Megatron51
New member
I grew up in Jamaica during the 80s. While Shaba Ranks “dem bow” wasn’t the first song on this rhythm, it was the song that made this rhythm popular in the dancehalls… “murder she wrote” was another popular one on this rhythm by Shaka Demus & Pliers. Jamaicans have a thing of making many songs on the same rhythm for continuously blending/mixing songs in the dancehalls. “Dem Bow” actually referred to oral sex, but in a denigrating way… it actually means going down on your knees as in “bowing”I know zero about reggaeton but i think there is some confusion here between drum sounds and drum patterns... a quick (very quick) youtube search for reggaeton and everything is using that same pattern... I have no idea about the origins of reggaeton... but that beat didnt start with dem bow (shabba ranks)...
that pattern (and the other close variations) take about 30 seconds to work out on a sequencer but need a bit of imagination and work to make interesting or entertaining...
the origins are latin / caribbean...
i know a thing or 2 about dancehall... they will use a mixture of real drums and synthetic... played with sublime timing and great reserve / understatement...
they use those patterns in soulful house also...
Jamaica makes thousands of dancehall rhythms in months… let alone a year…. This rhythm was just one of very many… and spawned an entire genre of Latin music in Puerto Rico when it was used as a sample. That’s why they all sound similar, Reggaeton does not deviate much from this one original rhythm. The clue of the origin of the music is in the name… it’s from reggae dancehall, Kingston, Jamaica. The rhythm was created by Sly Dunbar and Robbie Sheakspear, made of natural drums overplayed with synthesiser processing.
Just like popular Rap in America, it all originates from this tiny island of black people.