a form of dance music, originally from Jamaica, characterized by the use of saxophones and brass, a heavily accented offbeat, and the influence of New Orleans rhythm and blues, jazz, and calypso
See ska in American Heritage Dictionary 4
(skä)
noun
Popular music originating in Jamaica in the 1960s, having elements of rhythm and blues, jazz, and calypso and marked by a fast tempo and a strongly accented offbeat.