Breaks origins starts in the early 80's when hip-hop DJs began using breaks to use as rhythmic basis for their songs.   The technique was to play the same record on two turntables and play the break repeatedly, alternating between two records, spinning one records back to the beggining of the break whilst letting the other continue to play.  The style and sound that this early breakbeat created was popular in clubs because the breaks were perfect for breakdancers to use to do their dance moves.

The Amen Break, a drum break from The Winstons' song "Amen, Brother" is widely regarded as the most used break ever. This break was first used on "King of the Beats" by Mantronix, and has since been used in thousands of songs. Other popular breaks are from James Brown's "Funky Drummer" and "Give it Up or Turnit a Loose", The Incredible Bongo Band's "Apache", and Lyn Collins' "Think (About It)".

Acid House artists and producers eagerly took up the techniques used by the this early breakbeat Hip hop artists and made it their own creating the breakbeat hardcore sound that was widely used at rave and is what most people associates as rave music in the UK.  From this sound breakbeat diverged into jungle and drum and bass which are referred to as having a darker sound with the emphasis on more complex sampled drum patterns.  UK Hardcore & Happy Hardcore was the more bouncy up beat other side of the split

In 1992 a new style called "jungalistic hardcore" emerged, and for many ravers it was too funky to dance to. Josh Lawford of Ravescene prophesied that the breakbeat was "the death-knell of rave" because the ever changing drumbeat patterns of breakbeat music didn't allow for the same zoned out, trance-like state that the standard, steady 4/4 beats of house enabled.

In recent times, the term breakbeat has become synonymous with the many genres of breaks music which have become popular within the global dance music scene, including big beat, nu skool breaks and progressive breaks. DJs from a variety of genres, including house and techno, work breaks tracks into their sets.

Break tracks tempo (ranging from 110 to 150 beats per minute) means they can be readily mixed with the genres mentioned above make it very adaptable, whereas the comparatively fast speed of jungle and drum and bass (160-180 bpm) may have restricted the utility of these subgenres to DJs playing slower-tempo music.

Some artists well known for breakbeat include NAPT, Stanton Warriors, Beat Assassins, Pendulum, Krafty Kuts, The Freestylers, DJ Loopy, Soul Of Man, Deekline And Wizard.