Miami Bass
Electro · 1986 · 120 to 140 BPM · also known as Booty Bass, Bass Music Miami
Miami, 1985: the 808 tuned for the trunk of a car, sub bass reaching below the threshold of hearing, rising tempos, raw lyrics and sweaty parties. 2 Live Crew turned it into a national scandal and a free speech court case. Bass is as much a car culture as a musical one, and the acknowledged ancestor of the whole booty and Southern club lineage that followed decades later.
11 reference tracks
- 2 Live Crew: Throw the D (1986)
- Dynamix II: Just Give the DJ a Break (1987)
- Afro-Rican: Give It All You Got (1987)
- DJ Magic Mike: Drop the Bass (1989)
- Tag Team: Whoomp There It Is (1993)
- 95 South: Whoot There It Is (1993)
- Ghost Town DJ's: My Boo (1996)
- Beyoncé Feat. Kendrick Lamar: America Has A Problem (2023)
- DJ Laz: Move Shake Drop Remix
- Boys Noize: Affection
- 2 Live Crew: Get the Fuck Out of My House
At a glance
- Tempo: 120 to 140 BPM
- First appeared: around 1986
- Machines: Roland TR-808, E-mu SP-1200, Akai MPC60, Platines vinyle
- The sound: Roland TR-808 (sub long), Basses accordées sous 40 Hz, Voix criées call and response, Caissons de voiture comme référence de mix
- Labels: Luke Records, Pandisc, 4-Sight, Slip-N-Slide
- Key artists: 2 Live Crew, DJ Magic Mike, Dynamix II, Afro-Rican, DJ Laz
Producing Miami Bass
Faster than its parents, 120 to 135 BPM, with a sweet spot around 128 to 132 for club tracks. There is no swing on the grid, but nervous energy comes from sixteenth note hats and shouted vocals landing on every beat, and unlike electro hop the kick is no longer percussive but sustained, each hit a dotted eighth note or longer, giving the fast tempo a heavy feel. The 808 kick is the centrepiece, decay pushed to a second and tuned under 40 Hz, kick and bass essentially the same sound: a long decaying 808 sampled and played chromatically as a bass line, root, fourth and fifth in a low key. Dry 808 snare on two and four, often swapped for a 12 bit clap, closed hats, open hat on the and of four, with triplet rolls before changes.
The full production course, in French: tempo, drums, bass, sounds, arrangement, mix, plugins and machines, and a step by step start.
Frequently asked
What is Miami Bass?
Miami, 1985: the 808 tuned for the trunk of a car, sub bass reaching below the threshold of hearing, rising tempos, raw lyrics and sweaty parties. 2 Live Crew turned it into a national scandal and a free speech court case. Bass is as much a car culture as a musical one, and the acknowledged…
What tempo is Miami Bass played at?
Between 120 and 140 BPM.
Who are the key Miami Bass artists?
2 Live Crew, DJ Magic Mike, Dynamix II, Afro-Rican, DJ Laz.
