While deejaying, Kool Herc noticed that the crowd would get particularly amped when the songs would break into drum solos. Some popular artists he played were James Brown and Booker T & the MG’s. It can still refer to a drum break, but since the rise and popularity of EDM, it can also be a genre of its own. While the term breakbeat was originally used to refer to that particular part of a song that features a drum break, breakbeat meaning has evolved over the years. Here’s how the breakbeat has evolved over the last few decades. In present day, breakbeats have evolved to a number of different tempos, genres, and subgenres.īreakbeat can now be a genre on its own, or simply a part of a song of an entirely separate genre.Įither way, the breakbeat has quickly ascended to become one of the most popular musical elements that exists today, adding soul, rhythm, and appeal to every place it occupies. This is how the modern-day MC came to be. In addition to appealing to members of this culture, breakbeats also needed a contemporary style of vocals and lyricism to go with the methods of looping, scratching, and turntablism in general. In contrast, breakbeat was raw and appealed to those whose daily experience was lived out in the neighborhoods of the Bronx and similar areas.īecause of this, breakbeats became an influential and integral part of early hip hop culture. In many ways, breakbeat was looked upon as a rebellion against the pristine picture that disco presented. The result is a feel-good vibe that has been loved in the music scene for years. It typically goes on for 4 – 16 measures before the rest of the instruments kick in again. In a non-live setting, a breakbeat is simply the part of the song that features percussions while the rest of the instruments pause. Traditionally, a breakbeat occurred when only the percussionist or drummer of a band would continue playing the beat, while the rest of the instrumentalists stopped.