In short. Warm up is bouyon running slower: between 117 and 134 BPM, while classic sits at 152 and hardcore at 160. The name comes from what it does, it sets the room before the fast tracks, and lets it breathe between peaks. Nobody invented it: the word circulated from 2019 before becoming a release tag.
You see "warm up" on a bouyon release and wonder whether it is another genre. It is not. It is bouyon, at a lower tempo, with a precise role in a night. This guide gives you the tempo, the function, and where to start.
A tempo, not a separate genre
The simplest marker is speed. Classic bouyon runs around 152 BPM, Gwada hardcore climbs to 160. Warm up drops between 117 and 134.
Three tempos measured by Shazam, which you can check yourself: Krys's "God Bless" runs at 117 BPM, the lower edge of the zone, KEKS MAFIA's "Bouyon Warm Up" at 125, and "Lésé Nou Pasé" by TIITII NBA at 134, the upper edge. Everything in between is the zone.
It is not a separate genre. Same music, same producers, same Creole, played lower. What changes is what you can do with it.
What it does in a party
The name states the function: warming up. A set that opens at 160 BPM has nowhere left to climb. Warm up opens, settles the room, lets people arrive. Then it comes back between two peaks to let everyone breathe before the next push.
That is why the format took hold among DJs before becoming a release tag. A track marked "warm up" tells you where in the night it belongs. That is practical information, not a musical category.
By ear, you recognise it like this: the grain stays bouyon, the percussion hits the same, but there is room to place a step between two beats. The voices breathe too, the flow adapts to the tempo instead of fighting it.
Nobody created it
This is the part most people miss. Warm up has no inventor and no birth date.
The oldest trace is a Triple Kay live set in 2019, in Dominica. In February 2021, Dominican producer DJ Taffy posts "Jouvert warm up", made for the opening of carnival. The word then moves through StratVincyBwoy, NYZER, 1T1 and Kay'J in mixes and riddims, before a release carries it in its title. That first catalogue marker lands on December 15, 2022 with "Bouyon Warm Up" by KEKS MAFIA, produced by DJ Taffy.
Then Guadeloupe takes it up. In February 2024, TIITII NBA's "KPT" carries the tag in its title. In June, Krys announces "God Bless" with the warmup hashtag: the video now has 7.29 million views. In January 2026, "In Di Corner" by 1T1 and Miimii KDS passes 11 million.
A word that circulates for three years before becoming a tag is not an invention. It is a habit settling in.
Where to start
The easiest way: six tracks, from slowest to fastest. Krys's "God Bless" (117 BPM), "In Di Corner" by 1T1 and Miimii KDS (119), "More Wata" by DJ Softee and TIITII NBA (120), KEKS MAFIA's "Bouyon Warm Up" (125), "Castries" by Meryl and Miimii KDS (130), "Lésé Nou Pasé" by TIITII NBA with Ma6mo and Diixly (134). Played in order, they take you up one notch per track, without leaving bouyon.
Then follow with a classic bouyon at 152 BPM: the difference jumps out.
For the full story, who did what and when, from Dominica to Guadeloupe, Chapter VIII covers the seven years in detail. And if you just want to listen, the playlist mixes both tempos.
The official Bouyon New Waves playlist gathers the current releases:
FAQ : warm up
What is warm up in bouyon? A zone of bouyon that runs slower: between 117 and 134 BPM, while classic bouyon sits at 152 and hardcore at 160. The name comes from what it does in a party, it sets the room before the fast tracks, or lets the set breathe between peaks.
What BPM is a warm up? Between roughly 117 and 134 BPM. Three tempos measured by Shazam: Krys's "God Bless" is at 117 BPM, KEKS MAFIA's "Bouyon Warm Up" at 125, "Lésé Nou Pasé" by TIITII NBA at 134.
Does warm up replace fast bouyon? No. It is one more piece in the night. Fast bouyon keeps the peaks; warm up opens, resets and lets the room breathe between them.
Who created warm up? Nobody in particular. The word circulates from 2019 in live sets with Triple Kay, appears in a DJ Taffy production in February 2021, then moves through StratVincyBwoy, NYZER, 1T1 and Kay'J, before becoming a release tag in December 2022 with KEKS MAFIA. It is a circulation, not a dated invention.
Does warm up always mean slower? Not everywhere. In Dominica, DJ Taffy ("Jouvert warm up", 2021) and Smokiller ("Warm Up Season Vol. 1", 2026) also use the word for the stretch that heats up before carnival, with fast riddims. Chapter VIII covers both meanings.
Are warm up and bouyon two different genres? No, it is the same genre. Same producers, same Creole, same grain, played slower. The word describes a tempo and a place in the night, not a separate musical family.
