Reggae 201

Do as reggae lion Bob Marley instructs: "Get Up, Stand Up," because it's time for Reggae 201, your follow-up course of ska, dread, rocksteady, and roots tunes from sweet, sun-splashed Jamaica. We've got everything to complete your reggae education, from Toots & The Maytals' ruff-and-ready "Monkey Man" to Jimmy Cliff's sun-soaked cover of the Johnny Nash reggae-pop charter "I Can See Clearly Now," from Black Uhuru's beloved roots milestone "Sponji Reggae" to UB40's Jamaicafication of the Elvis oldie "Can't Help Falling in Love."

What would you care to study today? The finest in radio-ready toastin' with Shabba Ranks' "Trailorload a Girls"? The dancehall master Eek-A-Mouse makin' with his '82 breakout smash, "Wa-Do-Dem"? Maybe you'd like to investigate the off-the-hook ska of Big Youth and "$.90 Skank"? All of the above? No problem — dive into our Reggae 201 stacks to explore the music's far reaches, from the genre mash-up of Foxy Brown's "Baby Can I Hold You Tonight" to the can't-get-more-real reggae of "Could You Be Loved" by Bob Marley & The Wailers.

History lessons never sounded so good. Kick 'em off with Clancy Eccles' classic rocksteady stepper "Fatty Fatty," then fire up "Sky Larking" and hear the hit that made a reggae superstar of sugar-voiced Horace Andy. Check out "East of the River Nile" and learn how Augustus Pablo took a child's wind instrument, the melodica, and made it a standard reggae go-to. Then turn up the volume on "Dread Natty Congo," and let DJ Sister Carol school you in the ways of blending dancehall and rocksteady rhythms with righteous toasting to glorious effect.

Welcome to the iTunes College of Musical Knowledge. School is in session, so please turn your downloads to Reggae 201, as we pick up where Reggae 101 left off and head deeper into the music of Jamaica and beyond. Today's lessons will take us from the skanktastic ska shuffle of Derrick Morgan's "Tougher than Tough (Rudie in Court)" to the herbacious roots reggae of "Pass the Kutchie" from Rastafarians the Mighty Diamonds to Sean Paul's hip-hop-fortified dancehall grooves on "Get Busy." Field trips will be led by British-born toaster Shinehead ("Jamaican in New York") and dancehall superstar Sugar Minott ("River Jordan"). The best part? Everybody gets an A+.