Miami bass

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Miami bass (also known as booty music or booty bass) is a subgenre of hip hop music that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. The use of drums from the Roland TR-808, sustained kick drum, heavy bass, raised dance tempos, and frequently sexually explicit lyrical content differentiate it from other hip hop subgenres. Music author Richie Unterberger has characterized Miami bass as using rhythms with a "stop-start flavor" and "hissy" cymbals with lyrics that "reflected the language of the streets, particularly Miami's historically black neighborhoods such as Liberty City, Goulds, and Overtown". [1]

Contents

Despite Miami bass never having consistent mainstream acceptance, early national media attention in the 1980s resulted in a profound impact on the development of hip hop, dance music, and pop. [2]

History

1980s (origins)

External audio
Origin of Miami Bass
Nuvola apps arts.svg Bass Rock Express by MC A.D.E. credited as the first hit of the genre, YouTube video
Nuvola apps arts.svg Throw the D by 2 Live Crew credited with international exposure and shaping the genre, YouTube video

During the 1980s, the focus of Miami bass tended to be on DJs and record producers, rather than individual performers. Record labels such as Pandisc, HOT Records, 4-Sight Records and Skyywalker Records released much material of the genre. Unterberger has referred to James (Maggotron) McCauley (also known as DXJ, Maggozulu Too, Planet Detroit and Bass Master Khan) as the "father of Miami bass", a distinction McCauley himself denies, choosing rather to confer that status on producer Amos Larkins. [3] [2] DJ Kurtis Mantronik (Mantronix) was a key influence on Miami bass. In particular, Mantronik's single "Bass Machine" (1986), featuring rap vocals by T La Rock, was pivotal to the development of Miami bass. [4]

MC ADE's "Bass Rock Express" (with music and beats produced by Amos Larkins) is often credited as being the first Miami bass record to gain underground popularity on an international scale. [2]

The single "Throw The D" by the group 2 Live Crew in January 1986 gave a permanent blueprint to how future Miami bass songs were written and produced. [2]

Popularity

Luther "Luke Skyywalker" Campbell along with David "Mr. Mixx" Hobbs of 2 Live Crew played a key role in popularizing Miami bass in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The group's 1986 release, The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are , became controversial for its sexually explicit lyrics. 1989's As Nasty As They Wanna Be , along with its hit single "Me So Horny", proved more controversial still, leading to legal troubles for both 2 Live Crew and retailers selling the album (all charges were eventually overturned on appeal). [2]

For the better part of the mid-'80s and early '90s, DJs such as Luke Skyywalker's Ghetto Style DJs, Norberto Morales' Triple M DJs, Super JD's MHF DJs, Space Funk DJs, Mohamed Moretta, DJ Nice & Nasty, Felix Sama, DJ Spin, Ramon Hernandez, Bass Master DJs, DJ Laz, Earl "The Pearl" Little, Uncle Al, Ser MC, Raylo & Dem Damn Dogs, DJ Slice, K-Bass, Jam Pony Express and others were heavily involved in playing Miami bass at local outdoor events to large audiences at area beaches, parks, and fairs.

Clubs in South Florida, including Pac-Jam, Superstars Rollertheque, Bass Station, Studio 183, Randolphs, Nepenthe, Video Powerhouse, Skylight Express, Beat Club and Club Boca, were hosting bass nights on a regular basis. Miami radio airplay and programming support was strong in the now defunct Rhythm 98, as well as WEDR and WPOW (Power 96).

Contribution and promotion of Miami bass also came out of Orlando. 102 Jamz (WJHM), a prominent Orlando radio station in the late '80s, featured Miami bass and helped its popularity rise in and around Central Florida.

Florida breaks was heavily influenced by Miami bass in addition to elements of house, and deep bass that eventually created "The Orlando Sound". Thus, Miami bass quickly became a Florida staple.

