1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: I know you've heard this beat before. It's everywhere, and 2 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:10,240 Speaker 1: don't lie. It makes you want to dance. This rhythm 3 00:00:10,480 --> 00:00:14,239 Speaker 1: boom ka boom boom, kame boom, boom kame boom come 4 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:17,520 Speaker 1: is the heartbeat of reggaeton, one of the most successful 5 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:21,720 Speaker 1: musical genres on the planet right now. Artists like Bad Bunny, 6 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:25,800 Speaker 1: Carol G and Daddy Yankee have sold billions of records 7 00:00:25,880 --> 00:00:30,479 Speaker 1: can play to packed stadiums worldwide. But where did the 8 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:34,360 Speaker 1: reggaetone beat come from? And what makes it so infectious? 9 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:38,479 Speaker 2: It gets people moving. There's something really fundamental to it 10 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 2: that makes us want to move, and I think as 11 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:43,920 Speaker 2: a result, it's not too surprising that it has been 12 00:00:44,080 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 2: a huge part of dance music and music that people 13 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:51,760 Speaker 2: dance to for gosh, probably centuries, maybe millennia, right, we 14 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:52,479 Speaker 2: don't really know. 15 00:00:53,080 --> 00:00:56,440 Speaker 1: That's Wayne Marshall, a musicologist and co editor of a 16 00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 1: book all about reggaeton. A rhythm has fund to mental 17 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: and primal and danceable as the reggaeton beat feels like 18 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,960 Speaker 1: it's been around forever and maybe it has. Variations on 19 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:11,040 Speaker 1: the reggaeton beat can be traced back to Western African 20 00:01:11,120 --> 00:01:15,760 Speaker 1: drumming traditions that go back hundreds, if not thousands of years. 21 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:20,319 Speaker 1: But now two Jamaican musicians are making a bold claim 22 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:24,119 Speaker 1: that they invented the reggaetone beat on a specific track 23 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:28,760 Speaker 1: they recorded in nineteen eighty nine, and more importantly, they 24 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:32,840 Speaker 1: claim that they own this beat. The Jamaican musicians have 25 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:37,759 Speaker 1: filed a copyright infringement lawsuit naming every major reggaetone artist 26 00:01:37,800 --> 00:01:42,319 Speaker 1: and they're asking for billions in royalties. But who really 27 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:46,160 Speaker 1: invented the reggaetone beat? The Jamaicans have made their claims, 28 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:50,200 Speaker 1: but we found someone who's telling a very different origin story. 29 00:01:50,720 --> 00:01:53,160 Speaker 1: Down in Mexico lives a man who claims that he 30 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:58,920 Speaker 1: created this world changing beat a full decade before the Jamaicans. 31 00:01:59,000 --> 00:02:01,800 Speaker 1: Hold onto your headphone as we dive into the mystery 32 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: behind one of the most influential beats in modern music. 33 00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: Welcome to very special episodes and iHeart original podcast. I'm 34 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:17,040 Speaker 1: your host Saren Burnett and this is a fundamental magical element. 35 00:02:22,720 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 3: Welcome back to very special episodes. She's Dana, Hey, he's Zaren. 36 00:02:27,919 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 3: I'm Jason and I'll tell you I have absolutely no 37 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 3: rhythm if footage of me dancing were to get out, 38 00:02:35,040 --> 00:02:37,680 Speaker 3: that would be the end of this podcast. But I 39 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:40,840 Speaker 3: say this because as this episode was coming together, we'd 40 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:43,600 Speaker 3: hear early cuts, like I would just be here vibing 41 00:02:43,680 --> 00:02:47,040 Speaker 3: in my seat. I think I'm embarrassing myself right now, 42 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 3: just on the screen, but you can't not. 43 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:52,360 Speaker 4: One thing that really is embarrassing about me is I 44 00:02:52,440 --> 00:02:55,720 Speaker 4: just have famously terrible taste in music, and my husband 45 00:02:55,840 --> 00:02:58,359 Speaker 4: has been trying to broaden my horizon, and so I 46 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:03,040 Speaker 4: do appreciate that this episode brings up some interesting history 47 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:05,200 Speaker 4: about music, which I feel like is the thing that 48 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:08,840 Speaker 4: I need to give me more interest in any subject. 49 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:12,120 Speaker 1: I loved also the whole history of the diaspora getting 50 00:03:12,200 --> 00:03:14,640 Speaker 1: disconnected and then reconnected through beat. It's just such thing 51 00:03:14,720 --> 00:03:17,560 Speaker 1: as something is so fundamental, obviously but so essential. I 52 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:19,400 Speaker 1: thought that was just an awesome aspect of the story. 53 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:21,360 Speaker 1: And You're right, Jason, this one had me chair dancing. 54 00:03:21,400 --> 00:03:22,960 Speaker 1: Like when I was listening to early Cuts, I was 55 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: like definitely bopping around. The history of pop music is 56 00:03:28,760 --> 00:03:33,239 Speaker 1: filled with stories of musicians borrowing material from other artists. 57 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: Remember Ice Ice Baby, when that earworm hit the radio 58 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,800 Speaker 1: in nineteen ninety, everyone and their mother knew that Vanilla 59 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:44,280 Speaker 1: Ice ripped off the baseline from under pressure by Queen 60 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:48,600 Speaker 1: and David Bowie, but Vanilla real name Robert van Winkle, 61 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,600 Speaker 1: tried to deny it. He actually went on TV and said, 62 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:55,600 Speaker 1: their baseline goes ding ding ding di da ding ding 63 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:59,080 Speaker 1: ding ding ding di da ding ding, but ours goes 64 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:02,000 Speaker 1: ding ding ding dicka ding ding dut ding ding ding 65 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: diga ding ding Come on, Robert, No one bought it. 66 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: That's why Queen and Bowie now have writing credits on 67 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: Ice Ice Baby, and why their estates have collected millions 68 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 1: in royalties. Of course, cases of musical copycatting aren't always 69 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,880 Speaker 1: so cut and dried. For example, in twenty thirteen, Marvin 70 00:04:20,920 --> 00:04:24,800 Speaker 1: Gaye's family sued Pharrell Williams and Robin Thick over their 71 00:04:24,880 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: hit song Blurred Lines, claiming it was a direct ripoff 72 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,600 Speaker 1: of Marvin's nineteen seventy seven classic Got to Give It Up. 73 00:04:33,360 --> 00:04:36,719 Speaker 1: No one thought Marvin's family had a chance. This wasn't 74 00:04:36,800 --> 00:04:41,160 Speaker 1: Ice Ice Baby, There was no obvious theft. If Pharrell 75 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 1: and Robin Thick were guilty of anything, it was stealing 76 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: Marvin's vibe. But you can't copyright a vibe can you 77 00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:52,160 Speaker 1: to the shock of the music world. A jury awarded 78 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:56,839 Speaker 1: Marvin's family seven million dollars. When expert witnesses broke down 79 00:04:56,880 --> 00:05:00,480 Speaker 1: the two songs and compared them instrument by instrument, note 80 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:04,480 Speaker 1: by note, there were enough similarities to convince twelve people 81 00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: that Pharrell and Robin Thick were more than inspired by Marvin. 