R&B from artists like Fats Domino seeped into Jamaican sound systems and laid the groundwork for what would become ska. In 2021, the gravity of New Orleans still warps the modern ska scene, with the record label Community Records and artists like Bad Operation and Joystick helping to define the new wave. Bad Operation calls the current web of similar politically-minded ska bands “New Tone.”

“It's hard to pin down because we're watching it evolve as we speak,” said Daniel "D-Ray" Ray, w...