1990s

By the mid-1990s, the influence of Miami bass had spread outside South and Central Florida to all areas of Florida and the Southern United States. In the mid-1990s, it saw a commercial and mainstream resurgence, with Miami bass influenced artists such as L'Trimm, 95 South, Tag Team, 69 Boyz, Quad City DJ's and Freak Nasty all scoring big Miami bass hits. Examples of these songs are "Whoomp! (There It Is)" by Tag Team in 1993, [5] "Tootsee Roll" by 69 Boyz in 1994, [6] "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" by the Quad City DJ's in 1996 [7] and "Whoot, There It Is" by 95 South in 1993. [5]

These songs all reached the top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and exposed Miami bass nationally. These artists generally used a Miami bass sound and production but did it in a far less explicit and far more accessible way than had been previously done by Campbell and the 2 Live Crew. [8]

Miami bass is closely related to the electronic dance music genres of ghettotech and booty house, genres which combine Detroit techno and Chicago house with the Miami bass sound. Ghettotech follows the same sexually oriented lyrics, hip-hop bass lines and streetwise attitude, but with harder, uptempo Roland TR-909 techno-style kick beats. In 2007, contemporary hip-hop and R&B songs became more dance oriented, showing influences of Miami bass and techno, and are typically sped up to a "chipmunk" sound for faster tempos for dances such as juking, wu-tanging and bopping (usually only done in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach Counties in south Florida).[ citation needed ]

Subgenres

Miami bass has been influenced by the cultural history of its wide-ranging community with the evolution of Cuban, Dominican, and Afro-Brazilian-fused sub-genres that include Baltimore club and funk carioca. [9] [10]

Another subgenre of Miami bass is "car audio bass", which features an even more stripped down bass-heavy sound, tending to focus on either extremely hard 909 kicks combined with sine waves or the classic 808 kick, or sometimes simply the sine wave by itself.[ citation needed ] Some artist examples would be DJ Laz, DJ Magic Mike, Afro-Rican (as Power Supply), Techmaster P.E.B., DJ Billy E, Bass 305 and Bass Patrol.

Stylistic differences

In African music

Gqom, an African electronic dance genre that originated in Durban, South Africa, in the early 2010s, is sometimes conflated with Miami bass due to perceived similarities between Durban's cityscape and Miami's South and North Beach areas as well as car culture (enhanced car sound systems, with an emphasis on bass to play or enjoy the genres). However, gqom and miami bass are distinct not only in their origins but also in their production styles. [11] [12]

Notes

Related Research Articles

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Jungle is a genre of electronic music that developed out of the UK rave scene and Jamaican sound system culture in the 1990s. Emerging from breakbeat hardcore, the style is characterised by rapid breakbeats, heavily syncopated percussive loops, samples, and synthesised effects, combined with the deep basslines, melodies, and vocal samples found in dub, reggae and dancehall, as well as hip hop and funk. Many producers frequently sampled the "Amen break" or other breakbeats from funk and jazz recordings. Jungle was a direct precursor to the drum and bass genre which emerged in the mid-1990s.

Electro is a genre of electronic dance music directly influenced by the use of the Roland TR-808 drum machines, with an immediate origin in early hip hop and funk genres. Records in the genre typically feature heavy electronic sounds, usually without vocals; if vocals are present, they are delivered in a deadpan manner, often through electronic distortion such as vocoding and talkboxing. It palpably deviates from its predecessor boogie by being less vocal-oriented and more focused on electronic beats produced by drum machines.

Florida breaks, which may also be referred to as The Orlando Sound, Orlando breaks, or The Breaks, is a genre of breakbeat dance music that originated in the central region of Florida, United States. Florida Breaks draws on hip-hop, Miami bass and electro. It often includes samples of early jazz or funk beats from rare groove or popular film. It often features vocal elements. Compared to the hip-hop on which it is based, the style is faster, more syncopated, and has a heavier and unrelenting bassline. The beat frequently slows and breaks down complex beat patterns and then rebuilds. The genre has been described as being easy to dance to while creating an uplifting, happy, or positive mood in the listener.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fresh Kid Ice</span> Trinidadian-American rapper

Christopher Wong Won, better known by his stage name Fresh Kid Ice, was a Trinidadian-American rapper and a Miami bass pioneer. Wong Won was born and spent his early childhood in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, before emigrating to the United States. In his early twenties, Wong Won was in the United States Air Force and he co-founded 2 Live Crew while he was stationed in California. Early 2 Live Crew singles gained so much traction in Florida that they relocated there. By 1986, the group released the single "Throw The 'D'"; it is now considered the blueprint of Miami bass.