82 00:05:09,480 --> 00:05:13,360 Speaker 1: They stole this sound, which brings us to twenty twenty one. 83 00:05:13,839 --> 00:05:17,440 Speaker 1: That's when two Jamaican musicians filed a lawsuit that doesn't 84 00:05:17,480 --> 00:05:20,839 Speaker 1: just target one song for a million dollars, but could 85 00:05:20,880 --> 00:05:25,120 Speaker 1: potentially take out a whole genre of music and rake 86 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:29,000 Speaker 1: in billions in royalties. Back in nineteen eighty nine, a 87 00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:33,280 Speaker 1: Jamaican dancehall duo known as Steely and Cleevie recorded a 88 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: hugely influential track called fish Market. Let's hear a clip. 89 00:05:49,960 --> 00:05:53,560 Speaker 1: Remember that beat boom ka boom cup, boom ka boom cup, 90 00:05:53,600 --> 00:05:57,120 Speaker 1: boom ka boom cup. That's the heartbeat of our story. 91 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:02,000 Speaker 1: In the late eighties, Jamaican producers in DJ's freely sampled 92 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:05,400 Speaker 1: and remixed each other's beats into new songs. It was 93 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:09,560 Speaker 1: part of Jamaica's vibrant sound system culture. In nineteen ninety one, 94 00:06:09,560 --> 00:06:13,520 Speaker 1: of those fish Market remixes blew up. The Jamaican artist 95 00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: Shaba Ranks released a track called dem Bo, wrapping over 96 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:22,919 Speaker 1: the fish Market beat in his distinctive Jamaican patois demo. 97 00:06:32,839 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: The song exploded on the dancehall reggae scene, and the 98 00:06:36,279 --> 00:06:40,320 Speaker 1: infectious rhythm got a name dem Bo. There's no doubt 99 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 1: that the popularity of the dembo rhythm in the nineteen 100 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:48,159 Speaker 1: nineties inspired a rising generation of Latino producers and artists, 101 00:06:48,520 --> 00:06:51,880 Speaker 1: especially in New York and Puerto Rico, and gave birth 102 00:06:51,920 --> 00:06:55,280 Speaker 1: to an entirely new musical style, reggaetne. 103 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:58,239 Speaker 2: Reggaeton has made no secret of its relationship to reggae. 104 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:01,480 Speaker 2: The two first and foremost in lozes on the sound 105 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 2: are hip hop and reggae, especially dance hall reggae. I mean, 106 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 2: that's why it's called reggaetone. And I think one of 107 00:07:07,520 --> 00:07:10,080 Speaker 2: the reasons why that dance all reggae beat resonated so 108 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:13,400 Speaker 2: powerfully for people in Puerto Rico was that it also 109 00:07:13,440 --> 00:07:16,239 Speaker 2: sounded like Puerto Rican music. It sounded like Caribbean music. 110 00:07:16,360 --> 00:07:19,240 Speaker 2: It had the same underlying rhythms that people had been 111 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:23,440 Speaker 2: dancing to in salsa. 112 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:24,200 Speaker 1: There's no denying that the reggaetone beat as we know 113 00:07:24,240 --> 00:07:27,920 Speaker 1: it today is almost identical to dembo. But how much 114 00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:31,200 Speaker 1: of Reggaetone's DNA can really be traced back to Phish 115 00:07:31,240 --> 00:07:34,840 Speaker 1: Market and does that make it a legal case for ownership. 116 00:07:35,400 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 1: In twenty twenty four, a federal judge in California said 117 00:07:38,200 --> 00:07:42,000 Speaker 1: Steely and Cleevie's case had enough merits to go to trial. 118 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:46,640 Speaker 1: The lawsuit accuses more than one hundred and sixty reggaetone 119 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:51,800 Speaker 1: artists of quote mathematically copying the Fish Market beat and 120 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: illegally using it in thousands of songs. 121 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 2: When I first heard about the lawsuit three years ago, 122 00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:00,960 Speaker 2: now I was both surprised surprised. You know, I had 123 00:08:01,000 --> 00:08:02,920 Speaker 2: been waiting for this shoe to drop for a long 124 00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:05,080 Speaker 2: long time. It's been interesting to watch. 125 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: Want to know what else is interesting about this case? 126 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 1: The judge, Andre Borotte Junior, is the son of Haitian 127 00:08:12,080 --> 00:08:15,800 Speaker 1: immigrants and grew up vibing to Caribbean music. He even 128 00:08:15,840 --> 00:08:19,320 Speaker 1: worked as a party DJ in college. This dude might 129 00:08:19,360 --> 00:08:23,520 Speaker 1: be banging his gavel to the beat. Ultimately, a jury 130 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 1: will hear arguments from both sides and decide if the 131 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:31,360 Speaker 1: entire genre of reggaetone owes Steely and cleviey billions of dollars. 132 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 1: But what's been missing from those arguments is the fact 133 00:08:34,440 --> 00:08:38,560 Speaker 1: that the entire lawsuit hinges on the claim the assumption 134 00:08:39,040 --> 00:08:43,880 Speaker 1: really that the reggaeton beat originated in Jamaica. Musicologists like 135 00:08:43,920 --> 00:08:46,400 Speaker 1: Wayne Marshall think it goes way back. 136 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 2: The earliest reference I can think of, although even then 137 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:52,000 Speaker 2: it's hard to date it exactly. But you know, Robert 138 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:54,200 Speaker 2: Ferris Thompson says it was known as the call to 139 00:08:54,280 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 2: dance back in Congo and Bila Almachino. So if people, 140 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:00,200 Speaker 2: you know, hundreds of years ago were thinking of this 141 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:03,000 Speaker 2: as that type of beat, and not that much has changed. 142 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:05,560 Speaker 2: And I think even apart from the question of the 143 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:09,160 Speaker 2: reggae reggaetone dispute, just the question of you know, when 144 00:09:09,160 --> 00:09:12,840 Speaker 2: did drummers start to play that beat is an interesting one. 145 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,160 Speaker 2: I think is an unresolved one and is one that 146 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:17,800 Speaker 2: would be fun to continue to sort of push out. 147 00:09:17,679 --> 00:09:18,320 Speaker 5: And trag down. 148 00:09:18,920 --> 00:09:21,600 Speaker 1: Every beat has a backstory, and there's a good chance 149 00:09:21,640 --> 00:09:25,680 Speaker 1: that reggaetone has more than one origin. Next, we're going 150 00:09:25,760 --> 00:09:28,160 Speaker 1: to meet a drummer who has a very different story 151 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:31,720 Speaker 1: to tell about the invention of the world conquering reggaetone beat. 152 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: It didn't happen in Jamaica or in Puerto Rico, but 153 00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:44,880 Speaker 1: in Brooklyn. Nineteen eighty, a nineteen year old drummer named 154 00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:48,960 Speaker 1: Elvis Rose walked into a recording studio in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. 