A genre of music stylized by the influences of American jazz and swing, born out of Jamaica. It underwent three waves, Trad(itional),
Two-Tone, and 3rd wave. The guitar is always played on the off beats, or "
upstrokes." The bass line is almost always a walking bass line unless the band is more punk influenced (however, ska is what helped bring about punk), and there is a horn line, usually with some swinging stuff. Ska gave birth to many different types of music, such as
rocksteady, reggae, punk, rap and hip-hop (it's true).