Miami bass
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Miami bass (also known as booty music, a term that may also include other genres) is a type of hip hop music that became popular in the 1980s and 1990s, 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 black Miami ghettos such as Liberty City" Unterberger, pgs. 144 - 145. Miami bass has never had consistent mainstream acceptance, but has had a profound impact on the development of drum'n' bass, Southern rap, and other genres of music.
Unterberger has called Maggotron (James McCauley, also known as DXJ, Maggozulu 2, Planet Detroit and Bass Master Khan) the "father of Miami bass". He created the Miami bass sounds with vocoders and what Maggotron referred to as the "thrombic boomulator" to produce the distinctive low-pitched and distorted vocals Unterberger, pgs. 144 - 145. In the 80s, the focus of Miami bass was on the DJs and record producers rather than the performers. Record labels like Pandisc were also well-known. "Bass Rock Express" by MC ADE is often credited as the first Miami bass record ever.
Luther 'Luke Skyywalker' Campbell, of the crew 2 Live Crew, did the most to popularize Miami bass in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are, released in 1986, became controversial for sexually explicit and profane lyrics. The 1989 As Nasty As They Wanna Be, and its hit single "Me So Horny", was even more controversial and led to legal troubles for 2 Live Crew and retailers; all charges were eventually overturned on appeal.
It is important to point out that Miami Bass popularity was in part successful due to the promotion it received in the South Florida area by local DJs, radio and clubs. For the better part of the mid 80’s to early 90’s DJs such as Luke Skyywalker’s Ghetto Style DJs, Norberto Morales’ Triple M DJs, Mohamed Moretta, DJ Nice & Nasty, Felix Sama, Raymond Hernandez and Lazaro Mendez 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).
Miami Bass is closely related to the modern 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.
Music sample
- [Me So Horny (sample)] ([file info])
- *
- * Problems listening to the file? See [Media helpmedia help].
Reference
External links
- [100 Greatest Miami Bass Songs]
- [Yahoo Group] devoted to chronicling the evolution & formation of Miami bass
- [A comprehensive article] detailing the evolution of Miami Bass.
- [A primer] on Miami Bass from Stylus Magazine.
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