155 00:09:49,200 --> 00:09:52,400 Speaker 1: Elvis was from Saint Vincent, a small island in the Caribbean. 156 00:09:52,800 --> 00:09:56,520 Speaker 1: His friends called him Akiki. Akiki had no idea he'd 157 00:09:56,559 --> 00:09:59,480 Speaker 1: be recording anything that day. He was up practically the 158 00:09:59,520 --> 00:10:02,400 Speaker 1: whole night before, practicing the drums, the habit he picked 159 00:10:02,480 --> 00:10:05,000 Speaker 1: up in the Army band. Here's Akiki. 160 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:08,400 Speaker 6: So I was practicing ahs and ohs, you know, always 161 00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:11,640 Speaker 6: and ohs. And I didn't know what I was practicing for. 162 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:13,800 Speaker 6: I mean, I used to have to practice to play, 163 00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:16,880 Speaker 6: you know, in the military band with him guys. But 164 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:20,880 Speaker 6: I was practicing somewhat that. I mean, I never knew 165 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:21,839 Speaker 6: what was going to happen. 166 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:24,640 Speaker 1: By the time Akiki woke up the next day, it 167 00:10:24,720 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: was late in the afternoon. He decided to go see 168 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:31,559 Speaker 1: his friend Wan, another percussionist. Wan was loading some congas 169 00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 1: in his truck and said he was on his way 170 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:37,040 Speaker 1: over to Straker's Music record store and recording studio in 171 00:10:37,080 --> 00:10:40,400 Speaker 1: Crown Heights. Akiki decided to tag along. 172 00:10:40,559 --> 00:10:43,480 Speaker 6: If it reached five minutes after he had already gone. 173 00:10:43,960 --> 00:10:46,160 Speaker 6: He was putting his congress in the van to go 174 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:48,720 Speaker 6: to the studio, so he said, let you go in 175 00:10:48,720 --> 00:10:50,920 Speaker 6: the studio. They didn't know the audition. 176 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: When Akiki walked into Straker's studio, he saw a waiting 177 00:10:55,480 --> 00:11:02,320 Speaker 1: room full of drummers, older, more experienced drummers. 178 00:10:59,559 --> 00:11:02,120 Speaker 6: And guy I was very young. I mean I would 179 00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:05,840 Speaker 6: like think I was nineteen at that time, and these 180 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:10,160 Speaker 6: guys were like big men, right. But it was already 181 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:14,640 Speaker 6: like kind of watching me because I was very aggressive. 182 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:17,400 Speaker 6: Like I said, I was practicing a lot, and I 183 00:11:17,440 --> 00:11:19,480 Speaker 6: could have read I could have read a drum pass 184 00:11:19,480 --> 00:11:20,040 Speaker 6: and everything. 185 00:11:20,600 --> 00:11:23,679 Speaker 1: Akiki knew one of the producers at Strakers a talented 186 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:27,920 Speaker 1: young arranger named Frankie McIntosh. When Frankie saw Akiki in 187 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:30,360 Speaker 1: the studio, he assumed he was there for the audition, 188 00:11:30,760 --> 00:11:33,760 Speaker 1: so Frankie told to hop on the drums. 189 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:36,960 Speaker 6: I didn't know there was an audition for drummers, you know, 190 00:11:37,160 --> 00:11:40,040 Speaker 6: So while when Frankie said, let Elvis play for us. 191 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 6: That's me, right. So the producer said, no, he's a 192 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:45,560 Speaker 6: little boy, you know. I mean, I have the professional 193 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:48,160 Speaker 6: them out day and guy, he didn't really know me, 194 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:51,520 Speaker 6: so but he and Frankie went back and forth for 195 00:11:51,559 --> 00:11:54,600 Speaker 6: a little while. I didn't have a drumstick, so there 196 00:11:54,679 --> 00:11:57,360 Speaker 6: was some drumstick in the studio. So by the time 197 00:11:57,400 --> 00:12:00,960 Speaker 6: he held me play like brother, you know, he said wow, 198 00:12:01,760 --> 00:12:04,760 Speaker 6: and you were like completely surprised, and he said, you 199 00:12:04,800 --> 00:12:09,040 Speaker 6: know what, let he play right. So the other drummers, 200 00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:11,800 Speaker 6: whether they were better on me or not, they didn't 201 00:12:11,880 --> 00:12:14,400 Speaker 6: never get a chant because every time straight hold me play, 202 00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:17,920 Speaker 6: that was it like it was like a destiny thing. 203 00:12:18,559 --> 00:12:22,400 Speaker 1: It was this time to be that's right. Akiki believes 204 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:25,840 Speaker 1: he was destined to be behind the drums in Straker's 205 00:12:25,840 --> 00:12:28,880 Speaker 1: studio that day because he was about to change the 206 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:33,000 Speaker 1: course of music history. All that practicing wasn't for nothing. 207 00:12:33,400 --> 00:12:37,320 Speaker 1: It was preparing him for this moment. Akiki had been 208 00:12:37,320 --> 00:12:40,640 Speaker 1: playing music his whole life, starting on Saint Vincent. 209 00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:45,120 Speaker 6: I grew up on a hill in a village called Belmont. 210 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:48,800 Speaker 6: It's really like a musical village. They have like the 211 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:52,800 Speaker 6: traditional musicians where we used to call the Boom Jump band. 212 00:12:53,080 --> 00:12:56,679 Speaker 6: And then like on weekends, the guys, the elder guys 213 00:12:56,720 --> 00:13:00,679 Speaker 6: would get together and they would play during grom and 214 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:01,640 Speaker 6: play music. 215 00:13:02,280 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 5: You know. 216 00:13:02,559 --> 00:13:06,000 Speaker 6: It was like a natural form of improvisation. So I 217 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:06,839 Speaker 6: grew up around that. 218 00:13:07,559 --> 00:13:10,480 Speaker 1: Aikiki started playing drums in Calypso bands when he was 219 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,640 Speaker 1: barely a teenager. When they played gigs out in the country, 220 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:17,280 Speaker 1: the crowd would stand outside. They'd only come in if 221 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:18,880 Speaker 1: the music made them dance. 222 00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:21,520 Speaker 6: They wouldn't come inside until the band played one or 223 00:13:21,559 --> 00:13:24,320 Speaker 6: two songs, and if the band could make them move. 224 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:28,160 Speaker 6: They are russianside, so then my objective was just to 225 00:13:28,240 --> 00:13:31,199 Speaker 6: make them. As a drummer had to make people move, 226 00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:36,600 Speaker 6: So that was always ingrained inside of me that when 227 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:38,520 Speaker 6: you play, you got to make the people that move. 228 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:42,079 Speaker 1: When Akiki moved to Brooklyn in the late nineteen seventies, 229 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:45,839 Speaker 1: the borough was home to a vibrant West Indian community. 