Music of Miami

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The music of Miami is a diverse and important field in the world of music. The Greater Miami area has long been a hub for diverse musical genres. For example, South Florida has been a hub for Southern Rap. Miami, in particular, is a "hub" for Latin Music in the United States. [1] Miami bass (also known as booty music), a prominent hip-hop genre in the late 1980s and early 1990s, got its start in Miami; Luther "Luke Skyywalker" Campbell and his 2 Live Crew were among the more prominent Miami Bass acts, largely because of an obscenity scandal fomented by Broward County, Florida Sheriff Nick Navarro. [2] Moreover, although not a South Florida native, Jimmy Buffett rose to prominence after moving to Key West, Florida and has long been associated with the "South Florida lifestyle". Other notable South Florida-based musical performers include Gloria Estefan, Marilyn Manson (began in Fort Lauderdale, Florida), Leslie Grace, Tony Succar, Vanilla Ice, DJ Laz, and Pitbull.

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Miami's music is varied. Cubans brought the conga [3] and rumba, while Haitians and the rest of the French West Indies have brought kompa and zouk to Miami from their homelands instantly popularizing them in American culture. Dominicans brought bachata, and merengue, while Colombians brought vallenato and cumbia, and Brazilians brought samba. West Indians and Caribbean people have brought reggae, soca, calypso, and steel pan to the area as well. [4]

Music history

The South Florida recording industry started in Miami in the 1950s with Criteria Studios, [5] recording top selling albums such as Rumours by Fleetwood Mac and Hotel California by The Eagles. Local music entrepreneur Henry Stone and his label, TK Records, created the local indie scene in the 1970s. T. K. Records produced the R&B group KC and the Sunshine Band along with soul singers Betty Wright, George McCrae and Jimmy "Bo" Horne as well as a number of minor soul and disco hits, many influenced by Caribbean music. Tom Dowd, an innovator in music engineering, worked out of Miami for many years and worked with a plethora of artists including Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Tom Petty also recorded at Criteria.

1970s–1980s

In the early 1970s, the Miami disco sound came to life with TK Records, [6] featuring the music of KC and the Sunshine Band, with such hits as "Get Down Tonight", "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" and "That's the Way (I Like It)"; [7] and the Latin-American disco group Foxy, with their hit singles "Get Off" and "Hot Number". [8] They were on the very same South Florida label that released the first disco song to become a #1 hit on the pop music charts, "Rock Your Baby" by Miami area native George McCrae in 1974. [9] Other artists from that local label include Foxy, Peter Brown, Jimmy "Bo" Horne, Gwen McCrae, T-Connection, and Anita Ward. Miami native Teri DeSario was also a popular artist during the disco era. [10] The Bee Gees moved to Miami in 1975. [11]

Miami-influenced, Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine, hit the popular music scene with their Cuban-oriented sound and had hits in the 1980s with "Conga" and "Bad Boy". [12]

1990s

The 1980s and '90s also brought the genre of high energy Miami bass to dance floors and car subwoofers throughout the country. [13] Miami bass spawned artists like 2 Live Crew (featuring Uncle Luke), [13] 95 South, [14] Tag Team, [15] 69 Boyz, [16] Quad City DJ's, and Freak Nasty. Examples of these songs are "Whoomp! (There It Is)" by Tag Team in 1993, "Tootsee Roll" by 69 Boyz in 1994, and "C'mon N' Ride It (The Train)" by the Quad City DJ's in 1996.

Cuban and Latino influences

The influence of Cuban culture and music history on the music of South Florida is undeniable. The 1997 hit album Buena Vista Social Club was performed by a group featuring former stars of the Havana nightclub scene. It won a Grammy, became a hit, and was listed in 2003 by Rolling Stone magazine as #260 in The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. [17]

Cuban American female recording artist Ana Cristina was born in Miami in 1985. [18]

In 2017, the music video for "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee reached over a billion views in under 3 months. As of December 2020, the music video is the second most viewed YouTube video of all time. With its 3.3 million certified sales plus track-equivalent streams, "Despacito" became one of the best-selling Latin singles in the United States. [19] Reggaeton artist Bad Bunny released X 100pre in that one year later that in which in 2020 the album was ranked number 447 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list. [20]

MTV Latin America is based in Miami, serving residents in Mexico, Argentina, Venezuela, and other Latin American countries since 1993.

