Sublime was an American ska punk and reggae rock band formed in Long Beach, California in 1988 by Bradley Nowell, Eric Wilson, and Bud Gaugh. The 1996 self-titled album — released two months after Nowell's death, home to What I Got, Santeria, and Wrong Way — has sold over 6 million copies; 40oz. to Freedom (1992) is the scrappy origin. Browse Sublime vinyl, CDs, and reissues at Wax Trax Records.
Sublime formed in Long Beach, California in 1988 around Bradley Nowell (born February 22, 1968, Long Beach; died May 25, 1996), Eric Wilson (born May 21, 1970, Long Beach), and Bud Gaugh (born September 9, 1967). They are widely cited as foundational figures of the contemporary American reggae rock and ska punk scenes alongside contemporaries like 311, No Doubt, Slightly Stoopid, and the Long Beach Dub Allstars. Their 1992 debut 40oz. to Freedom - independent on Skunk Records - established their distinctive blend of ska, punk, reggae, dub, hip hop, and Long Beach Latin American musical influences. Their 1996 self-titled third album was released two months after Bradley Nowell's death from accidental heroin overdose on May 25, 1996 at age 28 in San Francisco hotel during a tour. The album became a cultural cornerstone of late-1990s and 2000s American reggae rock and ska punk, with international singles What I Got, Santeria, Wrong Way, and Doin' Time. It has sold over 6 million copies worldwide. The band dissolved with Nowell's death. Sublime with Rome (with Rome Ramirez replacing Nowell as vocalist) was active 2009-2024. Bradley Nowell's son Jakob Nowell (born June 1995 during the recording of Sublime, 28 years old at 2024 Sublime reformation) fronted the reformed Sublime with Wilson and Gaugh starting in 2024 (Coachella 2024 reunion performance). Their foundational influence on contemporary American reggae rock and ska punk is widely cited.
Sublime's sound combines ska punk, reggae rock, ska, dub, reggae, punk rock, alternative rock, and hip hop with Nowell's distinctive vocal delivery (range from rapped to sung phrasing), virtuosic genre-blending compositional approaches, and lyrical content addressing Long Beach urban experience, drug use, romance, and broader contemporary California themes drawing on Long Beach Latin American musical traditions.
Original Skunk Records, MCA Records, and Gasoline Alley pressings of the Sublime catalog are foundational items in contemporary American reggae rock collecting.
Listeners new to Sublime typically start with Sublime (1996) or 40oz. to Freedom (1992).
