The roots of the Dembow riddim stem back to the construction of the Panama Canal during the late 19th and early 20th centuries when the French began the project after they were granted the rights from Colombia. At the time, Panama was a part of Colombia, which was a former Spanish colony.
Eventually, the French failed to complete the project so they handed it over to the U.S., which began construction in 1904 ending with its grand opening in 1914. The U.S. also backed Panama in its bid for independence from Colombia in 1903.
Many of the people that came to work on the canal's construction were of West Indian descent, mostly from Barbados and Jamaica. Jamaicans began to assimilate into Panamanian culture while still maintaining strong linkages to home. The adults spoke Jamaican Patois, but the children of the migrants eventually grew up speaking Spanish. This is later demonstrated in the music played by Jamaican-Panamanians.
In 1962, Jamaica was granted independence from the United Kingdom—right around when ska music had become popular on the island. Characterized by an upbeat, swing tempo and influenced by the jazz and R&B sounds coming from New Orleans, this jubilant music became the soundtrack of Jamaica shortly after independence.
As times began to change, so did the music. Ska began to slow down and rocksteady was born around the mid-60s. Rocksteady somewhat quickly led to the birth of reggae. Back in Panama, Jamaican-Panamanians were recording cover songs of famous reggae songs as a way to translate the lyrics to the Spanish-speaking Panamanians, which became known as Spanish reggae or reggae en español.
By the late 1980s and early '90s, dancehall had emerged in Jamaica, characterized by a more energetic, harder, and danceable sound. The lyrical content became more violent and sexualized to illustrate life on the streets. This was also around the time when producers and DJs began to manipulate reggae tracks by letting in and out different components of the tracks such as the vocals, bass, guitar, and drums, which in a sense was the beginning of remixing.
One of the first dancehall artists on the scene was Shabba Ranks who released the album Just Reality in 1990, and featured a track titled “Dem Bow.” The song was famously covered by Panamanian reggae en español artists Nando Boom and El General. However, if you listen closely to “Dem Bow,” you can almost hear the ‘boom ch-boom-ch' pattern we all know as the Dembow. Nando Boom and El General remixed the instrumentals of the b-side to Bobo General & Sleepy Wonder’s single “Pounder” into a cover of Shabba Ranks "Dem Bow" and the Dembow riddim was born.
The rest is history with the Dembow riddim featured in hit pop songs from around the world by artists like Daddy Yankee, Justin Bieber, Drake, Sia, Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, Shakira, and so many more.
Source: "The Origins of Dembow" by Sebastian Bravo-Peterec on storymaps.arcgis.com.
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