Drum and bass (DnB) grew out of British rave culture and jungle in the early 1990s. Its defining features are a very fast tempo (usually 160–180 beats per minute), chopped and rearranged drum loops (breakbeats), and a deep, “driving” sub-bass that is the true heart of the style.
Despite the frantic speed of the drums, DnB often preserves a slower, “half-time” feel thanks to the bass line — creating a characteristic tension between energy and smoothness. The genre spawned many offshoots (liquid, neurofunk, jump-up) and influenced world electronic and pop music. Drum and bass is an example of how rhythm itself, driven to virtuosic complexity, can become the foundation of an entire musical culture.