Electronic dance music

Electronic dance music (EDM) and its subgenres have been important in South Florida. Miami is considered a "hot spot" for dance music. [21] [22] Starting in the 1970s with acts like Jimmy Bo Horne and KC and The Sunshine Band, dance music coming out of Florida could be heard all over the world. With the demographics of South Florida being made up of Cuban, Haitian, and many other Afro-Caribbean cultures, dance music became very popular, adopting a lot of the grooves and percussion from those cultures. Early on, the dance scene in South Florida was mostly playing the EDM subgenres disco, house, and freestyle. Freestyle, a style of dance music popular in the 1980s and 90s, was heavily influenced by electro, hip-hop, and disco. [23] Many popular Freestyle acts such as Pretty Tony, Debbie Deb, [24] Stevie B, [25] and Exposé, [26] originated in Miami.

In the 1980s, due to a combination of clubs staying open till 5 AM and the glut of easily available drugs, Miami's dance scene began to get noticed internationally. In 1985 the Winter Music Conference, a yearly, week-long dance music conference/convention/showcase started in South Florida. The event has happened in Miami ever since. WMC as it is also known as, is famous as well for its Ultra Music Festival which happens the same week. By the 1990s many local DJs and producers where getting noticed. Acts like Murk, aka Funky Green Dogs, Planet Soul, and DJs like Robbie Rivera, were all getting air play not just in Florida but around the world. Clubs like Space, Crobar, and Mansion also attracted first class international DJ as well increasing the musics popularity. Miami would wind up allowing its night clubs to stay open 24 hours on the weekend. Thus increasing the demand for dance music. Clubs would regularly have internationally known DJs as well as local acts such as Ivano Bellini, Patrick M, and a long list of others spin into the next day.

There was also a period of alternatives to nightclubs, the warehouse party, acid house, rave and outdoor festival scenes of the late 1980s and early 1990s were havens for the latest trends in electronic dance music. [27]

Hip hop

Denzel Curry performing in 2016 Denzel Curry.png
Denzel Curry performing in 2016

Southern rap is a category of hip hop music that arose from the influences of hip hop culture in New York City and California in the late 1990s in cities such as Miami, New Orleans, Atlanta, Memphis, Houston, and Dallas. Miami and Southern Florida are a major hub and driving force for Southern rap. Floridian artists such as Plies, Epitaph, DJ Laz, Trick Daddy, Pitbull, Flo Rida, Stack$, JT Money, City Girls, Carl Lovett, Rick Ross, Trina, Jacki-O, Gold Rush, Pretty Ricky, and 2 Live Crew.

In the 2010s, Miami had a growing scene based around cloud rap that began to emerge with rappers such as SpaceGhostPurrp, Yung Simmie and Denzel Curry. [28] Traditional trap music normal in other areas of the south such as Atlanta and Texas began to gain popularity in Florida with artists like Kodak Black entering the mainstream. [29] Curry and Kodak Black were later featured on the XXL 2016 Freshmen cover, which features the rappers generally breaking into the mainstream and on the verge of being popular. [30]

In 2017, breakout artist XXXTentacion brought the "soundcloud rap" movement towards the mainstream. The movement, predominately based in South Florida [31] takes its name from the audio distribution platform SoundCloud where the artists generally post their music. The style of music, brought forward by SoundCloud rap, is heavily distorted bass, intentionally bad mixing and fast tempos. [32] The main artists in this movement are XXXTentacion, Lil Pump, Wifisfuneral, Ski Mask the Slump God and Smokepurpp. [33] XXXTentacion was featured on the XXL 2017 Freshman cover. [34] Lil Pump, Ski Mask The Slump God, Smokepurpp, and Wifisfuneral were all featured on the XXL 2018 Freshman cover. [35]

Miami bass

Miami bass is a popular style of music from the Miami area of South Florida and is embodied by the musical style of local rap stars such as Trick Daddy. [36] Miami bass is a part of the robust music scene in the South Florida metropolitan area, which comprises cities such as Miami, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale. These cities have many locally famous rappers and DJs who are on their way up in the rap game.

Miami bass is a booming, bass-heavy style of hip hop that developed in the mid-1980s in Miami. The distinctive sound evolved from electro hop, including sounds from Luther Campbell and his group, 2 Live Crew. The Miami bass scene that 2 Live Crew typified is simply one form of southern rap and Miami bass' club-oriented sound garnered little respect from hip hop fans. But the 2 Live crew is not the only music artist in Miami. This city also holds Trick Daddy, DJ Uncle Al, Rick Ross, Trina, Jacki-O, Pitbull, Cool & Dre, DJ Khaled, Smitty, DJ 2nen, Pretty Ricky, BlackMask and many more. Miami rapper Trick Daddy also grew up in the Liberty Square of the Liberty City section of Miami, one of the city's and America's roughest areas. The city of Miami is also home to the label Slip "N" Slide Records.