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David P. Hobbs, also known by his stage name Mr. Mixx, is an American musician and record producer who is the co-founder of the controversial rap group 2 Live Crew. In 1986, the group released the single "Throw The 'D'"; it is now considered the blueprint of Miami bass.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brother Marquis</span> American rapper (1966–2024)

Mark D. Ross, better known by his stage name Brother Marquis, was an American rapper and a Miami bass pioneer. Ross was born in Rochester, New York. In his teens, he moved with his mother to Los Angeles, California. By the early 1980s, Ross started to release music and made an impression on DJ and producer David Hobbs. Hobbs was part of the group 2 Live Crew, who had just created the Miami Bass blueprint, and were successful in Florida. This led Ross accepting an invitation to join them. Due to his comedic sensibilities, Ross integrated easily into the direction the group was taking. Alongside Hobbs, Christopher Wong Won, and Luther Campbell, they became the most well-known line up of the group. In 1986, they had a breakthrough with their Gold-certified debut album, The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2 Live Crew</span> American hip hop group

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Gqom, gqom tech, sgubhu, 3-Step or G.Q.O.M) is an African electronic dance music genre and subgenre of house music, that emerged in the early 2010s from Durban, South Africa, pioneered and innovated by music producers Naked Boyz, Rudeboyz, Sbucardo, Griffit Vigo, Nasty Boyz, DJ Lag, Menzi Shabane, Distruction Boyz and Citizen Boy.

Bass music is a term used to describe several genres of electronic dance music and hip hop music arising from the 1980s on, focusing on a prominent bass drum and/or bassline sound. As one source notes, there are "many different types of bass music to fall into, each putting a different spin on one of music's loudest elements". Typically, the bass sound is created using synthesizers and drum machines such as the influential Roland TR-808.

References

  1. ↑ Unterberger, pgs. 144 - 145
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Bein, Kat (November 3, 2014). "Tootsie Rolls, 'Hoochie Mamas,' and Cars That Go Boom: The Story of Miami Bass". thump.vice.com. VICE. Archived from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017. Miami Bass, Booty Bass, Booty Music, or whatever you want to call it, changed the scenes of hip hop, dance music, and pop forever...The story of music's dirtiest genre reaches back to the '80s with roots set firmly in Afrika Bambaataa's elektro-funk...foundational artists Amos Larkins and Maggotron, both of whom have been credited as kicking the regional sound into motion. According to Stylus Magazine, Larkins and the Miami Bass conception can be traced back to the movie Knights of the City...Inspired by the humid and vice-ridden melting pot of cultures, ...MC A.D.E.'s "Bass Rock Express" gets the title for first hit of the genre, but it was 2 Live Crew who became the poster boys of movement. Record store owners who sold the album were arrested and charged with crimes of obscenity, and 2 Live Crew members were arrested just for playing shows...US Appeals Court system ruled rap was protected by First Amendment rights...2 Live Crew made it safe for hip-hop as we know it to exist. The influence of the genre is far-reaching...Miami Bass remains not only one of the most ridiculous and enjoyable genres of music in recent memory but also one of the most important.
  3. ↑ Maggotron.com
  4. ↑ "Check It Deeply: Did Kurtis Mantronik Pioneer The Trap Beat?". LargeUp. September 6, 2013. Archived from the original on July 9, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2018.
  5. 1 2 Billboard - Google Boeken. 1993-08-14. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
  6. ↑ Billboard - Google Boeken. 29 October 1994. Archived from the original on 2024-06-08. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
  7. ↑ Billboard - Google Boeken. 20 July 1996. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
  8. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/explore/style/d2936
  9. ↑ Garber, David (September 16, 2016). "Traditional Drums, Miami Bass, and Abrasive Techno Intersect on Alpha 606's 'Afro-Cuban Electronics' Album". thump.vice.com. VICE. Archived from the original on September 28, 2016. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  10. ↑ Bein, Kat (September 12, 2014). "Happy Colors is at the Bleeding Edge of Miami's Booming EDM Culture". thump.vice.com. VICE. Archived from the original on June 8, 2017. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  11. ↑ "What Is #Gqom? Learn More in H∆SHTAG$, Season II". Redbull Music Academy. 2017. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  12. ↑ "Motor Bass: how car culture influences electronic music". DJ Mag. 2021-02-02. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
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