick and Sydney Crooks, Winston Bailey, Roy Beckford and Abraham Green — recorded "Johnny Too Bad" in 1970 for producer Byron Lee; here, their voices are complemented by a bubbling reggae beat, and dynamic organ riffs, said to be played by the late Winston Wright. The narrative of "Johnny Too Bad" corresponds with Ivan’s transformation from impetuous rude boy to hardened criminal, and is heard when as the Slickers croon: "Walking down the road with a pistol in your waist, Johnny you’re too bad…you’re just robbing and stabbing and looting and shooting, now you’re too bad." 

In the film, the song plays from a radio as Ivan is doing small repair jobs for Preacher, who has taken him in. Wearing a bright yellow hat tilted to one side Ivan’s coworker Longa tells him, "yuh really look like Johnny too bad," meaning Ivan has the demeanor of a tough guy, a rude boy, "but you gotta have a gun to look like Johnny." Ivan does indeed get a gun, but before that, he slashes Longa’s face in a fight over a stolen bicycle.

On the run from the authorities, Ivan, nonetheless, wants his photo in the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper. He arrives for a photo session attired in '70s gangster chic: leopard print shirt, black vinyl vest, striped pants, a white cap and a gun in each hand. Underpinning the scene is Desmond Dekker and the Aces' quintessential rude boy anthem "007 (Shanty Town)," another Leslie Kong production. 

Initially released in 1967, "007 (Shanty Town)" became Dekker’s first international hit, reaching No. 14 on the UK singles chart. The song begins with the chiming guitar chords of Nearlin "Lyn" Taitt (the late Trinidad born guitarist considered an architect in the development of Jamaica’s rocksteady beat) which gives way to an irresistibly easy-skanking rocksteady rhythm. "007 (Shanty Town)" references 1960s movies popular with rude boys (Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack’s Ocean’s Eleven, James Bond’s 007) and offers details of their pursuits in the notorious west Kingston ghettos called shanty towns: "dem a loot, dem a shoot, dem a wail, a shanty town."

The despair heard in the epic "Many Rivers to Cross" as Ivan contemplates "committing some dreadful crime" foreshadows his sinister actions in the film. However, Cliff wrote the gospel flavored ballad when he returned to Jamaica after four years of living in England (he references traveling over "the white cliffs of Dover"), frustrated because he didn’t achieve the success he envisioned there. "I've been licked, washed up for years," he wails, "and I merely survive because of my pride." 

The song’s ecclesiastical organ chords provide a somber feel that underscores a scene where Ivan is rejected for work at a construction site, then sneered at by a wealthy woman sitting on her patio as he looks for any odd job as a means of survival. These interactions illustrate the condescending views of the powerful towards the powerless — a segmentation between wealthy uptown and indigent downtown that still exists in Kingston and cities throughout the world.  Cliff’s heartrending vocals on "Many Rivers to Cross" are a stunning tour de force, arguably the finest performance on the soundtrack album.

As the authorities close in on Ivan for killing three policemen, the soul searching "Sitting In Limbo" plays as he spends time with his girlfriend Elsa, his Rasta bredren Pedro and Pedro’s young son Rupert before his attempted escape to Cuba. The song’s lyrics, ideally suited to Ivan’s very uncertain future, were written and recorded by Cliff before filming began. 

After he left England, Cliff returned to Jamaica, where he says he was almost regarded as a foreigner, which, understandably, induced a sense of limbo. He finished writing the song in Argentina working alongside Panamanian singer/songwriter Guilly Bright, pondering what lay ahead: "I can't say what life will show me, but I know what I've seen/ I can't say where life will lead me, but I know where I've been, tried my hand at love and friendship, but all that is past and gone, this little boy is moving on." 

Recorded in New York City with session players from Muscle Shoals, Alabama (heard on hits by Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin) the ballad’s gentle rhythm builds to a triumphant orchestration of layered keyboards, blasts of brass, flutes and resonant backing vocals, the sonic equivalent of Ivan’s delight in finally having an escape plan, however it works out.

The Maytals contributed two outstanding songs to the soundtrack, each exemplifying the singular, soulful talent that was the late Frederick "Toots" Hibbert and the tight knit, soaring harmonies of Henry "Raleigh" Gordon and Nathaniel "Jerry" McCarthy.  "Pressure Drop" is a gospel-infused, cautionary tale about karmic retribution towards wrongdoers that’s simply phrased but yields hypnotic effects. The track plays as Ivan and José, his boss in the ganja trade, engage in a daylight shootout after Ivan realizes José has snitched and sent the police after him. 

