Who created the 808 bass?

In the early ’80s, when disco was dying down and punk rock was picking up steam, Ikutaro Kakehashi (aka Taro) was busy cooking up something truly special in Japan. As an engineer at Roland Corporation (i.e., formed in Osaka on 18 April 1972), he had already made a name for himself as a pioneer in the business of manufacturing electronic music instruments or synths. But little did people know that he was about to drop an iconic trunk rattling low-end sound that would change the face of music forever and this was made possible with the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer.

However, despite its groundbreaking technology, the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer was initially a commercial flop (12,000 units were sold). Its sounds were deemed too artificial and unrealistic for the time, failing to resonate with the mainstream audience of the time. But as hip-hop music evolved from its early disco and funk roots, the TR-808’s distinctive sound became increasingly intertwined with the genre’s identity. Its booming basslines, metallic snares, and crisp hi-hats provided a raw, gritty foundation for the genre’s lyrical storytelling and rhythmic intensity.