Miami Music (revised)

Evan Shenkman

Dr. Simpson – ENG106 Moon Over Miami

Compare/Contrast of Two Objects

Miami Music

              On my first wayward adventure down here in Miami, I ventured off into the Gables Estates. Located just east of campus, the Gables Estates represents a picturesque piece of one of the nations first planned communities. Coral Gables, “The City Beautiful,” envisioned by a single man, George Edgar Merrick, stands as a testament to what one can accomplish. With houses upwards of ten million dollars (five times more than the total money made by a middle-class American in their lifetime), the area began as a place built from nothing. Yet such a financially, culturally, and aesthetically lucrative city, a city that was built from nothing, has fallen into the synthetic rhythm that most of Miami has. This sense of “Do It Yourself,” the personal drive that led to the conception of this city, strongly evident through the stylistic changes in music, has left Coral Gables, Miami and South Florida for areas of more genuine culture.

              Despite what we’ve been exposed to in this class, Miami is still a melting pot, even if the contents of it may not be so ready to mix. Floridian culture, specifically the culture of South Florida, has grown out of many different types of people. Northern Anglos, Latin-American immigrants, and African Americans, amongst others, have shifted the balance of the general population in relation to most American cities. Yet, rather than embracing their identities and creating a creative and vibrant community, the people of Miami have practically thrown their roots away.

The music of Miami has gone from an art form to a commercial fuel source. The lack of emotion and stylistic identity has left music in order to supplant the people of Miami’s formulated lifestyle. And as if that wasn’t enough the music written about Miami reveals that lifestyle. The list of famous musicians out of Miami is ridiculously low and surprisingly sparse in diversity. It’s to no surprise that the majority of big name musicians that have come out of Miami have targeted their music towards this life and cultural identity. That’s where the money is.

Their music consists of all the same elements. Synths with LFOs and high cutoff frequencies, fat bass drops and drum machines where the kick drum is side-chained to the entire track to ensure that the thump of the bass rattles the bones of everyone in LIV. Even the vocals are tampered with so much that it takes almost all human elements out of the final product. Yet DJ Khaled, Steve Aoki, Enrique Iglesias and more have made enough money to afford those penthouse apartments on South Beach.

To examine how music portrays the performativity, and consequently lack of identity, of Miami we can look at these two songs, Miami Nights by rapper Wale, and Welcome to Miami by Miamian Pitbull.

Miami Nights tells of Wale’s visit to Miami. His lyrics show how prevalent drugs, sex, partying and spending have come to represent the city. In a three-and-a-half minute song Wale touches upon so many social characteristics of Miami. From courtside Heat tickets to the South Beach hot spot, Mansion and plastic surgery to spring break party girls, Wale tells of this spectacle – “Miami Nights, it was all a dream”. The last line of the last verse sums up the misconception of Miami: “Paradise, get away, Thinkin’ why it’s not South Beach everyday.”

Welcome to Miami by Pitbull on the other hand offers a contrasting view of Miami. Pitbull offers information that is more esoteric towards Miamians as he touches upon all of the small communities and towns within Miami. He mentions Grand Ave. in Coconut Grove, the notorious status of Liberty City and the architecture of Opa-Locka. Yet, despite his regional knowledge, Pitbull’s Welcome to Miami describes Miami with similar characteristics that Miami Nights does. We thus see that the people of Miami have made the spectacle of Miami a reality.

And just as this music scene resembles the perception of Miami it has also gated off any form of diversity or individual identity. Whether it’s the Miami Symphony Orchestra, the Salsa bands at the Van Dyke Cafe, or local bands playing to twenty kids at a house show venue in Palmetto, these forms of music have been subjugated to this hierarchy. I’ve been in Miami for six months now and I have yet to find a local venue that houses decent shows. So many other universities actively get local bands to play shows on campus or around campus. The University of Miami on the other hand invites Wiz Khalifa to come get high on stage. Even jazz clubs, which house genres music that should be thriving in this area considering their cultural ties, are hard to come by.

What does this mean for the future of Miami? Will the culture as a whole continue down this path and effectively limit itself by retaining this spectacular identity or will Miamians regain the cultural identities that they once had?

Miami Nights - Wale - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOM2mqeaPXU

Welcome to Miami - Pitbull - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wSh1GQsmDI