Miami bass innovators include Maggotron and Luther Campbell's 2 Live Crew. The lyrics to Miami bass are sexually explicit, so when 2 Live Crew achieved national attention, these lyrics caused a controversy. Several music stores were prosecuted under obscenity laws for selling the disc, and the members of 2 Live Crew were arrested for performing songs from the album Nasty As They Wanna Be . The charges were subsequently dropped. [37]

Rock

The Miami rock scene had a particularly successful period in the late 1980s to mid-1990s as well as early 2000's, sparked by the many rock and acoustic venues within South Beach and Fort Lauderdale. Popular local artists included The Mavericks, Nuclear Valdez, Marilyn Manson, Jack Off Jill Nonpoint, Nil Lara, Ed Hale, Harry Pussy.[ citation needed ] Ska punk band Against All Authority is from Miami, and rock/metal bands Nonpoint and Marilyn Manson each formed in Fort Lauderdale. [38] [39] Indie/folk acts Cat Power and Iron & Wine are based in the city. [40]

See also

Related Research Articles

Freestyle, or Latin freestyle is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in the New York metropolitan area, Philadelphia, and Miami, primarily among Hispanic Americans and Italian Americans in the 1980s. It experienced its greatest popularity from the late 1980s until the early 1990s. A common theme of freestyle lyricism originated as heartbreak in an urban environment typified by New York City.

House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's Black gay underground club culture and evolved slowly in the early/mid 1980s as DJs began altering disco songs to give them a more mechanical beat. By early 1988, House became mainstream and supplanted the typical 80s music beat.

Latin hip hop is hip hop music that is recorded by artists in the United States of Hispanic and Latino descent, along with Spanish-speaking countries in the Caribbean, North America, Central America, South America, and Spain.

Old-school hip hop is the earliest commercially recorded hip hop music and the original style of the genre. It typically refers to the music created around 1979 to 1983, as well as any hip hop that does not adhere to contemporary styles.

West Coast hip hop is a regional genre of hip hop music that encompasses any artists or music that originated in the West Coast of the United States. West Coast hip hop began to dominate from a radio play and sales standpoint during the early to-mid 1990s with the birth of G-funk and the emergence of record labels such as Suge Knight and Dr. Dre's Death Row Records, Ice Cube's Lench Mob Records, the continued success of Eazy-E's Ruthless Records, Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment, and others.

Southern hip hop, also known as Southern rap, South Coast hip hop, or dirty south, is a blanket term for a regional genre of American hip hop music that emerged in the Southern United States, especially in Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Florida—often titled “The Big 5,” five states which constitute the "Southern Network" in rap music.

Miami 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".

The music of Florida has diverse influences, with roots in rock, jazz, blues, country, and Latin music. Cities such as Tampa, Gainesville, Orlando, and Miami developed influential rock, punk, and metal scenes in the 1970s–2000s. Miami in particular has a rich tradition of Latin and Caribbean music, which has influenced mainstream pop and hip hop in the 2000s and 2010s.

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.

Korean hip-hop, also known as K-hip-hop or K-rap, is a subgenre of the South Korean popular music.

UK rap, also known as British hip hop or UK hip hop, is a music genre and culture that covers a variety of styles of hip hop music made in the United Kingdom. It is generally classified as one of a number of styles of R&B/hip-hop. British hip hop can also be referred to as Brit-hop, a term coined and popularised mainly by British Vogue magazine and the BBC. British hip hop was originally influenced by the dub/toasting introduced to the United Kingdom by Jamaican migrants in the 1950s–70s, who eventually developed uniquely influenced rapping in order to match the rhythm of the ever-increasing pace and aggression of Jamaican-influenced dub in the UK. Toasting and soundsystem cultures were also influential in genres outside of hip hop that still included rapping – such as grime, jungle, and UK garage.

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.

L'Trimm was a Miami bass hip-hop duo composed of Bunny D and Lady Tigra. Originally from Coconut Grove, Florida, they recorded three albums for Atlantic Records: Grab It! in 1988, Drop That Bottom in 1989, and Groovy in 1991.

Asian hip hop is a heterogeneous musical genre that covers all hip hop music as recorded and produced by artists of Asian origin.

Northwest hip hop is hip hop or rap music that originates from the Pacific Northwest of North America, encompassing major cities such as Portland (Oregon), Seattle (Washington), and other towns. Northwest hip hop music mixes elements from various genres of music to form a sound different from its southern neighbor, West Coast hip hop. For many years the scene existed mainly as an underground genre, but recently Northwest hip-hop has seen more and more mainstream acceptance, with artists such as Macklemore gaining nationwide attention.

