26 March 28 - april 3, 2024 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com New Times | music | cafe | culture | Night+Day | News | letters | coNteNts | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | How Low You Can Go The ten greatest Miami bass songs of all time. BY LIZ TRACY W hat makes a Miami bass? Well, certainly, it’s got to have heavy bass and an 808. And despite its name, the act doesn’t need to have spawned from Miami. Perhaps, the best indicator is if the song can get your ass shaking as soon as the first note drips out of the speakers. Historically, Miami bass (AKA booty mu- sic) has been mired in controversy, thanks to many of its key songs’ explicit lyrics, espe- cially during its peak in the late 1980s and ‘90s. Still, the genre wasn’t all Poison Clan and the 2 Live Crew; it also produced some of the pioneering women in hip-hop, like J.J. Fad, L’Trimm, and MC Luscious. The genre’s signature is its sense of humor, which makes it hard to take chants of “Hey, we want some pussy!” at face value. Much like its namesake city, Miami bass often veers into the tongue-in-cheek. If you don’t know where to begin your Mi- ami bass journey, New Times has put together ten tracks that have defined the genre. But be- fore you press play, make sure to get in some stretches — your ass will thank you later. The 2 Live Crew, “I Wanna Rock” It’s hard to pick the best song by the 2 Live Crew. These four musical renegades were banned in the U.S.A. and reached the U.S. Supreme Court with the copyright infringement case Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. Former New Times columnist Luther Campbell (AKA Uncle Luke and Luke Skyywalker) was the mastermind behind the group, giving the world hits like “Me So Horny,” “We Want Some Pussy!,” and “Too Much Booty in the Pants,” and had you screaming “Doo-doo brown!” over and over with your face down and ass up. (Side note: “Shake a Lil’ Somethin’” is the cleanest booty song and maybe the best way to introduce Miami bass to your budding booty dancers.) 12 Gauge, “Dunkie Butt” I don’t know about you, but when this song comes on, one leg goes up. Georgia-bred rap- per 12 Gauge had a true hit on his hands with “Dunkie Butt,” which you may know by its key lyric, “Let me ride that donkey.” The song even made it to the Billboard Hot 100. This tune is a solid four minutes and 18 seconds of pure, bend-over-and-ride booty bliss. 69 Boyz, “Tootsee Roll” From Jacksonville and Orlando, 96 Boyz got everyone to do a dance crafted for this genre in 1994. “Tootsee Roll” was the duo’s first single, peaking at number eight on the Bill- board Hot 100. Sure, the song can get repeti- tive, but synchronized dancing was big in the ‘90s, and everyone needs a little instruc- tion sometimes, especially after a few drinks. You have to remember to follow “Tootsee Roll” with the group’s other clas- sic, “Daisy Dukes,” which defined the style of the era. DJ Laz featuring Danny “D”, “Mami El Negro” If you’re from Miami and under the age of 50, you immediately know of Lazaro Mendez (AKA DJ Laz). That’s because he was the Cuban- American DJ who shaped the sound of the city. DJ Laz was on Power 96 for 22 years, during which time he also pumped out some genre- defining songs of his own. Laz has other hits, but 1991’s “Mami El Negro” is guaranteed to have you feeling like your back at Hot Wheels, feeling the joy only roller skates can bring. The song also bore the most “Miami” video, featuring a grandma beating Fidel Castro-shaped piñata. Freak Nasty, “Da’ Dip” While Eriq Henry Timmons was raised in New Orleans, he’s a Puerto Rico native who sang one of the Miami bass anthems of the ‘90s. Upon its release in 1997, it dominated every homecoming, bar mitzvah, and club speaker across the nation. (It would later be dethroned in the new millennium by Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling.”) Back then, everyone learned to dip. To call it a phenomenon is an understatement. The world was saturated by Freak Nasty’s earworm. J.J. Fad, “Supersonic” J.J. Fad was one of the first acts Eazy-E signed to his Ruthless Records. The NWA alum knew a hitmaker when he heard one. Like NWA, these gals were from the West Coast — Rialto, California, to be exact — back when the East Coast/West Coast ri- valry mattered. Released in 1987, “Supersonic” incorporated electro sounds, something that was a bit of an anomaly for a California rap group at that time. Regard- less, the song became the trio’s defining hit and was even nominated for a Grammy. Fer- gie later sampled it on her 2006 smash “Fer- galicious.” L’Trimm, “Cars With the Boom” Coconut Grove natives Bunny D and Lady Tigra like boys, sure, but what they really like are subwoofers. And there is no better way to feel the fullness of Miami bass than in a car with a proper sound system. When it dropped in 1988, “Cars With the Boom” instantly be- came a Miami bass classic and solidified the duo’s place on rap’s pantheon, with Rolling Stone listing the track on its list of Top 100 Hip-Hop Songs of All Time. It even enjoyed a slight resurgence in 2020, when TikTok latched on to the track when everyone was isolated at home. MC Luscious, “Boom! I Got Your Boyfriend” The music video for “Boom! I Got Your Boy- friend” is worth commending, with fashion choices that wouldn’t be all that out of place in today’s nostalgia-obsessed culture. The looks are colorful, baggy, tight, and on-trend. But beyond the visual, MC Luscious com- mands your attention for its classic call-out. On the 1989 tracks, Miami native Rosalyn McCall knows what she has to offer and is unbothered by it all. “When I walked in the gym your man was hawkin’/Licking his lips while I was walkin’,” she warns. Poison Clan, “Shake Whatcha’ Mama Gave Ya’” While “Dance All Night” is one of the best bass songs, “Shake Whatcha’ Mama Gave Ya” makes everyone, well, shake what their ma- mas gave them. In 2024, the song is perhaps outdated with its demands, but with twerking often being reclaimed by women as a way to take ownership of their bodies and sexuality, who’s to say the same can’t be said about this song? Signed to Luke Records in the early ‘90s, the track was featured on the group’s 1992 sophomore album, Poisonous Mentality. It was one of those tracks that seemed to add fuel to the conservative fire that rap was the devil’s music, but to anyone looking to follow its command, it was an anthem. Quad City DJs, “C’mon N’ Ride It (The Train)” Released in 1996, the instant classic did not miss a single speaker in the contiguous United States. By far the most mainstream of all the Miami bass acts, the Jacksonville trio hit the big time when it sampled Barry White’s 1974 “Theme From Together Broth- ers.” “C’mon N’ Ride It (The Train)” went on to bless every party playlist for years to come, following the style of popular songs with an accompanying dance craze that was oh-so- popular in the ‘90s, like the “Macarena” and “Achy Breaky Heart.” [email protected] ▼ Music Of course, Luther “Uncle Luke” Campbell and the 2 Live Crew are on this Miami bass list. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images MUCH LIKE ITS NAMESAKE CITY, MIAMI BASS OFTEN VEERS INTO THE TONGUE- IN-CHEEK.
