The Origins of Miami Bass

A subgenre of electro music beginning around the mid-1980s

Miami Bass, otherwise known as booty Bass, has its origins in the electro-funk, reggae, and old school hip hop beats of the early 1980s and evolved through a sampling of basically a little bit of everything.

It's rooted in an electric era of video games, robotic recorders, and swoony vocals, between the death of disco and the rebirth of hip-hop. Miami Bass is a sub-genre of hip-hop and is closely related to electronic dance music, with its' very own sub-genre of car audio bass. A culturally diverse community heavily influences it.

Defined as the ghetto style hip-hop of Miami, Miami Bass puts into music the story of the time. It's difficult to forget the violence of the '80s in Miami, often referred to as Miami's time of fire, and the darkest moments in the city's life. But out of the boredom, poverty, and lack of recreation and violence, talent rose and gave birth to what is known as Miami Bass. The thrill of thousands of watts of bass pumping through a wall of sub-woofers, seemingly capable of crushing the very breath out of you, is one that few bass lovers will easily forget or let go of. Such is the feeling of Miami Bass.

What is Miami Bass?

Miami Bass is characterized by the use of sexually explicit lyrics, raised dance tempos, and, as the name implies, heavy bass through a sustained kick drum. The scene itself is one set in a field of parties, drugs, sex, and champagne. Its sound is distinct and very easy to set apart from others:

Fast percussion using 32nd notes

Wide range of electronic percussions

Hissy cymbals

Looped drums and samples

Fast, low-end Bass

BPM- between 100 and 140

Scratching

Raunchy Vocals and lyrics

To sum it up perfectly - "Miami Bass is a Bass drop, with a snappy snare, a crisp high hat, and a tick-tick followed by a low-end bump. It's got that 808 kick drop sound that makes the girlies get down." - in the words of DJ Ash Rock.

Given that music was still mostly pressed on vinyl during this time, achieving that boom boom bass posed a technical challenge, and there were very few musicians and engineers that knew how to handle this level of bass. Enter the game-changer.

The Roland TR808

The Roland CompuRhythm CR-78 was the 808s predecessor and the first drum machine that created and stored drum patterns.

However, 1970s technology didn't allow for creating very realistic drum sounds, and this was the intended goal for the new machine that had to be made to close this gap. The TR808 Rhythm Composer was released by Roland in 1980 and was one of the most sought-after electronic music instruments of its time. It was released as a songwriting tool, but thanks to a few mishaps, and the use of transistors, the Roland team ended up creating the extraordinary boom that set the TR808 Composer in a field of its own.

These transistors are said to be the secret weapon that gives this analog machine its sonic boom.

It initially sold around 12 000 units, but it wasn't until a few musicians began tweaking the Composer that the world literally felt its effects.

The influence of the TR808 is so deep that there have been songs and albums named after it. Its name has been dropped in hundreds of tracks, and new music genres today still use it as their defining instrument and sound.

Miami Bass is what it is because of this machine. The TR808 is sold as a digital composer today, but reviews show that it lacks that deep low bass since the transistors are no longer in use.

So, how did Miami Bass begin?

Although rapping is now a large component of this genre, there were and still are many instrumental tracks produced.

Miami Bass is centered primarily around partying, hooking up, and rump-shaking, with its content being derived from strip clubs, skating rinks, and block parties. Unlike regular hip-hop, it is set apart by its obscenity and raucous, sexually explicit content.

The focus of this genre was more on DJs and producers rather than performers, and this scene was initially driven by DJs through scratching and vocal coding, with a few phrases repeated throughout the track.

DJ Kurtis Mantronik's single, "Bass Machine" (1986), featuring T LA Rock on rap vocals, is pivotal in the development of Miami Bass. Lyrics soon became commonplace, but it took just one talent to get this genre on the map.

Amos Larkins II - the Godfather of Miami Bass

Amos Larkins II was just a teenager in the 1980s when he earned a spot as a session musician at Miami Sound. He started hanging out with people involved in the Miami club scene and was influenced by music that would soon become part of the Miami Bass genre.

He credited "Computer Funk," a song by Osè, for introducing him to the TR808. According to Larkins, there was no name given to the genre at the time. He worked a few gigs and was hired as a producer for Sunnyview Records. He soon acquired a taste for cocaine and strip clubs, which one would assume would have lead to his demise. He, however, viewed strip clubs as his muse and would often visit them for inspiration.

After one intense night of partying, he invited a stripper back to Synnyview's studio with him to finish a mix of "Comin' in Fresh." One thing led to another, and it was already morning when he realized that he hadn't finished the song, and employees would soon be in the studio.

In his rush to leave, he failed to do a final check before recording the song. It was distributed by the label a few days later and became an instant hit in stores.

Who would have guessed that something extraordinary would have come out of a snowstorm?

In light of "Comin in Fresh's" success, he was granted leeway to experiment, and he continued to work at it until he mastered what we know as Miami Bass. He went on to produce "Bass Rock Express" by MC ADE, the first Miami Bass record to gain underground popularity internationally.

2 Live Crew

It didn't take long for this low bass sound to hit the ground, and Larkins's success was quickly followed by 2 live Crew's blueprint single, "Throw The D." As a result of this single, MC Fresh Kid Ice rose to fame as the first Miami Bass rapper. Miami Bass wouldn't be what it is today if it wasn't for 2 Live Crew who set the scene and style for Miami Bass in the 1980s. In a typical trendsetting style, "Throw The D" actually came about due to an emerging dance move at the time.

2 Live Crew's first Album, "The 2 Live Crew is What We Are", was released in 1986, and they went on to create other hits like "Me So Horny." Their sexually explicit lyrics soon had them in hot water, with a judge ruling that their 1989 album, "As Nasty as They Wanna Be," being too obscene to sell. They eventually won this legal battle that allowed them and the industry to continue using slang and cussing, provided that the parental advisory warning was clearly displayed on album covers.

Luke Campbell and David Hobbs from 2 Live Crew played pivotal roles in popularizing Miami Bass through these controversial albums.

The progression of Miami Bass

Miami Bass in the 1990s once again saw DJs being instrumental in the promotion of the genre, with it being a heavy focus at local outdoor events.

In South Florida, clubs and party venues hosted regular Miami Bass nights, with radio stations in Florida promoting the genre. Miami Bass influenced breaks in Florida, and this quickly became a staple in Central and South Florida.

By the mid-'90s, the popularity of Miami Bass had spread throughout Florida and the Southern United States, and artists such as 95 South, Tag Team and Freak Nasty all breathed life into the genre with massive hits. All their hits made it to the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100.

And who could forget that tootsee roll?

Initiated by producers CC Lemonhead and Jay Ski, 69 Boyz is a Miami Bass and hip-hop duo from Florida. "Tootsee Roll," a single from their debut album 199Quad, went platinum with its release in 1994.

This song hit number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 9 on the R&B Chart. "The Wait is Over," their second album, was released in 1998 and "2069" in 2000, with one single, "How we roll."

The Future of Miami Bass

Miami Bass has had an incredible influence on the electronic dance music scene, hip-hop, and house music. Many genres have gone on to embody and incorporate the raunchy sexuality and dirty beats of the south. It is impossible for next-generation producers not to notice its impact on the music scene or its longevity in the club scene.

The city still celebrates Miami Bass. DJs like Ash Rock and Merlyn regularly come together to work on Fresh tracks, mixing the old and the new, and keep this genre current.

It's evident that the Miami attitude itself has no boundaries. It's harsh, abrasive, and jam-packed with ghetto flavor. Something we all need a bit of.