Ska punk (also spelled ska-punk) is a fusion genre that mixes ska music and punk rock music together. Ska punk tends to feature brass instruments, especially horns such as trumpets, trombones and woodwind instruments like saxophones, making the genre distinct from other forms of punk rock. It is closely tied to third wave ska which reached its zenith in the mid-1990s.
Before ska punk began, many ska bands and punk rock bands performed on the same bills together and performed to the same audiences. Some music groups from the late 1970s and early 1980s, such as the Clash, the Deadbeats, the Specials, the Beat, and Madness fused characteristics of punk rock and ska, but many of these were punk bands playing an occasional ska-flavored song. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, ska-punk enjoyed its greatest success, heralded by bands such as Fishbone, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Sublime, Less Than Jake, and more.
Ska punk had significant mainstream success in the middle-to-late 1990s, with many bands topping pop and rock music charts. The best-selling ska punk record of the era was No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom, which was certified diamond by the RIAA in 1999 and was certified diamond by Music Canada in 1997. By the early 2000s, many of the bands in ska punk had broken up, and the genre lost mainstream appeal, though it continued to have underground popularity and featured a revival in the late 2010s with bands like the Interrupters returning to chart success, when their song "She's Kerosene" reached the top 5 on alternative and rock music charts in Canada and the US, as well as in the early 2020s with hyperpop duo 100 gecs album 10,000 Gecs incorporating elements of ska punk to critical acclaim.
Characteristics
Ska punk combines ska music with punk rock music. Ska punk often features wind instruments, especially horns such as saxophones, trombones and trumpets, making the genre distinct from other forms of punk rock. It is similar to traditional Jamaican ska, but faster and heavier.
History
Predecessors and early development (late 1970s, 1980s, early 1990s)
Before ska punk started, many ska bands and punk rock bands performed on the same bills together and appealed to the same audiences. A ska revival occurred simultaneously around the beginning of British punk rock and the near-simultaneous rebirth of the late 1970s British mod and skinhead movements. During the late 1970s and early 1980s in United Kingdom, many punk rock bands mixed punk rock with ska influences. Pioneering punk rock band the Clash incorporated influences from ska alongside a range of other genres on their seminal 1979 post-punk album London Calling. Songs like 1978's "Kill the Hippies" by the Deadbeats prominently featured horns, although there are no ska elements. Other British bands that were influenced by both punk rock and ska included the Specials, the Beat and Madness. With both films like the 1981 documentary film Dance Craze and supportive radio stations like Los Angeles, California's KROQ, ska crossed the Atlantic. During the 1980s, ska punk was underground. However, Fishbone, one of the earliest ska punk bands, achieved moderate success. Other ska punk bands from the 1980s and early 1990s include Operation Ivy, Culture Shock, Voodoo Glow Skulls, the Porkers, Sublime, Citizen Fish, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, the Suicide Machines, MU330 and Dance Hall Crashers.
Mainstream success (mid–late 1990s) Ska punk broke into the mainstream in the mid-1990s with bands such as Sublime, No Doubt, Goldfinger, the Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Less Than Jake and Rancid all achieving mainstream success. Sublime's song "Date Rape" became a hit on major California alternative rock radio stations. However, Sublime did not reach its peak of popularity until 1996 with the release of the band's 1996 self-titled album, which was certified 5× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1999. Because of Sublime's popularity, the band's album 40oz. to Freedom was certified 2× platinum by the RIAA in 2005.