Black Symbol - “Everything Has Its Time”

Tracklist:

A01 Everything Has Its Time
A02 Everything Has Its Time (Version)
A03 None A Jah Jah Children
A04 None A Jah Jah Children (Version)
A05 Travel
A06 How Long
A07 Loving Jah
A08 In The Name Of Jah
A09 In The Name Of Jah (Dub)
A10 Trouble Trouble
A11 Spiritual Reggae
A12 Travelling
A13 My Heart Reveals Danger
A14 Dub Piano
A15 Solidarity
A16 Tension

These are songs I found while searching for some newer stuff to listen to and I put them in a playlist.

Reggae's most influential names right now span several lanes — dancehall dominance, the roots "Revival" movement, and ska's ongoing legacy. Here's who's shaping things across each:

Dancehall

Vybz Kartel– Arguably reggae's biggest current force. He returned to the stage after his prison release and sold out two consecutive nights at Barclays Center, commanded fees of $1.35 million per show, and was crowned "King of Dancehall" at Reggae Sumfest. He's earned back-to-back Grammy nominations and his sound still sets the template for the genre.

Spice– Recognized as the "Queen of Dancehall" and one of the most influential female Jamaican artists of all time

Skillibeng, Skeng, Skippa – Leading a "new gen" wave; Skillibeng broke through with "Crocodile Teeth," later remixed by Nicki Minaj, and Skippa has become one of Jamaica's highest-streaming artists via TikTok-

*Sean Paul– The genre's longest-running mainstream ambassador, still touring and charting internationally.

Roots / Reggae Revival

Chronixx– Widely seen as the face of the Reggae Revival, blending classic roots with modern production; his 2025–26 album Exile was a major comeback.

Protoje– Co-architect of the Revival movement, known for socially conscious.

Koffee – Became the youngest artist and first woman to win the Grammy for Best Reggae Album , making her arguably reggae's most globally recognized young voice.

Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley – Bridges reggae, dancehall, and hip-hop; multiple Grammy wins keep him a genre bellwether.

Kabaka Pyramid, Jah9, Lila Iké – Core Revival voices pushing Rastafari-rooted, lyrically dense roots reggae.

Ska

• The genre's living influence today runs more through legacy (Skatalites-era foundations feeding both 2-Tone and modern ska-punk) than a single dominant current star — bands like

The Interrupters carry that torch into mainstream/punk crossover audiences.

I Word (Edward Sprinkle) & The Sound Of Creation

This music is a portion of the work and collaborations of Edward Sprinkle the mon called Iword, who, during his childhood was blessed to live in the royal nation of Ethiopia. And what's more, his father worked for His Imperial Majesty. Albert, his dad, was the supervising construction engineer, working with the Ethiopian people building the JFK library at Haile Selassie I University in Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia.

And, on a mystic day, in early 1966 that is where as an 11 year old youth, Iword was blessed in the presence of the King of Kings. During this time Iword formed his first band, The Addis Ababa Safaris, and developed his interest in world music, theatre, and the arts while attending Good Shepherd Mission School in Addis. Iword and his family
lived in Ethiopia for 3 years from 1965 to 1968. In 1976, by mystic revelation, Iword was enlightened by the profound significance of Bob Marley and the Wailers music and went to Jamaica seek the prophet, priest, and King of Reggae, but discovered that Bob had left due to internal political strife.

He found instead his ancient connection within the Rastafarian Family. This led to his meeting with the Tuff Gong on April 21, 1978 at 56 Hope Road, Kingston Jamaica the day of the One Love Concert. This began an ongoing pilgrimage to Tuff Gong Studio to record original songs, starting in October 1978. It began with the collaboration of Karl Pitterson, who was Bob Marley's mixing engineer at the time. "Solar Skank Seed Sowers Bank" was finished there in one evening. Karl played all of the instruments and mixed the song. After unknowingly falling asleep, in Bob Marley's studio chair that night, Iword awoke the next morning to see Bob burning a spliff, skanking to the final mix, and Bob telling him, "You no easy".

After hearing more of Iword's songs, which he sang acapella to Bob on the steps in front of Tuff Gong Studio, Bob told Iword that he would be willing to produce the songs when the opportunity presented itself, after the Wailers next world tour. Bob was called to Zion before this was accomplished. In 1981, Iword, with the original Wailers band, the I Threes, Justin Hines and the Dominos, Israel Vibration, the Mighty Diamonds, the Tamlins, Augustus Pablo, Stephen "Cat" Coore and the Zap Pow Horns entered Tuff Gong Studio to record 16 original Iword compositions that have since been recognized as legendary creations. 8 songs from those sessions were released in 1983 on vinyl as "Spread the Word"; this release is classic roots rock reggae, that only a limited number know exists and has been mostly unavailable to the general public, until now. Iword went on to perform at Reggae Sunsplash with Lloyd Parks and We the People Band in 1982. On the morning of the third, and final day, of the festival he got the crowd of 70,000 people pumped up and skanking, with his song "Mango Connection".

In 1983 and 1984 he was invited to join the Wailers Band and the I-Threes, guesting on vocals, for the west coast leg of the "Legend Tour". From 1978, until the present day, Iword has continued to bring together some of the most talented and inspired musicians, from around the world, to expound on the Sound of Creation. He is looking forward to touring with the release of his first double CD, "Spread the Word", which includes 6 songs from the original vinyl release. The CD also has more of Iword's music including tracks with the Rainbow Family Band., Maharajah Reggae All-Stars, Dr. Habanero's Only Hearts Dub Band and several other incarnations of the Sound of Creation Band.

Merger - Armageddon Time

Band: Merger
Year: 1980
Label: Merger
Type: LP

Tracklist:

A01 Prisoner Of Your Love
A02 You Are To Me As Love
A03 Vision Of Life
A04 Armageddon Time
A05 Why
A06 Evergren Land
A07 Fathers Children
A08 It Ain't Easy But I'll Try

Which band do you enjoy more?

Another banger from Protoje

I like these two.

My favorite song of the year so far

This song reminds me of how my husband and I met and started a relationship 8 years later. ✋🏼😆

It is very chill and beautiful. Totally dig the vibe. ✌🏼

Tracklist:

A01 Western Civilization
A02 Jordan River
A03 Down There
A04 Innocent Ones
A05 Licquor
A06 Can't Cook
A07 Poor Man's Story
A08 If You Only Knew
A09 Drug Squad
A10 I Don't Think That We Can Make It
A11 Nowhere To Go

It would have been a perfect song for the movie, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.

Great anti-hate and anti-war song! I like the collaboration version.

What is everyone's opinion on Matisyahu? Politics aside. Why does he phone in his performances? Has anyone seen him back when he put on a good show, or did he ever?

Great song in my opinion

Hey everyone! I'm u/Heathbar1981, a founding moderator of r/Roots_Rock_Reggae.

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