While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady. Reggae is based on a rhythmic style characterized by regular beats on the off-beat, known as the skank. Reggae is normally slower than ska, and usually has accents on the third beat in each bar.

Reggae song lyrics deal with many subjects, including religion, love, sexuality, relationships, poverty, injustice and other social and political issues.