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Miami bass is a subgenre of bass and the first to launch the bass scene entirely. The genre emerged in the early to mid-80s and by the 90's was a global phenomenon. The music incorporated the Roland TR 808 as its main source of beat-making and gave the genre its signature bass sound.

History[]

The origins of Miami bass began with electro, electro-funk, early hip hop, and Caribbean music being fused in a new dance format that fit the night life there. Afrika Bambaataa's Planet Rock as well as Kraftwerk are often cited as major influences. In the early to mid-80's sound system crews which were impromptu parties set up outside with large speakers, a DJ, a MC or rapper and music played for these parties was typically electro. The sound system crews began to notice audience most liked the bass and artist began pushing a new sound focused around it. Amos Larkin is typically cited as the father of Miami bass but the title of first Miami bass song is hotly debated. As the genre grew it mostly stayed in Florida in the 80's but began getting larger success outside in places like Atlanta, South California, and Detroit.

2-Live Crew is cited as a big reason the genre got so popular. With their song 'Throw the D' as a blueprint of sorts to base future Miami bass songs on. Other artist took notice and toned down the raunchy lyrics and made chart topping hits during the 90s. The success of the genre did not last however. New genres began to supersede it such as crunk and trap. By the 2000s most had moved on and now the genre is only kept alive by a few, typically original artists from the 80s, that go back to it as a throwback.

Despite Miami bass' short lived nature its influence is major in the electronic dance music world. It had a huge influence on funk carioca, which is a style of Brazilian EDM. It also started the booty bass or bass scene which has many genres such as ghettotech, techno bass, juke, bounce and others. All these styles owe their success to Miami bass.

Composition[]

Miami bass is made mostly on analog hardware with the TR-808 being a huge tool used for the bass and rhythm. The rhythm is a broken electro style beat with Latin and Caribbean rhythms sometimes being used. The bass is often set to max sustain to have the bass sound low and resonate sometimes overlapping over itself. Some even used the SP-1200 to push the bass even further by sampling the 808 bass and feeding it into the SP-1200 for an even deeper heavier sound. Lyrics are often rapped and are usually, especially in the 80's, very explicit and sexual. DJing was also a big part of the music with scratching being a major musical tool that was utilized.

Sources[]

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