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What is dem bow?
Note: This is mostly El Chombo's research. I am condensing this for people that are curious about the history of the "genre." You can find him on YouTube. You need to know Spanish to learn from him.
Dembow (correctly written as "Dem Bow") is not a genre of music but a song and a colloquial slang from Jamaica. It means "them bow." The name was popularized by a song called "Dem Bow" by Shabba Ranks that was released in 1990. In Shabba Ranks song, he brings up a couple of social issues in Jamaica. "Dem Bow" has a racist and homophobic meaning. 1) "Them bow" means one bows to the white man. 2) "Them bow" means one bows as a way to have sexual intercourse with another man. Jamaica was an English colonized territory from 1655 until 1962 when they got their independence. Jamaica's society in the 80's and 90's and before was homophobic. This song presented these issues.
Shabba Ranks didn't popularize the famous (or infamous) "Tumpa-Tumpa" rhythm, that came after. The rhythm doesn't come from Jamaica, but Africa; as do the vast majority of latin rhythms. The "Tumpa-Tumpa" rhythm was actually popularized from a song produced by Dennis "The Menace" Thompson and the singer Nando Boom. "Pounder" is actually what the rhythm is called.
Urban Dictionaries TOS prohibits URLs, I would have included them.
Main Source:
MoluscoTV. (2021, January 31). El Chombo le contesta a Ozuna, Anuel y Molusco si el Pop es un genero SI o NO. YouTube.
Fast forward to the 22:30 time code.
Yw.
Persona Amateur: "Este Dembow tiene flow"
Persona Big Brain: "Que es el Dem Bow para tí?"
Persona Amateur: "Pues es genero de música no?"
Persona Big Brain: "No es genero, es una canción. El ritmo 'Tumpa-Tumpa' que escuchas hoy en día se llama 'Pounder.'"
dem bow - video