"Sweet and Dandy" is a spirited depiction of a rural wedding set to a rollicking mento rhythm. In the film, Toots and The Maytals are seen inside Byron Lee’s Dynamic Sounds studio recording the song; at the controls of the session are Hilton and Leslie Kong (who produced both Maytals’ songs). Ivan arrives at the studio and is transfixed watching them, which solidifies his ambition to make his own record.

At Dynamic Sound studios Ivan/Cliff lays down, live, the first recorded version of "The Harder They Come," backed by some of Jamaica’s finest: Gladstone Anderson (piano), Winston Wright (organ), Winston Grennan (drums), Linford "Hux" Brown (lead guitar), Ranford "Ranny Bop" Williams (rhythm guitar) and Clifton "Jackie" Jackson (bass), with Kong and Hilton at the controls. Wearing the now iconic blue shirt with a six-point yellow star, a cigarette in hand, Cliff is absolutely captivating as he intermittently throws his head back and absorbs the pulsating reggae beat that drives his spectacular, nuanced vocals. 

The song’s lyrics perfectly suit the movie’s storyline but also rebel against the religious teachings Cliff was brought up with: "Well, they tell me of a pie up in the sky, waiting for me when I die; but between the day you’re born and when you die, they never seem to hear even your cry." 

After delivering his breathtaking performance, Hilton offers Ivan just $20 for the song; like the other injustices Ivan has faced, this sets him on a path to "get my share now, what’s mine." 

In 1971, prior to the release of The Harder They Come, Leslie Kong, 37, suffered a fatal heart attack. Cliff and Kong’s scene in the studio together represents a full circle moment in their careers as Cliff records the title track to what is arguably, the most influential project in reggae’s trajectory over the past 50 years.  

In observance of the film’s golden anniversary in Jamaica, Justine Henzell curated a multi-media art exhibition inspired by the film at her former home, where many of the film’s scenes were shot and edited. In February 2023, several of those art pieces were exhibited in the lobby of New York City’s Public Theater, coinciding with their presentation of a musical adaptation of "The Harder They Come," written by Pulitzer winner Suzan-Lori Parks. 

While Parks’ revisions to Henzell’s screenplay (co-written with the late Trevor Rhone) sanitize Ivan and his criminal exploits, diminishing the grit that’s so essential to the film’s story arc, the musical performances are anchored in the film's 10 song soundtrack — further proof that the  the original The Harder They Come remains a glorious document of the power of Jamaican music.

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It's rare that a genre can be traced back to a single artist or group, but for funk, that was James Brown. The Godfather of Soul coined the phrase and style of playing known as "on the one," where the first downbeat is emphasized, instead of the typical second and fourth beats in pop, soul and other styles. As David Cheal eloquently explains, playing on the one "left space for phrases and riffs, often syncopated around the beat, creating an intricate, interlocking grid which could go on and on." You know a funky bassline when you hear it; its fat chords beg your body to get up and groove.

Brown's 1965 classic, "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," became one of the first funk hits, and has been endlessly sampled and covered over the years, along with his other groovy tracks. Of course, many other funk acts followed in the '60s, and the genre thrived in the '70s and '80s as the disco craze came and went, and the originators of hip-hop and house music created new music from funk and disco's strong, flexible bones built for dancing.

Legendary funk bassist Bootsy Collins learned the power of the one from playing in Brown's band, and brought it to George Clinton, who created P-funk, an expansive, Afrofuturistic, psychedelic exploration of funk with his various bands and projects, including Parliament-Funkadelic. Both Collins and Clinton remain active and funkin', and have offered their timeless grooves to collabs with younger artists, including Kali Uchis, Silk Sonic, and Omar Apollo; and Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, and Thundercat, respectively.

In the 1980s, electro-funk was born when artists like Afrika Bambaataa, Man Parrish, and Egyptian Lover began making futuristic beats with the Roland TR-808 drum machine — often with robotic vocals distorted through a talk box. A key distinguishing factor of electro-funk is a de-emphasis on vocals, with more phrases than choruses and verses. The sound influenced contemporaneous hip-hop, funk and electronica, along with acts around the globe, while current acts like Chromeo, DJ Stingray, and even Egyptian Lover himself keep electro-funk alive and well.

