Where did Music Genres get their name?

When we say “techno” or “reggae”, where did those names come from? Some names are very obvious like “Cajun” to the origins and less ambiguous. Let’s get into the etymological roots of the most popular genres!

Reggae:

The term “reggae” is surprisingly easy to track to its orgins. In 1968, “reggae” was first pushed by The Maytals where “Toots” Hibbert became up with the song “Do the Reggay.” This song added the meaning of “Reggae” along with Jamaican artists blending rock, Calypso music and ska. And so the genre was born.

Country:

The term “Country” has quite a long history, quite like nation-state which is the genre’s namesake. Back in the 1920s, the genre was called “hillbilly music”. Then in the 1940s, people started using “Country-Western Music” when radio programs began airing string bands and songwriters to Americans across the country... get it!

Pop:

A genre of popular music that originated in the West during the 1950s and 1960s. Pop music is eclectic, often borrowing elements from urban, dance, rock, Latin, country, and other styles.

Jungle:

The distinct sounds of “jungle techno” comes reggae-like basslines and dancehall inspirations, widely adopted in the U.K. “We Are I.E.” by Lennie De-Ice is now known to be a pivotal part of the movement. This genre is significant as it turned a racially charged term into an uplifting, empowering name of a wide enjoyed music genre.

Afrobeats:

Originating in the 1920s, far-ranging Afrobeats music from West Africa and the United Kingdom with Black American influences. Afrobeat legend Fela Aníkúlápó-Kuti with his band Africa 70 created rhythmic mic of West African beats with a blend of American jazz, funk, calypso and soul.

Rhythm and Blues:

This genre originated from music like gospel, blues and boogie-woogie. The first ever time the term was printed was only in 1948 in the Billboard Magazine. “Rhythm and Blues” replaced the terrible phrase “race music”. The term was actually a catch-all term for black music. Albums like “Break Out” that contained crossover hits like “Neutron Dance” and Jump (For My Love)” landed on both Billboard’s Pop charts and R&B charts at the same time!

Hip Hop:

Hip hop was formed in the United States in the 1970s and consists of stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rhythmic and rhyming speech (“rapping”).

Rock:

A genre of popular music that originated as “rock and roll” in the United States in the 1950s, and developed into a range of different styles in the 1960s and later. Compared to pop music, rock places a higher degree of emphasis on musicianship, live performance, and an ideology of authenticity.

Kwaito:

A music genre that emerged in South Africa, during the 1990s. It is a variant of house music featuring the use of African sounds and samples.

Techno:

The Greeks used the word “téchnē” which meant skillful or artful. Techno, the music genre, goes back to the mid-80s which is based on “technology.” It has now come to mean heavily electronic dance music. This would later pave the way for EDM, electronic dance music.

Rap:

Rap is a style of popular music, developed by disc jockeys and urban Black performers in the late 1970s, in which an insistent, recurring beat pattern provides the background and counterpoint for rapid, slangy, and often boastful rhyming patter intoned by a vocalist or vocalists.

Jazz:

Originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th century from African Americans, with the roots in blues and ragtime. Jazz is said to stimulate the mind and improve focus. It has rhythmic patterns and pulsating sounds. Bebop or bop is a style of jazz characterized by fast tempo. Jazz is characterized by swing and blue notes, polyrhythms and has roots in West African music expression.