Picked up "The Bedlam in Goliath" today.

Several different types of drums have existed throughout the world, serving many different purposes in history; occasionally, natives from cultures which the drums originate, as in the case of the Yorùbá, used the drums for religious ceremonies and, since their introduction in Cuba in the 1820s, have come to be an understood and important part of the perceived culture of the southwestern Nigerian people.

The drum dates back roughly 500 years, and is believed to have been introduced by Yoruba king, Shangó. Despite the previous long history, awareness of the instrument didn't spread until the 1800s slave-trade in which close to 300,000 Yorùbá natives were brought to Cuba. The religion and beliefs the Yorùbá brought with them eventually became the basis for what is known as Lukumí (or Santería in Cuban). This religion spawned the creation of the first 'sacred' Batá in Cuba around 1830 by a Yorùbá named Añabi.

The Batá slowly became inducted into the Cuban culture after a time, and began to take on more secular uses: they were first publicly performed in 1935 in a broadcast over Cuban radio for purposes of folklore music. Uses such as this have grown as knowledge of the instrument has spread; more and more musicians not currently practicing Lukumí have used versions of the drums in recordings or performances. These 'non-sacred' Batá drums are called aberínkula--profane Batá (see Sacred-profane dichotomy). Batá drums and rhythms have started to be used in other genres, most notably in Cuban timba, jazz and hip hop. In the 1970s, for instance, a mixture of Batá drums and Big Band called Son-Batá or Batá Rock became popular, a genre highly influenced by Los Irakere.

Skilled secular musicians made appearances in the United States throughout the twentieth century; the likes of Julito Collazo and Francisco Aguabella helped the spreading of such 'mainstream' uses in the context of Latin music.