| Dominican dembow | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Dembow dominicano |
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | 1990s – 2000s, Dominican Republic |
Dominican dembow (Spanish: dembow dominicano), also known as simply dembow,[a] is a style of music originating from the Dominican Republic which has been mostly described as a subgenre or derivative form of reggaeton.[1][2][3] Dominican dembow is characterized by its use of a sped-up dembow rhythm as its core percussion element (while standard reggaeton employs the same rhythm at a slower tempo).[4]
The subgenre diverged from early reggaeton during the 2000s. During this time, Puerto Rican reggaeton was evolving to become more melodic, polished, and lyrically romantic, and would eventually become the basis for most reggaeton music today. However, the "softening process" marginalized the scene in the Dominican Republic, which retained a rawer, unembellished, and more aggressive sound. A simultaneous shift towards faster tempos may have also been influenced by the country's "historical preference" for the fast merengue genre.[5]
Dominican dembow ultimately spread its influence beyond the Dominican Republic to countries like Spain, the United States, Chile, and Italy. It came to be known globally as a result of the general growing popularity of Spanish-language music in the 2010s.[6] During this same decade trap music began to influence the production style of Dominican dembow.[2]
Dominican dembow artists are known as dembowseros.[2][7] Notable dembowseros include Tokischa, Chimbala, El Alfa, and Ángel Dior. Non-Dominican artists have also occasionally produced songs in this style, such as Bad Bunny with his hit song "Tití Me Preguntó".
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The term refers to both a tremendously popular rhythm, which forms the basis of reggaeton, and the spare, pummeling off-shoot from the Dominican Republic.
... [Dominican dembow is] a direct descendant from the world-wide phenomenon that is Reggaeton Music...
DJs and producers in the Dominican Republic also latched onto the dembow beat... speeding it up, stripping it down, and repeating it endlessly as a bed for club-friendly call-and-response shouts. Dominican dembow, as the variant is known, was born.
The reason Dominican dembow gallops may have to do with the island's historical preference for uptempo merengue, says Cabezas. "Dominicans are used to dancing to merengue at incredible high speeds," Cabezas explains. "In order for dembow to work in the average club, it had to be fairly fast."
In a different era, the genre might have stayed there. But one of the defining musical movements of the decade has been the digitally-enabled spread of Spanish-language music to populations around the globe...