By creating a new version of Reggae in the West, many false tropes about Africa have been constructed to coexist with Western beliefs. Reggae rock found its rise in popularity in the 1990s in Long Beach, California, with the band Sublime. Being one of the most well known reggae rock bands, Sublime reference the Rastafari movement and Bob Marley in many of their songs. Many of the songs written by Sublime involved a mix of breezy beach vibes, punk and aesthetic and hip-hop touches. Their music dealt with many of the same social issues we face today- including police brutality, addiction and marijuana legalization. Reggae’s influence on Sublime made their music smoothly fused with the band’s many styles.

In the song Don’t Push by sublime, the lyrics say, “Stolen from an Africa land Chased out with a knife With a face like Bob Marley And a mouth like a motorbike oh well that bars are always open And the time is always right”. Throughout the song, Africa is painted in a dark shadow illustrating the entire continent as a place where nothing good comes from. The lyrics found in the song depict our own Western values more than the origin of Reggae music. Sublime starts the song off by interpreting Africa as one giant place where only violence occurs. Another Western imaginings of Africa found in the song is how they portray an African male to Bob Marley. In other words, the band portrays all Africans as if they look the same. The lyrics also hint the idea that Africa is not a place where you would want to live, instead Africa is a place where you would go seeking for adventures or a tropical vacation. In retrospect the lyrics were written for a western audience, characterizing the idea that our Western ways of living are more mature and civilized than Africans. In saying so, the barbaric depiction placed on Africans tell us more about how Westerners see themselves as superior and how it is  their moral obligation to inflict their values and culture onto anyone who seems different.

Reggae rock today has created the misconception that Africa is the perfect venue to forget about their first world problems by being reconnected with nature. Terich’s article about modern reggae having a cultural appropriation problem stated, “In 1974, Eric Clayton, a British musician made a bigger hit out of “I Shot the Sheriff” than Bob Marley did, reaping bigger rewards despite having never experienced injustice in Trenchtown firsthand”. This is just one of the many examples of how Westerners have exploited African culture for their own personal gain. In result, the soothing depictions created by Reggae Rock are used as a tool to disassociate westerners from their own reality. The commercialization of Rasta culture in reggae rock led to further exploitation because selling out to capitalism contradicts the movement’s actual agenda.Most of the major record labels whom introduced reggae into the western world were not trying to teach people about the message behind the music, instead they exploited reggaes rebellious themes for profit.

Depictions constructed by the western world have been influencing misleading tropes and negative imagery  since the 19th century. People today tend to have the misconception about Reggae Rock, believing that Africa is the perfect destination to forget about their first world problems by being reconnected with nature. Westerners depict Africa in their songs through an exotic perspective through her wildlife, culture, and people. The western depictions created about Africa in Reggae music tells us more about our own life rather than the place where Reggae music originated from. The false depictions of deceiving tropes from the western world has told us more about our personal imperfections and our way of living rather than Africa’s. The European colonization of Africa has influenced a popular belief that we see our values as superior and provides reason