Jubilee Is on a Mission to Champion the Miami Bass Sound

What is the defining aspect of Miami music? For Jubilee, there's really only one answer.

"I feel like the attitude will always be that Miami music is very raunchy," she says. "You're playing songs about pussy and strippers, but also very bass-heavy. Very car bass, car testing heavy."

Though based in New York City for many years, the South Florida-raised DJ and producer is one of the biggest boosters of Miami bass, the homegrown electronic music genre that still gets rinsed at many a local club night. It's been a focal point of her sets for years: For instance, the late climax of her BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix, a coveted gig considered a career milestone for many DJs, was DJ Uncle Al's "Mix It Up," a classic of the genre.

It's also the central theme of her label and party series, Magic City. Originally started as a mixtape series for the influential, now-shuttered boutique Opening Ceremony, the brand has evolved into a platform releasing cutting-edge club music from the likes of Grrl, Astrolith, Bianca Oblivion, Nigelthreetimes, and Jubilee herself. Florida influences everything about Magic City, from the music to its visual identity (its logo is a starry-eyed alligator), but the curation often fuses the classic bass genre with everything from crunchy retro-game-inspired electro (Grrl's "Side by Side") to wubby UK funky (Danny Golinger's "Exonym").

That syncretic approach has earned it praise from dance music aficionados, with DJ Mag naming Magic City the best label in North America in 2023. But in a certain respect, it's a reflection of the current club music meta-scene, where stylistic boundaries are meant to be crossed, and once-regional sounds like Miami bass are being blended with music from across the continent.
"Miami bass, to me, is like a regional club music sound," Jubilee explains. "It was this baby sound within a sound like it was a regional genre. And I find that genres like Baltimore club and Detroit ghettotech and Jersey club, all these kinds of small genres, those, to me, are all cousins to Miami bass. For example, there would be a Miami bass version of the Muppets' theme song. But there would also be a Baltimore club one. And a lot of those genres use the same samples. They all sample Uncle Luke, for instance. They never did before, but now they all seem to be meshing together."

That mentality also applies when booking parties. Magic City has brought a touch of Miami to NYC, Los Angeles, and even Berlin. An ongoing string of events celebrating its tenth anniversary at venues like Good Room and House of Yes in Brooklyn have paired South Florida talents such as Sel.6 with touring DJs like Debonair. One upcoming party will pair Jubilee with Tiga, a frequent visitor to the 305. 

"Before, it was Miami-themed, but now there are no genres anymore. Like, everybody's just playing everything," Jubilee adds.
Magic City will bring it back to the 305 itself on Saturday, May 3. She's bringing down Chicago-based house specialist Ariel Zetina, along with a back-to-back set from homegrown DJs Marte and 1-800-Lolita, for a party at intimate downtown lounge Floyd, a venue Jubilee has nothing but praise for.

"I really, really love the staff and the team behind Space and Floyd. So I'm really happy to be collaborating with them because they work so hard. They put so much care and effort into their lineups and III Points and all the things that they do. I just feel really lucky to be working with them because they're all really talented, and I've worked with many clubs and seen many scenes, and I have to say, seeing what they have become, and how they work together and how they support each other — a lot of them are musicians — it's super inspiring."

In fact, she's quite passionate about the rest of Miami's dance underground as well. "I feel like cooler music is getting out there, way easier, way more like, easier than it used to, and it's good," she says. "When I lived down there, I was trying so hard to do something weird. There was weird there; there was obviously a cool art scene and cool music, but there wasn't as much range. And these younger kids, I just think the queerer and more diverse a city gets, and a scene gets, the music clearly gets better. And the younger kids are just way cooler than us."

One thing that wasn't taken into consideration, however, was the date. The party will take place on the same weekend as the Miami Grand Prix. How will the racing fans handle the raunch of real Miami music?

"I found that out afterward," Jubilee says. "I haven't been for Formula 1, but yeah, I am aware of that, and I hope these people are ready to hear Miami bass."

Magic City. With Jubilee, Ariel Zetina, Marte, and 1-800-Lolita. 11 p.m. Saturday, May 3, at Floyd, 34 NE 11th St., Ste. B., Miami; 786-357-6456; floydmiami.com.