backbeat

American  

[bak-beet] / ˈbækˌbit /

noun

Popular Music.

1. a secondary or supplementary beat, as by a jazz drummer.

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backbeat British  

/ ˈbækˌbiːt /

noun

1. music the second and fourth beats of a bar written in even time or, in more complex time signatures, the last beat of the bar Compare downbeat upbeat

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Etymology

Origin of backbeat

back ¹ + beat

Example Sentences

Reggaeton is the backbeat of the Global South and thrills the North; “Tropicoqueta” was a gift of the music she adored growing up with, it belongs to the world now too.

From Los Angeles Times

“The Lava Is Calm” features chilling piano; “Maybe We Can Stay” spotlights sweeping strings and flutes darting across a bouncy backbeat.

From New York Times

Texturally, their music, with its unabashedly electronic timbres and heavy backbeats, has less in common with bebop combos than with synth-pop, glitch and dance music.

From Washington Post

As a pianist and bandleader, Mr. Smith was known for strong left-hand bass lines, splashy right hand and forceful backbeat.

From New York Times

They sing about “Warm sliding sun through the cave of your hair” over a galloping backbeat, with early hallmarks of Crosby’s songwriting: a modal drone in the verses, a meter shift to change things up.

From New York Times