释义 |
ragga, n. Brit. |ˈragə|, U.S. |ˈrægə|, Jamaican |ˈraga| [Shortened ‹ragamuffin n. (see sense 4 at that entry). Perhaps compare Jamaican English ragga ragga (adjective) ragged, (noun) old ragged clothes (ultimately ‹rag n.2).] a. An uptempo style of popular music derived from dancehall reggae, featuring a rapid, improvised vocal part, or ‘toast’, and incorporating elements from faster, electronically based genres, such as hip-hop and techno; the culture associated with this music. b. A performer or fan of this music. Cf. ragamuffin n. 4. Esp. in its early use, ragga was used almost synonymously with the earlier dancehall (dance hall n. 2), the genre from which it arose. The most notable difference between the styles is the use of electronic instrumentation in ragga, reflecting the stronger association of dancehall with live performance, and of ragga with digital technology and studio recordings.
1988(title of record) Ragga ragga raggamuffin. 1990Evening Standard 21 May 38/2 Metropolis feels a deal more comfortable with the new ‘street’ collection—a motley assortment of ragga girls, beat boys and Rasta kids, grinning, winking and generally hanging out on a range of brooches, neck-pieces and earrings. 1991P. Sweeney Virgin Directory World Music 185 The mid-1980s saw an increasing merging of the audiences for black American hip-hop music.., and for dance hall reggae, which began to be referred to as ‘ragga’, for ‘ragamuffin’, music, in acknowledgment of its young audience of latter-day rude boys in Kingston, Brooklyn or Brixton. 1994Face Aug. 91 When jungle first emerged from the hardcore underground, the world wouldn't listen. But with ragga taking it into new musical territory, it's now being hailed as the sound of modern urban Britain. 1997M. Collin & J. Godfrey Altered State vii. 254 As jungle got bigger and it became a black thing, it just drew all the raggas... They were hearing their favourite artists like Buju Banton and Ninja Man in it and it drew them in, so you had this new breed of crowd. |