Wallmark, ZacharyBurton, Nicholas2024-01-102024-01-102024-01-10https://hdl.handle.net/1794/29210Bass culture describes the shared affinity for excessive low frequency aesthetics. During the 2000s and 2010s, discussion of the term first emerged within the context of bass-centric Afrodiasporic popular music genres such as hip-hop, EDM, dancehall, and reggaeton. In this thesis, I theorize sonic elements of bass prominence through the concept of heaviness—a multidimensional timbral definition that extends beyond mere prescriptions of lowness and loudness. Historicizing bass centricity, I discuss Jamaican music during the 1950s and ‘60s where sound system practices contributed to the codification of bass as a sign of Blackness. Looking to the future, I present the concept of ubiquitous bass—the omnipresence of low-end frequencies now available in the latest developments of portable listening devices. Though a case study of Beats headphones, I argue that increased accessibility of heavy bass in virtual experiences marks a significant shift from established accounts of low-end theory.en-USAll Rights Reserved.Bass CultureBeats HeadphonesBlacknessHeavinessJamaican Sound SystemsTimbreElectronic Thesis or Dissertation