UNESCO—the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization—annually adds new entries to its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. This year, Jamaica submitted reggae for consideration, and UNESCO has approved its inclusion, the BBC reports.

The list serves to document elements of different cultures that are deemed worthy of recognition and preservation. Jamaica’s application listed the influence of Bob Marley, Bunny Wailer, and Peter Tosh, as well as the contemporary success of Chronixx, as reasons to include reggae in the list. Reggae’s “contribution to international discourse on issues of injustice, resistance, love and humanity underscores the dynamics of the element as being at once cerebral, socio-political, sensual and spiritual,” UNESCO said. It added: “The basic social functions of the music—as a vehicle for social commentary, a cathartic practice, and a means of praising God—have not changed, and the music continues to act as a voice for all.”