Hip hop or hip-hop, formerly known as disco rap, is a genre of popular music that originated in the early 1970s from the African American community. Hip-hop music originated as an anti-drug and anti-violence genre consisting of stylized rhythmic music that often accompanies rapping, a rhythmic delivery of poetic speech. In the early 1990s, a professor of African American studies at Temple University said, "Hip-hop is something that blacks can unequivocally claim as their own." By the 21st century, the field of rappers had diversified by both race and gender. The music developed as part of the broader hip-hop culture, a subculture defined by four key stylistic elements: MCing/rapping, DJing/scratching with turntables, breakdancing, and graffiti art. While often used to refer solely to rapping and rap music, "hip hop" more properly denotes the practice of the entire subculture. The term hip hop music is sometimes used synonymously with the term rap music, though rapping is not a required component of hip hop music; the genre may also incorporate other elements of the culture, including DJing, turntablism, scratching, beatboxing, and instrumental tracks.

The influence and impact of hip hop was originally shaped from African American and Latino communities in the South Bronx. In the last several decades, the movement has become a worldwide phenomenon which transcends different cultural boundaries as it reaches several ethnic groups, including Asian Americans. Asian American hip-hop practitioners include: MC Jin, Lyrics Born, Dumbfoundead, Tokimonsta, and DJ Q-Bert.

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

The 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop group from Miami, Florida, that had its greatest commercial success from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The group's best-known lineup was composed of Uncle Luke, Fresh Kid Ice, Mr. Mixx, and Brother Marquis. They were considerably controversial in the U.S. due to the sexually explicit content in their songs, particularly on their 1989 album As Nasty as They Wanna Be.

Andrew Lamont Thomas, better known by his stage name Yung Simmie, is an American rapper from Miami, Florida. Thomas has been performing since 2009 and has till date brought out a catalog of mixtapes and freestyle renditions, apart from making a few guest appearances in music videos of other artists. He has also been a member of SpaceGhostPurrp's hip hop group, Raider Klan. With over 10 recordings to his credit, Yung Simmie has toured several parts of Europe and the United States independently and as a member of Raider Klan.

References

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  3. ↑ "Latin Music USA | PBS". www.pbs.org. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Facts About The History of Miami City – Visit Miami, FL". Miami All Around. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  5. ↑ "Web Page Under Construction".
  6. ↑ "Founder of the 'Miami Sound,' TK Records' Henry Stone dies at 93". miamiherald. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  7. ↑ LTD., BubbleUp. "About KC". KC and the Sunshine Band :: Official Website. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  8. ↑ Bogdanov, Vladimir (2003). All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul. Google Books: Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 254. ISBN   0879307447.
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  10. ↑ DjPaulT (January 25, 2013). "Teri DeSario – The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of / Ain't Nothing Gonna Keep Me From You (US 12" Promo)". Burning The Ground: DjPaulT's 80's and 90's Remixes. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
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  12. ↑ "Rewinding the Charts: In 1985, Miami Sound Machine Did the 'Conga' in Its Debut". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  13. 1 2 Bein, Kat (October 23, 2015). "The Ten Greatest Miami Bass Songs of All Time". Miami New Times. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Bio". 95 South Music. Archived from the original on October 12, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
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  17. ↑ "Timba Website - Get ready for the Cuban invasion".
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  19. ↑ Ratner-Arias, Sigal (July 9, 2017). "Daddy Yankee is No. 1 on Spotify; 1st Latin artist to do so". The Washington Post . Archived from the original on July 9, 2017. Retrieved July 9, 2017.
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  22. ↑ "The Best Cities in America for Dance Music Right Now". Complex. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  23. ↑ Gardner, Joey. "History of Freestyle Music". music.hyperreal.org.
  24. ↑ Host, Vivian (25 September 2015). "Interview: Pretty Tony on Freestyle, Debbie Deb and More". Red Bull Music Academy.
  25. ↑ Gonzalez, Victor (May 7, 2012). "Stevie B: The King of Freestyle is Still Hungry and Still Humble". Miami New Times. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  26. ↑ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of #1 Hits. Google Books: Billboard Publications. p. 691.
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  29. ↑ "Everything You Need To Know About Kodak Black". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
  30. ↑ "This Kodak Black, 21 Savage, Lil Uzi Vert, Lil Yachty, and Denzel Curry Cypher Is More Fun Than Recess". Noisey. 2016-07-07. Retrieved 2017-08-30.
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  35. ↑ "XXL 2018 Freshman Class Revealed – XXL". XXL Mag. Retrieved 2018-08-16.
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  38. ↑ Kissell, Ted B. "Manson: The Florida Years". Cleveland Scene. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
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  40. ↑ "Interview: Cat Power". Pitchfork Media . November 13, 2006. Archived from the original on August 19, 2007. Retrieved August 25, 2007.
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