230 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:49,960 Speaker 1: People from all over the English speaking Caribbean settled in 231 00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:54,280 Speaker 1: neighborhoods like Flatbush, Prospect Heights and Crown Heights, creating the 232 00:13:54,360 --> 00:13:59,000 Speaker 1: area known as Little Caribbean. Every Labor Day weekend, Brooklyn 233 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:02,600 Speaker 1: still hosts one of the biggest Caribbean carnival parades in 234 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:07,200 Speaker 1: the country. Dancers in elaborate feathered costumes filled the streets 235 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:11,160 Speaker 1: up and down Eastern Parkway, and driving it all are 236 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:15,640 Speaker 1: the pulsing rhythms of calypso and soca. Maybe we should 237 00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:18,640 Speaker 1: pause here for a quick music lesson. Soca is a 238 00:14:18,679 --> 00:14:22,440 Speaker 1: style of music from Trinidad that means soul of calypso. 239 00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:27,160 Speaker 1: You've probably heard some calypso songs before, maybe some Harry Belafonte. 240 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:31,000 Speaker 1: But where Calypso had a slower tempo and is focused 241 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:35,360 Speaker 1: on the singer, Soca is fast and mostly instrumental. The 242 00:14:35,400 --> 00:14:39,320 Speaker 1: whole point of soca is to get people dancing. By 243 00:14:39,400 --> 00:14:42,560 Speaker 1: the time a Kiki walked into Straker's Records in nineteen eighty, 244 00:14:42,960 --> 00:14:45,960 Speaker 1: soca was the sound of Brooklyn. Not only was soca 245 00:14:46,000 --> 00:14:49,440 Speaker 1: an established musical genre, but it had an established beat. 246 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:54,360 Speaker 1: Every drummer in Brooklyn played soca the same way. Musicologist 247 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:58,240 Speaker 1: Wayne Marshall calls it four on the floor, four pulsing 248 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:03,400 Speaker 1: quarter notes played on the kick. The beat was popularized 249 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:07,520 Speaker 1: in the disco era by drummer Earl Young from Philadelphia, and. 250 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 2: It's an interesting story because ear All young in his way, 251 00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:12,840 Speaker 2: a sort of singular drummer who comes up with this 252 00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:17,400 Speaker 2: beat that becomes absolutely ubiquitous and influential. Right, it becomes 253 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:20,720 Speaker 2: the disco beat by nineteen seventy five, And so you 254 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:22,560 Speaker 2: start to hear a four on the floor kick drum, 255 00:15:23,000 --> 00:15:25,320 Speaker 2: you know, turning up in all kinds of dance music 256 00:15:25,360 --> 00:15:28,640 Speaker 2: across the Caribbean and dance music across Africa. I mean, 257 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:29,920 Speaker 2: you name it, you find it. 258 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:32,840 Speaker 1: The four on the floor beat was the heartbeat of 259 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:36,400 Speaker 1: Soca too, that is until A Kiki came along. If 260 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:39,360 Speaker 1: there's one thing to know about Akiki is that he 261 00:15:39,760 --> 00:15:44,600 Speaker 1: hates playing the same thing twice. Improvisation is in his blood. 262 00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:47,040 Speaker 6: Like I said, from a you, I alwady like to 263 00:15:47,040 --> 00:15:50,880 Speaker 6: play what you feel, you know, So I was already like, 264 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:53,960 Speaker 6: you know, I don't like to be repetitive. So you 265 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,920 Speaker 6: play something and then yeah, so much thing the more 266 00:15:56,960 --> 00:15:59,000 Speaker 6: you practice, Yeah, so many things in your head that 267 00:15:59,080 --> 00:15:59,760 Speaker 6: you want to play. 268 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:02,960 Speaker 1: Akiki says he was never a fan of the straight 269 00:16:03,360 --> 00:16:05,720 Speaker 1: four on the floor beat that all the other Soca 270 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:06,600 Speaker 1: drummers played. 271 00:16:07,200 --> 00:16:10,760 Speaker 6: Like I said, I already liked to play something, you know, 272 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:14,160 Speaker 6: be creative. I never really liked that dunping, don't It 273 00:16:14,200 --> 00:16:17,800 Speaker 6: was kind of lazy. You know, if you listen to that, 274 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:19,800 Speaker 6: it doesn't really make you move. 275 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:24,080 Speaker 1: So let's go back to the day in nineteen eighty 276 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:27,880 Speaker 1: when Akiki sat behind the drum set at Straker's Records. 277 00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:32,080 Speaker 1: After a Kiki nailed the audition that he didn't know about, 278 00:16:32,200 --> 00:16:35,720 Speaker 1: it was time to record some songs. Frankie McIntosh, the 279 00:16:35,840 --> 00:16:40,040 Speaker 1: arranger and producer, was running the recording session. As Frankie 280 00:16:40,040 --> 00:16:44,040 Speaker 1: counted into the first song, something came over Akiki. He 281 00:16:44,080 --> 00:16:46,760 Speaker 1: can't explain what it was. Maybe it was all the 282 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: practicing he'd done the night before, hours and hours of 283 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:54,040 Speaker 1: improvising new beats and patterns, or maybe it was just 284 00:16:54,120 --> 00:16:57,680 Speaker 1: the excitement of being there in Straker's Records, nineteen year 285 00:16:57,680 --> 00:17:00,680 Speaker 1: old kid playing for one of the biggest recording studios 286 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:03,560 Speaker 1: in Brooklyn. When the band started playing, what came out 287 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:07,359 Speaker 1: of A Kiki's drum set wasn't dumb ping, dumb ping, 288 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:09,480 Speaker 1: but something completely new. 289 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:13,400 Speaker 6: I can't really tell you where I heard a beat, 290 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 6: You can't never really heard it. It just came out 291 00:17:15,600 --> 00:17:19,000 Speaker 6: of my head and it was like it actually changed 292 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:24,800 Speaker 6: the whole Tractoria deity of the Soca music, and basically 293 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:28,360 Speaker 6: the beat is more magically more it makes you want 294 00:17:28,400 --> 00:17:28,800 Speaker 6: to move. 295 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:32,240 Speaker 1: A Kiki has a name for his new rhythmic creation. 296 00:17:32,880 --> 00:17:36,160 Speaker 1: He calls it the Fundamental Magical Element. 297 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:39,159 Speaker 6: Well, that's the only name I can come up with, 298 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:43,960 Speaker 6: because it's where it's fundamental in the terms of like, 299 00:17:44,359 --> 00:17:46,479 Speaker 6: you know, it's a basic beat. 300 00:17:46,760 --> 00:17:46,960 Speaker 5: Right. 301 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:49,320 Speaker 6: When it's a basic it's a beat that is, you know, 302 00:17:49,359 --> 00:17:52,880 Speaker 6: you could use in any kind of general music. And 303 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:54,879 Speaker 6: the magical part of it is that it makes you 304 00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:57,400 Speaker 6: want to move. But it doesn't matter where you're from 305 00:17:57,440 --> 00:17:59,760 Speaker 6: what either from the Chiban or you're from Europe or 306 00:17:59,840 --> 00:18:02,120 Speaker 6: you it just makes. 307 00:18:01,960 --> 00:18:05,600 Speaker 1: You want to move. Only a mad musical genius would 308 00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:09,000 Speaker 1: come up with a name like Fundamental Magical Element. It 309 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:13,080 Speaker 1: says it all. And Akiki's right, there is something undeniably 310 00:18:13,119 --> 00:18:18,160 Speaker 1: infectious about this beat. Here's Akiki playing the Fundamental Magical 311 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:22,280 Speaker 1: Element on a track called Boogie Woman. Try not to 312 00:18:22,400 --> 00:18:25,480 Speaker 1: nod your head and wiggle in your seat. I dare you. 313 00:18:38,200 --> 00:18:41,679 Speaker 1: The power of the Fundamental Magical Element is not in question. 