Dub (music) - The Term

The Term

The verb dub is defined as making a copy of one recording to another. The process of using previously recorded material, modifying the material, and subsequently recording it to a new master mix, in effect doubling or "dubbing" the material, was utilized by Jamaican producers when making dubs. The term dub had multiple meanings in Jamaica around the time of the music's origin. The most frequent meanings referred to either a form of erotic dance or sexual intercourse; such usage is frequently present in names of reggae songs, for instance, of The Silvertones' "Dub the Pum Pum" (where pum pum is Jamaican slang for female genitalia), Big Joe and Fay's "Dub a Dawta" (dawta is Jamaican slang for girlfriend). I-Roy's "Sister Maggie Breast" features several references on sex:

I man a-dub it on the side
Say little sister you can run but you can't hide
Slip you got to slide you got to open your crotches wide
Peace and love abide

Some musicians, for instance Bob Marley and The Wailers, had alternative meanings for the term dub. In concert, the order "dub this one!" meant "put an emphasis on bass and drums". Drummer Sly Dunbar points to a similar interpretation, relating the term dubwise to using only drums and bass. Another possible source was the term dub plate, as suggested by Augustus Pablo. John Corbett has suggested that dub could derive from duppie, a Jamaican patois word for ghost, as referenced by Burning Spear having named the dub version of his Marcus Garvey album Garvey's Ghost, and by Lee Perry stating that dub is "the ghost in me coming out".