Miami Bass
tagStarted 1986Peak 1988-1996Last big hit 1998From Miami, United States
Located in 3 routes
Roland TR-808 turned up past distortion: long, booming sub-kicks tuned for car trunks, fast hissing electro hi-hats, raised dance tempos near 130 BPM, and chant-shout vocals over sparse synth stabs. Lyrics skew sexual and party-driven. The sound is physical, woofer-rattling bass weight built to overwhelm any soundsystem.
History
Emerged in mid-80s Miami from electro-funk, codified by 2 Live Crew's 1986 'Throw the D.' Producers like DJ Magic Mike and Amos Larkins pushed 808 sub-bass to its limit on car audio. By the early 90s it spread across Florida and the South, spawning crossover novelty smashes and seeding bounce, crunk, and later trap's low-end obsession.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- Wikipedia: Miami bass
- Vice: Tootsie Rolls, Hoochie Mamas, and Cars That Go Boom
- Mixmag: The 10 most essential Miami bass tracks