Jamaican dance music is a genre of music that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s. It is characterized by a fast tempo, offbeat guitar and piano riffs, and a strong emphasis on the offbeat. The most popular form of Jamaican dance music is ska, which is a style of music that combines elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is typically played with a two-tone beat, and its lyrics often focus on social and political issues.