Miami bass
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling. You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available. (January 2007) |
| Miami Bass | |
| Stylistic origins | |
|---|---|
| Cultural origins |
Early-1980s & 1990's South Florida
|
| Typical instruments | |
| Mainstream popularity | Became popular in the Late 80's/Early 90's |
| Subgenres | |
| Snap music - Dirty South - Crunk - Memphis rap - New Orleans Rap - Chopped & Screwed - Houston Rap - Miami bass - Bounce music - Little Rock hip hop | |
| Regional scenes | |
| - South Florida - Southern United States- | |
Miami bass (also known as booty music, a term that may also include other genres, such as dirty rap), is a type of hip hop music that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s. It is known for applying the Roland TR-808 sustained kick drum, slightly higher dance tempos, and occasionally sexually explicit lyrical content. 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 black ghettos such as Liberty City and Overtown" [1]. Miami bass has never found consistent mainstream acceptance, though it has had a profound impact on the development of drum and bass, Baltimore Club, Southern rap, funk carioca, and other genres.
Unterberger has referred to James (Maggotron) McCauley (also known as DXJ, Maggozulu 2, 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[citation needed].
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 were also well-known within the genre. "Bass Rock Express" by MC ADE (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.
Luther 'Luke Skyywalker' Campbell 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, and 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 2 Live Crew and retailers selling the album (all charges were eventually overturned on appeal).
The popularity of Miami bass was in part successful due to its promotion in the South Florida by local DJs, radio stations, and clubs.[citation needed] 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, Space Funk DJs, Mohamed Moretta, DJ Nice & Nasty, Felix Sama, Ramon Hernandez, Lazaro Mendez (DJ Laz) 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. Radio airplay and programming support was strong in the now defunct Rhythm 98, as well as WEDR, and WPOW (Power 96).
Another well-known subgenre of Miami bass is "car audio bass," exemplified by artists such as Techmaster P.E.B., DJ Magic Mike, Beat Dominator, Bass 305, Bass Mekanik, Quad Force, Bass Patrol, MC ADE, and others. This subgenre features an even more stripped down and 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.
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 basslines and streetwise attitude but with harder, uptempo Roland TR-909 techno-style kick beats.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Unterberger, pgs. 144 - 145
he establishment
- Papawheelie. "Miami Bass: The Primer" http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/weekly_article/miami-bass-the-primer.htm
- Unterberger, Richie (1999). Music USA: The Rough Guide. The Rough Guides, 144-145. ISBN 1-85828-421-X.
[edit] External links
- 100 Greatest Miami Bass Songs
- A comprehensive article detailing the evolution of Miami bass.
- A primer on Miami bass from Stylus Magazine.
|
||||||||||||||||||||