314 00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:46,200 Speaker 1: What might be questionable is what Akiki claims next. 315 00:18:46,520 --> 00:18:51,199 Speaker 6: Right, So I just played something that was more lively. 316 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:54,919 Speaker 6: It was much more lively and more aggressive in terms 317 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:58,000 Speaker 6: of riddom, and no, it's become one of the most 318 00:18:58,160 --> 00:18:59,600 Speaker 6: popular ridom on the planet. 319 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:02,880 Speaker 1: Did you catch that? Akiki believes that the drum beat 320 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,639 Speaker 1: he improvised in Straker's studio in nineteen eighty wasn't just 321 00:19:06,680 --> 00:19:10,800 Speaker 1: a one off thing. Akiki is confident that his original creation, 322 00:19:11,240 --> 00:19:15,520 Speaker 1: the fundamental magical element, not only became the new sound 323 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:18,800 Speaker 1: of soka, but eventually it became the most important new 324 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:26,320 Speaker 1: beat in the world. It became reggaeton. How do you 325 00:19:26,440 --> 00:19:30,879 Speaker 1: trace the origins of a beat, especially one as fundamental and, 326 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,479 Speaker 1: if we're being honest, as simple as reggaeton when you 327 00:19:34,520 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 1: strip it down, it's all about that boom ka boom cup, 328 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:41,920 Speaker 1: boom ka boom cup, boom ka boom cup. While Akiki 329 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:44,840 Speaker 1: was doing his thing in Brooklyn in the early nineteen eighties, 330 00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:48,520 Speaker 1: there were other musicians halfway around the world playing with 331 00:19:48,600 --> 00:19:52,680 Speaker 1: the same infectious rhythm. Here's a guy named Jeff Luana 332 00:19:52,720 --> 00:19:56,000 Speaker 1: from Congo playing a type of dance music called soku, 333 00:19:56,480 --> 00:20:07,879 Speaker 1: not soka. Soku. Boom kaboomah, boom kaboom. Come there it 334 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:11,359 Speaker 1: is again our favorite beat. Keep in mind this was 335 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:15,520 Speaker 1: recorded by French speaking Africans in nineteen eighty one, just 336 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:18,439 Speaker 1: a year after Akiki says he came up with the 337 00:20:18,800 --> 00:20:23,879 Speaker 1: fundamental magical element. Could Jeff Luana have copied Akiki's sound 338 00:20:23,960 --> 00:20:27,000 Speaker 1: that fast? Wayne Marshall doesn't think so. 339 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:30,400 Speaker 2: I find it hard to believe that this band from 340 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:34,119 Speaker 2: Congo would have done this in nineteen eighty one based 341 00:20:34,119 --> 00:20:36,600 Speaker 2: on having heard a record made in Brooklyn in nineteen 342 00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:37,560 Speaker 2: eighty or eighty one. 343 00:20:37,680 --> 00:20:41,560 Speaker 1: Like a, when musicologists like Wayne listen to these beats, 344 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:45,040 Speaker 1: they don't see a clear progression from one musician to another. 345 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:48,040 Speaker 1: Drummer A played it first, then drummer Bee copied it, 346 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:52,000 Speaker 1: et cetera. Instead, they see musicians from all over the 347 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:56,000 Speaker 1: world drawing from the same ancient well of rhythm and 348 00:20:56,160 --> 00:20:59,080 Speaker 1: dance known as African traditional music. 349 00:21:00,080 --> 00:21:02,800 Speaker 5: Do a lot of African music, both traditional and popular, 350 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:06,920 Speaker 5: rhythm forms a heavy bass. It's so much the foundation 351 00:21:07,080 --> 00:21:09,959 Speaker 5: of it, and that rhythm is tied to dance. I mean, 352 00:21:10,000 --> 00:21:13,040 Speaker 5: in traditional African cultures, the idea of music and dance 353 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:15,280 Speaker 5: being separate. They don't see it that way. That's md 354 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:18,119 Speaker 5: a Western concept. But these things are tied together, and 355 00:21:18,200 --> 00:21:21,840 Speaker 5: so you have heavy rhythmic, syncopated music, and that just 356 00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:24,080 Speaker 5: lends itself to dance. It's made to dance too. 357 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:29,639 Speaker 1: That's Ray Allen, another musicologist we called up Ray because 358 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:33,680 Speaker 1: he wrote a book with none other than Frankie McIntosh. Frankie, 359 00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,240 Speaker 1: if you remember, was the Soka arranger who recorded Akiki 360 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:41,840 Speaker 1: at Straker's Records. Frankie is such a legend in Brooklyn's 361 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:46,720 Speaker 1: Caribbean music scene that his nickname is the Maestro. Frankie 362 00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:49,600 Speaker 1: and Akiki are still friends. They've stayed in touch over 363 00:21:49,680 --> 00:21:53,399 Speaker 1: all these years, but they've never talked about Akiki's claim 364 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,359 Speaker 1: that he invented a brand new beat in nineteen eighty. 365 00:21:56,960 --> 00:22:01,240 Speaker 1: Frankie says that when he arranged Soka tracks Drakers, he 366 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:06,639 Speaker 1: wrote out all the parts brass, keyboards, bass, everything except 367 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:08,040 Speaker 1: for the drum parts. 368 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:12,960 Speaker 7: Here's Frankie, Yeah, that'd be more impropositional. I never wrote 369 00:22:13,240 --> 00:22:15,120 Speaker 7: drum pads for dramas. 370 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:20,399 Speaker 8: I didn't want to cause any and crumbruns hinder the 371 00:22:20,640 --> 00:22:26,720 Speaker 8: spontaneity or what they heard, so I just let the drummers. 372 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:27,399 Speaker 1: Play what they thoughts. 373 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:27,760 Speaker 5: You know. 374 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:33,560 Speaker 7: Putnam but Aikki, as you mentioned, he had a style 375 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:37,560 Speaker 7: of his own and he brought a lot to the 376 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:39,920 Speaker 7: music in the area of drums. 377 00:22:40,240 --> 00:22:44,560 Speaker 1: Frankie oversaw thousands of recording sessions at Strakers. He doesn't 378 00:22:44,640 --> 00:22:47,639 Speaker 1: recall the day in nineteen eighty when Akiki says the 379 00:22:47,720 --> 00:22:52,280 Speaker 1: musical gods moved him to create the fundamental magical element. 380 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:56,520 Speaker 1: Frankie doesn't doubt that Akiki came up with something innovative 381 00:22:56,600 --> 00:22:59,800 Speaker 1: and cool, but he's not willing to say that Akiki's 382 00:22:59,800 --> 00:23:04,960 Speaker 1: per some drumming style qualifies as something brand new musically. 383 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:08,720 Speaker 7: The top top, top top venom that was after Africa. 384 00:23:09,080 --> 00:23:11,920 Speaker 7: I mean, that's I would say, much older than Nikiki, 385 00:23:12,800 --> 00:23:17,960 Speaker 7: of course. I mean every drama who plays Calypso plays 386 00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:23,280 Speaker 7: some version of that, some interpretation, some variation of that ralthom. 387 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:25,960 Speaker 7: We find it in Puerto Rico, we find in Brazil, 388 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:30,480 Speaker 7: find in New Orleans, we find in Trinidad, Caribbean islands. 