Jamaican folk music is a genre of music that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s. It is characterized by its fast tempo and offbeat rhythm, as well as its use of horns and guitars. The most popular form of Jamaican folk 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 walking bass line, guitar, drums, and horns. It is often considered to be the precursor to reggae and rocksteady.