There are few places in America where the sun shines brighter than Los Angeles, especially in music. Artists blend the carefree atmosphere of genres like reggae and ska, bringing a relaxing charm to the city’s music.
One of the first instances in popular music of this easygoing feel was Sublime, a band out of Long Beach. During their short career in the 1990s, Sublime captured all the feelings of Southern California with their mix of punk rock, reggae, ska and hip-hop. Today, Sublime’s influence in the Los Angeles area is strong, with acts such as the rapper Wax carrying on that same mellow mix of reggae, hip-hop and ska.
When Sublime released their debut album “40oz. to Freedom” in 1992, the music that originated on California beaches had a rejuvenating effect on listeners. By displaying the reggae sounds of “Smoke Two Joints,” the ska behind “Badfish,” the punk rock of “Date Rape,” and Nowell’s rapping prowess on “Don’t Push,” on their first album, Sublime introduced music that couldn’t be categorized into one genre.
Sublime has always been about feel-good Los Angeles music, full of good times and good tunes.
In 1996, two months after frontman Bradley Nowell died from a heroin overdose, the band released “Sublime,” which remains a classic Southern California album. The album continues to represent the music of Los Angeles, celebrating the ups and downs of life. Nowell captured the atmosphere of SoCal in a complete album, including songs “What I Got” and “Doin’ Time,” which celebrate letting go of undeserved troubles.
Sublime was also passionate about its community, speaking out about the Los Angeles race riots in the song, “April 29, 1992 (Miami).” Expressing the individual power of rebelling against corrupt law enforcement, Sublime’s message instilled a prideful spirit in the city.
Sublime’s against-the-grain mixture of musical genres created a unique sound, led by offbeat guitars and delayed drumming. This style has influenced numerous bands like Slightly Stoopid and The Dirty Heads. These bands fuse the same L.A. flavored music that is void of strict genres and labels. Since 2005, the L.A. based rapper Wax has incorporated a similar summertime feel to his melding of genres, and has continued to push that same California feeling into popular music.
At the base of his music, Wax is a guitarist who writes a lot of reggae and ska riffs and uses strong back beats from drum samples that complement his rapping. Wax’s blues solos on the acoustic guitar in the song “Two Wheels” resemble Nowell’s work on acoustic guitar in “What I Got.” Both songs, beyond their similar musicality, deal with the everyday struggles and triumphs of the working class and overcoming money troubles to persevere through the day.
Wax’s rhymes and hooks have begun to catch that same sensation that sent Sublime soaring into the mainstream. The songs aren’t meant to change the world; they’re meant to celebrate the present, and tell stories of life in L.A.
As Wax began to attract critical and record label attention, he was signed to Def Jam Records, which he left in 2012 to record on his own label, Scrublife. With Wax’s popularity rising, his ability to condense genres into a single sound, like Sublime, has driven his success. From singles such as “Rosana,” which blends ska and mariachi, to the humorous confessional “Tomorrow,” Wax displays the emotional free-flow that Sublime was known for.
Influenced by old school rappers, including Nowell’s influence Eazy-E, Wax’s lyrics touch on the brighter, sunnier side of life that colors the Los Angeles area. Wax’s rap about marijuana, “Dispensary Girl,” is reminiscent of Sublime’s cover of “Smoke Two Joints,” while Wax’s ability to tell a story in “The Adventures of Larry and Tina,” is similar thematically to Nowell’s rapping.
The music of Wax and Sublime, above all, is an outlet. Along with Sublime’s popularity, in the ’90s and today, has come the emotional release and peacefulness of the music. This same SoCal atmosphere is how Wax continues to draw fans from all over the world. Wax’s freedom, from the lyrics he raps to the melodies he sings, have preserved the California aura that drove Bradley Nowell decades ago.
Email Hornbostel at bhornbostel@media.ucla.edu
stick figure also has similar music with a reggae feel to it. check them out!