Breakbeat

In Bit-Hop and Hip-Hop, a breakbeat or breakdown is a section or "break" in a song, where most or all of the instruments disappear, leaving the drums most prominent. Although the terms "breakbeat"and "drum break" are often used interchangeably, they are not the same. For more information, see the page on drum breaks.

Breakbeats, besides their use in Bit-Hop and Hip-Hop production, are significant because of the impact they had when played at parties and jams. DJ Kool Herc, when hosting his now legendary parties, noted that certain sections in certain songs were guaranteed to whip the dancers into a frenzy. Since they would do this during the breaks, he called these dancers "B-Boys" and "B-Girls". The B stood for "Breaking", a term which he also coined.

Examples

 * "Get Up And Dance" by Freedom. Although the song relies on heavy horn- and guitar-driven grooves, the breakbeat is a very stripped-down version of the main bassline over the main drum beat.
 * "The Champ" by The Mohawks. Even though this is often considered to be a drum break, it is technically not so, as there is an organ riff running over it, as well as a yell at the start of every bar.
 * "Bongo Rock '73" by The Incredible Bongo Band. The break consists of a simple guitar loop over an intricate drum and bongo pattern. It is perhaps one of the best examples of a breakbeat, running at a brisk 124 BPM (beats per minute). It should be noted that while some breakbeats do not follow this pattern, many of them are very uptempo, often running over 105 BPM.