Jamaican drummer Lloyd Knibb, who helped develop and popularise the ska beat has died at the age of 80. Knibb was an original member of The Skatalites, a ska and reggae band created in 1964. His frenetic style was one of the band’s hallmarks.
Born in Kingston on March 8, 1931, Knibb came up in jazz but started exploring African rhythms in the early '50s as part of Rastafarian drummer Count Ossie's jam sessions. These beats, plus American R&B and a Jamaican folk style called "mento," led Knibb to develop ska's trademark propulsive drum sound, with accents on the upbeat. Slowed down and tweaked, this rhythm is the heartbeat of reggae: the one drop.
Knibb died May 12, 2011 from liver cancer.
