sub-genre /~1985 · miami

Miami Bass

Anchor moment: Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force release 'Planet Rock'

Musical signatures

Roland TR-808 sub-bass-driven productions at high tempos (typically 120–135 BPM); electro-derived synths, hand-claps, and stripped percussion; party-, dance-, and often sexually explicit lyricism; designed for car-stereo systems and South Florida club culture.

Pioneers

Associated scenes

  • miami-bass-scene

Moments in this sub-genre 2

Notes

MC Shy-D's 'Rapp Will Never Die' (1985) and 2 Live Crew's 'The 2 Live Crew Is What We Are' (1986) anchor the early scene; the style went mainstream with 2 Live Crew's 'As Nasty As They Wanna Be' (1989) and its 1990 obscenity trial.

Citations 2

  1. B
    Wikipedia — Miami bass Retrieved 2026-05-24.
  2. B
    AllMusic — Bass Music Retrieved 2026-05-24.

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