Two distinctive instruments of Suriname are skratji and snare drums. Skratji is a large bass drum with a cymbal. Skratji and snare drums, along with saxophone and trumpet, are typical instruments in Surinamese kaseko music. Kaseko music is a fusion of African, American, and European folk and popular music styles. It has a complex rhythm and usually involves call-and-response vocals.

Kaseko music became part of the musical scene in the Netherlands in the 1970s with the immigration of one-third of Suriname's population there.