389 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:36,080 Speaker 7: And it's important to note that it's found primarily where 390 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:40,080 Speaker 7: you had displaced Africans, there were slaves or you know, 391 00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:44,960 Speaker 7: and somehow that beat stayed alive, I mean, still lives today, 392 00:23:45,520 --> 00:23:47,520 Speaker 7: and I think that's important. 393 00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:51,360 Speaker 1: I mean, and then just happened. Ray Allen, the musicologist 394 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:54,800 Speaker 1: has studied the history of Afro Caribbean music. He says 395 00:23:54,840 --> 00:23:59,679 Speaker 1: that syncopated rhythms similar to Akiki's Fundamental Magical Element are 396 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:04,840 Speaker 1: found throughout African diaspora communities created by the Transatlantic slave 397 00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:10,160 Speaker 1: trade Cuba, Haiti, Trinidad, Puerto Rico. And it's nearly impossible 398 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:12,240 Speaker 1: to trace who influenced who. 399 00:24:13,080 --> 00:24:15,959 Speaker 5: A lot of stuff kind of happens naturally organically. Somebody 400 00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:18,000 Speaker 5: hears somebody and they take it and they play something 401 00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:20,080 Speaker 5: like it, or maybe it, you know, they'll do a 402 00:24:20,160 --> 00:24:22,840 Speaker 5: variation on it. But of course part of the African 403 00:24:22,880 --> 00:24:25,639 Speaker 5: and Afro guy's or tradition is to improvise, is to 404 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:27,520 Speaker 5: try to take something, to make it a little bit different, 405 00:24:27,520 --> 00:24:30,200 Speaker 5: make it your own, you know. So that's going on. 406 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:32,040 Speaker 5: But at the heart of it, a lot of the 407 00:24:32,200 --> 00:24:35,480 Speaker 5: rhythms and the basic forms are they're deep in the culture, 408 00:24:35,520 --> 00:24:38,840 Speaker 5: and I'm very reluctant to say that someone really invented 409 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:40,040 Speaker 5: something like that. 410 00:24:40,760 --> 00:24:44,159 Speaker 1: Akiki understands what Frankie and Ray are saying about the 411 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:48,280 Speaker 1: long history of Afro Caribbean rhythms, but he still thinks 412 00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:52,920 Speaker 1: that his beat, the Fundamental Magical Element, qualifies as something 413 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:55,000 Speaker 1: original and influential. 414 00:24:56,119 --> 00:24:58,399 Speaker 6: I didn't really copy it from any other priece, and 415 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:00,520 Speaker 6: it could be honestly tell you that I didn't hear 416 00:25:00,560 --> 00:25:03,159 Speaker 6: it before. But like if they say, well, then it 417 00:25:03,200 --> 00:25:06,160 Speaker 6: came from Africa, you know, two thousand years ago, eight 418 00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:07,520 Speaker 6: hundred years ago. 419 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 5: You know. 420 00:25:08,200 --> 00:25:12,040 Speaker 6: I mean, I can't know that, you know. But but 421 00:25:12,200 --> 00:25:16,239 Speaker 6: to bring it into where the regaton came from, it 422 00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:18,160 Speaker 6: came from the Soka beat that I played. 423 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:21,679 Speaker 1: Here's where things get interesting, and here's where it ties 424 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 1: back to the copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Steelee and Kleevie. 425 00:25:26,720 --> 00:25:30,520 Speaker 1: In that billion dollar suit, two Jamaican musicians claim to 426 00:25:30,560 --> 00:25:33,680 Speaker 1: have invented a beat that was sampled without credit by 427 00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:37,840 Speaker 1: hundreds of reggaeton artists. But what if Steele and Kleevie 428 00:25:38,320 --> 00:25:42,440 Speaker 1: borrowed their beat from somebody else. According to Akiki, that's 429 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:47,360 Speaker 1: exactly what happened. Akiki claims that his fundamental magical element 430 00:25:47,680 --> 00:25:52,000 Speaker 1: fundamentally changed soca drumming. After nineteen eighty one, Akiki is 431 00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:55,960 Speaker 1: boom ka boom, boom ka boom became the new sound 432 00:25:56,240 --> 00:26:13,840 Speaker 1: of soca. Wayne Marshall, here's the same thing. 433 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:18,080 Speaker 2: When I listened to these recordings that Akiki was making 434 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:21,359 Speaker 2: in the early nineteen eighties in Brooklyn. I do hear 435 00:26:21,760 --> 00:26:24,720 Speaker 2: that shift to the drum kit and I hear you 436 00:26:24,720 --> 00:26:28,280 Speaker 2: know what becomes this this dominant beat starting to emerge. 437 00:26:28,320 --> 00:26:31,840 Speaker 2: There there are tracks like Boogie Woman, I Believe and 438 00:26:32,359 --> 00:26:35,159 Speaker 2: YouTube Fast, both of them going back to nineteen eighty one, 439 00:26:35,760 --> 00:26:38,840 Speaker 2: which to me, you know, very clearly have that kick, snare, boom, 440 00:26:38,880 --> 00:26:41,440 Speaker 2: get boom, get boom, get boom, get boom, get boom gay. 441 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:44,359 Speaker 2: You know, based on these records, these definitely seem like 442 00:26:44,400 --> 00:26:47,719 Speaker 2: some of the first Soca style records that are you know, 443 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:50,800 Speaker 2: really doing this pattern on the drum kit and on 444 00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:52,600 Speaker 2: the kick and the snare in particular. 445 00:26:53,000 --> 00:26:56,960 Speaker 1: Okay, okay, So maybe Akiki did create a new Soca beat, 446 00:26:57,359 --> 00:27:01,119 Speaker 1: But what does Soka have to do with Jamaican dance reggae? 447 00:27:01,160 --> 00:27:05,320 Speaker 1: Even if Akiki's fundamental magical element was all over Brooklyn 448 00:27:05,400 --> 00:27:09,239 Speaker 1: and Trinidad, would Steely and Kleevey have ever heard it 449 00:27:09,280 --> 00:27:13,000 Speaker 1: in Jamaica. Akiki has a theory about that too. He 450 00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:16,400 Speaker 1: says that a band named Byron Lee and the Dragonaires 451 00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:19,920 Speaker 1: brought Soka to Jamaica in the mid nineteen eighties. 452 00:27:20,400 --> 00:27:24,159 Speaker 6: There's this guy in Jamaica called Byron Lee, and he 453 00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:28,840 Speaker 6: plays Soca music right, So Byrone would do play over 454 00:27:28,880 --> 00:27:30,160 Speaker 6: the Soka hits. 455 00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:31,480 Speaker 1: And anytime he. 456 00:27:31,520 --> 00:27:36,000 Speaker 6: Put down a Soca music using the beast that I created, people. 457 00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:40,120 Speaker 1: Dance once again. Wayne Marshall thinks that Akiki might actually 458 00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:44,280 Speaker 1: be onto something. Byron Lee and the Dragonaires were big 459 00:27:44,359 --> 00:27:48,480 Speaker 1: in Jamaica and they definitely predate Steelee and Kleevie. Here's 460 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:51,600 Speaker 1: a Soca track by byron Lee and the Dragonaires called 461 00:27:51,960 --> 00:27:55,040 Speaker 1: Tiny Whiney, which would have played all over Jamaica in 462 00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:56,240 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty four. 463 00:28:08,960 --> 00:28:11,240 Speaker 2: Five years before Fish Market. You've got it there in 464 00:28:11,320 --> 00:28:14,560 Speaker 2: Jamaica by Byron Lee, so you know no doubt Steely 465 00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:16,880 Speaker 2: and Cleevey had heard it. Therefore, when you first hear 466 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:20,080 Speaker 2: that arrangement showing up in Jamaica, it's not by reggae artists, 467 00:28:20,119 --> 00:28:23,720 Speaker 2: it's by Soca artists and Soca influenced artists. Right. 