Mento · GenresWhat is mento?
Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box — a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played.
About mento
The rhumba box carries the bass part of the music. Mento is often confused with calypso, a musical form from Trinidad and Tobago. Although the two share many similarities, they are separate and distinct musical forms.
From Last.fm, where 199 listeners have tagged music as mento.
Artists to start with
Albums to hear first
Great Expectation
One Original Step Beyond: The Story of Ska
The Singles Collection 1960-1962
Down Jamaica Way
Chin's Calypso Cd 5Mento songs
- Take Me Back to Jamaica by The Jolly Boys
- Rehab by The Jolly Boys
- The Weed (aka Man Pyabba) by Count Lasher with Lyn Taitt & The Baba Brooks Band
- Gone Tomorrow by The Moon Invaders
- Up on the Downstroke by Ernest Ranglin
- Land of Dreams by The Moon Invaders
- Great '68 by Marva Moore & The Gaysters
- Hold em Joe by Lord Foodos
- L'Envol du Pingouin by L'Ensemble Rayé
- Dumb Boy & the Parrot by Lord Cristo
Neighbouring genres
In the other family. All genres
darkwavecoldwavechoralbig beatchiptunedigicorechansoncrunkdembowdarksynthcontemporary christiandjentQuestions
- What is mento?
- Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box — a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played. The rhumba box carries the bass part of the music.
- Who are the best-known mento artists?
- By Last.fm listening: The Jolly Boys, Stanley Beckford, Lord Composer, Count Lasher, Ben Bowers & Bertie King's Royal Jamaicans and The Mighty Dougla.
- What genres are similar to mento?
- On Risocast it sits with darkwave, coldwave, choral, big beat, chiptune and digicore.
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Updated 7 October 2026
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Risocast HelpA music diary that writes itself, and a place to find people who love the music you love. Play music anywhere (Spotify, YouTube, your phone) and Risocast remembers every song. Each week it presses your listening onto a Weekly Disc you can share, and it introduces you to your taste twins: people whose music matches yours. Free, no ads, and it looks like Windows 98.
The people whose music matches yours most. Risocast compares what you actually play, not a list of favourites, and shows how much your taste overlaps with anyone's, so you can find them, see what they're playing and say hello.
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Almost certainly. Spotify, YouTube Music, Apple Music, Deezer, music in your browser and nearly any app on your Windows PC or Android phone are remembered on their own. A few desktop players (VLC, iTunes, MusicBee) need a free add-on first. You can also connect Spotify, or bring your history over from Last.fm.
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