ska

[ skah ]

noun

1. a modern style of vocalized Jamaican popular music, which emerged in the 1950s as a blend of African-Jamaican folk music, calypso, and American rhythm and blues, notable for its shuffling, scratchlike tempo and jazzlike horn riffs on the offbeat.

ska

/ skɑː /

noun

1. a type of West Indian pop music of the 1960s, accented on the second and fourth beats of a four-beat bar

Word History and Origins

Origin of ska¹

First recorded in 1960–65; of obscure origin

Word History and Origins

Origin of ska¹

C20: origin unknown

Example Sentences

When Vampire Weekend started out, one aspect of the band’s project was recontextualizing certain styles that perhaps had fallen out of vogue — the ska elements, for instance, that feature prominently on the group’s self-titled 2008 debut, which came out in the wake of the New York garage-rock revival.

From Los Angeles Times

“It’s something about that ska beat and the drums coming in and that’s the song that the fans associate with the game,” Hawk said.

From Los Angeles Times

She’ll occasionally try a more conscious change like performing “Something to Talk About” with a ska beat on one tour.

From Los Angeles Times

Bat Commander of the neo-new wave/ska/punk/synth-pop superhero band the Aquabats!

From Los Angeles Times

Hendrikson - co-founder of ska band The Selecter - was diagnosed with cancer in 2023 and died in June, aged 73.

From BBC