468 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:27,080 Speaker 1: Wow, that's pretty cool. The idea that Soca may have 469 00:28:27,119 --> 00:28:30,280 Speaker 1: been the first musical style to introduce the boom kaboom 470 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:33,760 Speaker 1: cup beat to Jamaica, and therefore Soca could qualify as 471 00:28:33,760 --> 00:28:38,080 Speaker 1: an earlier rhythmic foundation for reggaetne. But now we're back 472 00:28:38,120 --> 00:28:40,360 Speaker 1: to playing that old game, trying to connect drummer A 473 00:28:40,600 --> 00:28:43,680 Speaker 1: to drummer B and somehow prove a direct line of 474 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:48,640 Speaker 1: musical influence. Let's not forget what Frankie McIntosh said. This 475 00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:53,160 Speaker 1: rhythm belongs to everyone in the African diaspora. It survived 476 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:56,360 Speaker 1: the trauma of slavery and became part of a shared 477 00:28:56,480 --> 00:29:00,600 Speaker 1: cultural heritage. Can anyone own the drum beat of an 478 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:04,320 Speaker 1: entire people? And let's be real, this isn't a court 479 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:08,040 Speaker 1: of law, this is a podcast. Will leave the quote 480 00:29:08,040 --> 00:29:11,040 Speaker 1: burden of proof to a bunch of overpaid lawyers, twelve 481 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:16,320 Speaker 1: jurors and a surprisingly cool judge. Slash DJ were storytellers, 482 00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:18,200 Speaker 1: and we think that if you're trying to tell the 483 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:22,240 Speaker 1: whole twisting story of the long evolution of the reggaeton beat, 484 00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:26,960 Speaker 1: that one of the chapters should definitely be named Akiki's 485 00:29:27,160 --> 00:29:29,480 Speaker 1: fundamental magical element. 486 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:32,280 Speaker 2: You know, I do think that there's some glory there though, 487 00:29:32,480 --> 00:29:36,600 Speaker 2: and there are some untold stories there and unappreciated contributions there. 488 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:39,400 Speaker 2: The fact that this beat, which is now so ubiquitous 489 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:41,720 Speaker 2: in the twenty first century, especially just as a simple 490 00:29:41,800 --> 00:29:45,840 Speaker 2: kicksnare pattern. The fact that that might first really come 491 00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:48,720 Speaker 2: to the four in such a pronounced manner in Trinidadi 492 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:52,360 Speaker 2: and Soca, never mind Saint Vincenian Soca, right, and you know, 493 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:55,800 Speaker 2: people from lesser known islands than Jamaica, that does seem 494 00:29:55,840 --> 00:29:58,000 Speaker 2: like it should be part of the story, you know, 495 00:29:58,160 --> 00:29:59,040 Speaker 2: if that's the case. 496 00:30:02,520 --> 00:30:06,800 Speaker 1: Akiki was a professional musician for years. He toured with 497 00:30:06,880 --> 00:30:09,480 Speaker 1: some really big bands and got a taste of fame, 498 00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:13,840 Speaker 1: but ultimately the lifestyle wasn't for him, so he started 499 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:15,120 Speaker 1: teaching music instead. 500 00:30:15,720 --> 00:30:18,600 Speaker 6: I don't know if I find that teaching was feeling 501 00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:23,520 Speaker 6: me more than actually plain you know, because when you 502 00:30:23,600 --> 00:30:25,680 Speaker 6: go and place people telling you how good you are, 503 00:30:25,720 --> 00:30:27,440 Speaker 6: and you know, and the girls then want to come 504 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:30,120 Speaker 6: with you and all of that, and I mean that's 505 00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:33,800 Speaker 6: a good thing, you know, but it's usually an ego thing, 506 00:30:34,840 --> 00:30:37,880 Speaker 6: you know. It was more something for your ego. It 507 00:30:37,960 --> 00:30:40,160 Speaker 6: builds the ego, you know, people say how good you 508 00:30:40,200 --> 00:30:43,240 Speaker 6: are and listen and that, and you know, but then 509 00:30:43,400 --> 00:30:48,240 Speaker 6: when you teach and you transform a child life, it's 510 00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:51,680 Speaker 6: more fulfilling to me, right than somebody tell you how 511 00:30:51,720 --> 00:30:52,360 Speaker 6: great you are. 512 00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:52,600 Speaker 5: You know. 513 00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:56,320 Speaker 1: Today Akiki's life is about as far from the bright 514 00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:59,400 Speaker 1: lights of the music industry as possible. He lives in 515 00:30:59,480 --> 00:31:02,600 Speaker 1: Ziehua the Nejo, Mexico, a quiet beach town on the 516 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:06,480 Speaker 1: Pacific coast. A few years ago, he unexpectedly landed in 517 00:31:06,520 --> 00:31:08,080 Speaker 1: Mexico after losing his mother. 518 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:12,120 Speaker 6: So you know, that put me down in a slum, 519 00:31:12,440 --> 00:31:14,959 Speaker 6: you know, a kind of depression. But the thing is 520 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:18,640 Speaker 6: the first time the people saw me play in Mexico, 521 00:31:18,640 --> 00:31:23,080 Speaker 6: and what they were like, did you come from another planet? 522 00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:24,080 Speaker 6: Where did you come from? 523 00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:24,720 Speaker 4: You know, I mean? 524 00:31:25,200 --> 00:31:27,920 Speaker 6: And then you know, Zee what the new is a 525 00:31:27,960 --> 00:31:31,360 Speaker 6: small tongue, right, So everybody wanted to meet to teach 526 00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:33,600 Speaker 6: the children. And that's how that's start, you know. And 527 00:31:33,640 --> 00:31:36,479 Speaker 6: then I love teaching again. So they asked me to 528 00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:39,920 Speaker 6: teach the children, teach them this, and I started to 529 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:42,960 Speaker 6: do in that, and you know, we had a success. 530 00:31:43,360 --> 00:31:45,680 Speaker 6: Then the government gave me a bunch of landow to 531 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:48,640 Speaker 6: build a school and all of that, and you know, 532 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:51,960 Speaker 6: one thing lead to the next, so I'm still here. 533 00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:57,320 Speaker 1: Akiki has changed lives in Ziho. Some of his students, 534 00:31:57,320 --> 00:32:00,160 Speaker 1: who all come from poor families, have earned spot to 535 00:32:00,240 --> 00:32:03,880 Speaker 1: the prestigious bellas artists in Mexico City, which is like 536 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:07,600 Speaker 1: the Juilliard of Mexico. He's taught blind kids to play 537 00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:11,320 Speaker 1: the piano, as well as children with severe autism. They 538 00:32:11,520 --> 00:32:16,240 Speaker 1: all love a Giki and he loves them too. Now, 539 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:20,160 Speaker 1: could Akiki use a few billion dollars? Sure, he'd use 540 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:22,560 Speaker 1: it to build a real music school on the land 541 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:25,800 Speaker 1: the Mexican government gave him, and he'd teach all of 542 00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:28,840 Speaker 1: his students for free. Heck, he doesn't really charge them 543 00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:32,160 Speaker 1: very much as it is. But instead of filing a lawsuit, 544 00:32:32,200 --> 00:32:35,640 Speaker 1: Akiki's going to keep spreading the magic of music in Mexico. 545 00:32:36,160 --> 00:32:39,280 Speaker 1: And something tells us he still knows how to make 546 00:32:39,360 --> 00:32:43,520 Speaker 1: people move, all right, Zaren. 