Today, funk lives in many places, with its heavy bass and syncopated grooves finding way into many nooks and crannies of music. There's nu-disco and boogie funk, nodding back to disco bands with soaring vocals and dance floor-designed instrumentation. G-funk continues to influence Los Angeles hip-hop, with innovative artists like Dam-Funk and Channel Tres bringing the funk and G-funk, into electro territory. Funk and disco-centered '70s revival is definitely having a moment, with acts like Ghost Funk Orchestra and Parcels, while its sparkly sprinklings can be heard in pop from Dua Lipa, Doja Cat, and, in full "Soul Train" character, Silk Sonic. There are also acts making dreamy, atmospheric music with a solid dose of funk, such as Khruangbin’s global sonic collage.

There are many bands that play heavily with funk, creating lush grooves designed to get you moving. Read on for a taste of five current modern funk and nu-disco artists making band-led uptempo funk built for the dance floor. Be sure to press play on the Spotify playlist above, and check out GRAMMY.com's playlist on Apple Music, Amazon Music and Pandora.

Say She She

Aptly self-described as "discodelic soul," Brooklyn-based seven-piece Say She She make dreamy, operatic funk, led by singer-songwriters Nya Gazelle Brown, Piya Malik and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham. Their '70s girl group-inspired vocal harmonies echo, sooth and enchant as they cover poignant topics with feminist flair.

While they’ve been active in the New York scene for a few years, they’ve gained wider acclaim for the irresistible music they began releasing this year, including their debut album, Prism. Their 2022 debut single "Forget Me Not" is an ode to ground-breaking New York art collective Guerilla Girls, and "Norma" is their protest anthem in response to the news that Roe vs. Wade could be (and was) overturned. The band name is a nod to funk legend Nile Rodgers, from the "Le freak, c'est chi" exclamation in Chic's legendary tune "Le Freak."

Moniquea

Moniquea's unique voice oozes confidence, yet invites you in to dance with her to the super funky boogie rhythms. The Pasadena, California artist was raised on funk music; her mom was in a cover band that would play classics like Aretha Franklin’s "Get It Right" and Gladys Knight’s "Love Overboard." Moniquea released her first boogie funk track at 20 and, in 2011, met local producer XL Middelton — a bonafide purveyor of funk. She's been a star artist on his MoFunk Records ever since, and they've collabed on countless tracks, channeling West Coast energy with a heavy dose of G-funk, sunny lyrics and upbeat, roller disco-ready rhythms.

Her latest release is an upbeat nod to classic West Coast funk, produced by Middleton, and follows her February 2022 groovy, collab-filled album, On Repeat.

Shiro Schwarz

Shiro Schwarz is a Mexico City-based duo, consisting of Pammela Rojas and Rafael Marfil, who helped establish a modern funk scene in the richly creative Mexican metropolis. On "Electrify" — originally released in 2016 on Fat Beats Records and reissued in 2021 by MoFunk — Shiro Schwarz's vocals playfully contrast each other, floating over an insistent, upbeat bassline and an '80s throwback electro-funk rhythm with synth flourishes.

Their music manages to be both nostalgic and futuristic — and impossible to sit still to. 2021 single "Be Kind" is sweet, mellow and groovy, perfect chic lounge funk. Shiro Schwarz’s latest track, the joyfully nostalgic "Hey DJ," is a collab with funkstress Saucy Lady and U-Key.

L'Impératrice

L'Impératrice (the empress in French) are a six-piece Parisian group serving an infectiously joyful blend of French pop, nu-disco, funk and psychedelia. Flore Benguigui's vocals are light and dreamy, yet commanding of your attention, while lyrics have a feminist touch.

During their energetic live sets, L'Impératrice members Charles de Boisseguin and Hagni Gwon (keys), David Gaugué (bass), Achille Trocellier (guitar), and Tom Daveau (drums) deliver extended instrumental jam sessions to expand and connect their music. Gaugué emphasizes the thick funky bass, and Benguigui jumps around the stage while sounding like an angel. L’Impératrice’s latest album, 2021’s Tako Tsubo, is a sunny, playful French disco journey.

Franc Moody

Franc Moody's bio fittingly describes their music as "a soul funk and cosmic disco sound." The London outfit was birthed by friends Ned Franc and Jon Moody in the early 2010s, when they were living together and throwing parties in North London's warehouse scene. In 2017, the group grew to six members, including singer and multi-instrumentalist Amber-Simone.

Their music feels at home with other electro-pop bands like fellow Londoners Jungle and Aussie act Parcels. While much of it is upbeat and euphoric, Franc Moody also dips into the more chilled, dreamy realm, such as the vibey, sultry title track from their recently released Into the Ether.

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