547 00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:46,960 Speaker 3: Last year, you brought us another courtroom thriller, The Case 548 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:50,480 Speaker 3: of the Two Nancy drews. Oh yeah, we figured out 549 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:55,640 Speaker 3: who actually created Nancy Drew and we're back with another 550 00:32:55,680 --> 00:32:59,200 Speaker 3: one this season. Tell us about how you and Dave 551 00:32:59,520 --> 00:33:00,800 Speaker 3: came together on this one. 552 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:03,840 Speaker 1: Well, he did all the heavy lifting and brought this 553 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:06,320 Speaker 1: amazing case, and I was just there for the courtroom drama. 554 00:33:06,360 --> 00:33:08,520 Speaker 1: I love the idea of stealing kleeviey, being like we 555 00:33:08,600 --> 00:33:10,520 Speaker 1: want to get paid for our beat. I just like 556 00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:13,120 Speaker 1: I loved that. And then any story that features Shaba 557 00:33:13,200 --> 00:33:15,600 Speaker 1: Ranks is doing something right in my mind. So this 558 00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:18,400 Speaker 1: one happened courtroom drama. And then obviously the judge was 559 00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:21,440 Speaker 1: just so incredible as a character I loved like a 560 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:23,960 Speaker 1: former DJ it gets to be the judge of this case. 561 00:33:24,000 --> 00:33:26,000 Speaker 1: I mean, how perfect is that? So this one, I 562 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:27,880 Speaker 1: think just pretty much had to took care of itself 563 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:29,040 Speaker 1: and all I had to do is just make sure 564 00:33:29,080 --> 00:33:30,280 Speaker 1: I pronounced everything correctly. 565 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:33,400 Speaker 3: So my very special moment has to be the ending 566 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:37,920 Speaker 3: catching up with Aikiki today and in Mexico, like what 567 00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:40,960 Speaker 3: happened to part gets in there and I think was 568 00:33:41,200 --> 00:33:44,040 Speaker 3: very satisfying, even though I kind of wish you'd gotten 569 00:33:44,200 --> 00:33:46,360 Speaker 3: you know, billions of dollars too, that would have been nice. 570 00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:48,800 Speaker 1: The moment where the people in Mexico in the small 571 00:33:48,840 --> 00:33:51,680 Speaker 1: town are like, did you come from another planet? I 572 00:33:51,760 --> 00:33:53,840 Speaker 1: just loved this. It's coming together. This one had so 573 00:33:53,840 --> 00:33:56,400 Speaker 1: many great moments of cultural connections. That one is so 574 00:33:56,440 --> 00:33:58,320 Speaker 1: pure hearted. I just love the idea of these people 575 00:33:58,320 --> 00:34:00,280 Speaker 1: being blown away being can you teach our kid to 576 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:03,320 Speaker 1: do that? This is amazing what you're doing? What about you, Dana? 577 00:34:03,520 --> 00:34:05,400 Speaker 4: I think the very special moment for me is me 578 00:34:05,600 --> 00:34:09,280 Speaker 4: listening to it and trying not to dance and embarrass myself. 579 00:34:10,280 --> 00:34:11,359 Speaker 4: It moves through you. 580 00:34:11,360 --> 00:34:14,240 Speaker 1: You can't resist, oh completely. But dancing should never be embarrassing. 581 00:34:14,239 --> 00:34:16,000 Speaker 1: Even like if you're the person at the wedding everyone's 582 00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:17,640 Speaker 1: like you need to maybe sit one out. You're still 583 00:34:17,680 --> 00:34:18,600 Speaker 1: not embarrassing, you know. 584 00:34:19,200 --> 00:34:21,520 Speaker 4: I beg to differ. You have not seen me dance 585 00:34:21,560 --> 00:34:23,319 Speaker 4: and it is, in fact embarrassing. 586 00:34:23,719 --> 00:34:26,400 Speaker 1: Is it like a Lane from Seinfeldt levels of embarrassing? 587 00:34:26,440 --> 00:34:28,439 Speaker 4: Like do you have the at least a Lane has, 588 00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:32,000 Speaker 4: Like there's like some arm court function. I just feel 589 00:34:32,080 --> 00:34:33,960 Speaker 4: like all of my limbs sort of take on a 590 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:36,880 Speaker 4: life of their own. I need to work on it. 591 00:34:36,960 --> 00:34:39,960 Speaker 3: Saren, is this going to be a presumed innocent season 592 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:43,520 Speaker 3: three or a courtroom thriller at the box office? 593 00:34:43,560 --> 00:34:46,320 Speaker 1: I think courtroom thriller, but with real touching moments away 594 00:34:46,320 --> 00:34:48,799 Speaker 1: from the courtroom. So like casting this one, I went 595 00:34:48,840 --> 00:34:50,400 Speaker 1: through and I was having a lot of fun with this, 596 00:34:50,560 --> 00:34:53,920 Speaker 1: Like for a Kiki aka Elvis Rose, the drummer at 597 00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:56,680 Speaker 1: the heart of this, the man with the fundamental magical element. 598 00:34:56,719 --> 00:34:59,239 Speaker 1: I wanted Caleb McLaughlin from Stranger Things. I thought he 599 00:34:59,360 --> 00:35:03,360 Speaker 1: just has a great And then for the Jamaican dancehall 600 00:35:03,440 --> 00:35:06,320 Speaker 1: duo Steely and Cleevee, I went out on a limbit 601 00:35:06,400 --> 00:35:09,239 Speaker 1: this one. I went John Boyega and le Keith Stanfield 602 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:11,120 Speaker 1: just having fun with it, just let the two of 603 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:13,359 Speaker 1: them just do their thing. Basically, both of them are 604 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:15,520 Speaker 1: fun actors. I think together they try to like live 605 00:35:15,560 --> 00:35:17,960 Speaker 1: in that with each other. And for the judge, Andre 606 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:21,879 Speaker 1: Barrotte Junior, I went with Daniel Klulia from get Out 607 00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:24,240 Speaker 1: and from Nope. I thought he's just a fantastic choice. 608 00:35:24,239 --> 00:35:26,960 Speaker 1: I mean, he's got both the gravitas his eyes, but 609 00:35:27,000 --> 00:35:28,560 Speaker 1: he also can be fun and I would believe him 610 00:35:28,560 --> 00:35:29,920 Speaker 1: as a DJ. I'm like that guy could be a 611 00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:33,520 Speaker 1: DJ and a judge. And for Wayne Marshall Musicologist the DJ, 612 00:35:33,920 --> 00:35:36,080 Speaker 1: I went with Jeffrey Wright. I thought that he would 613 00:35:36,120 --> 00:35:38,440 Speaker 1: be like the right level of like, oh yes, I 614 00:35:38,520 --> 00:35:41,000 Speaker 1: believe he's a musicologist. He's got like the elbow patches 615 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:44,600 Speaker 1: on his blazer. And then for producer at Straker's the 616 00:35:44,880 --> 00:35:47,759 Speaker 1: Frankie McIntosh, I went with Brian Tyree Henry. I'm not 617 00:35:47,800 --> 00:35:50,040 Speaker 1: sure if you guys watched Atlanta, but paper Boy from 618 00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:52,839 Speaker 1: Atlanta I thought he would be just amazing at that one. 619 00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:54,320 Speaker 1: So there you go. There's my casting. 620 00:35:54,520 --> 00:35:54,960 Speaker 4: I love it. 621 00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:00,560 Speaker 3: Very Special Episodes is made by some very special people. 622 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:05,400 Speaker 3: The shows hosted by zarn Burnett, Danish Wartz, and Jason English. 623 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:09,360 Speaker 3: Today's episode was written by Dave Rouse. Our senior producer 624 00:36:09,480 --> 00:36:13,560 Speaker 3: is Josh Fisher. Editing and sound designed by Jonathan Washington, 625 00:36:14,080 --> 00:36:18,280 Speaker 3: Mixing and mastering by Beheid Fraser. Original music by Alis 626 00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:23,320 Speaker 3: McCoy and Jonathan Washington. Research and fact checking by Austin Thompson, 627 00:36:23,560 --> 00:36:27,640 Speaker 3: Zaren Burnett and Dave Roos. Show logo by Lucy Quintonia. 628 00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:33,360 Speaker 3: Social clips by Yarberry. Media Executive producer is Jason English. 629 00:36:33,719 --> 00:36:37,480 Speaker 3: Very Special Episodes is a production of iHeart Podcasts.