Where Is House Music At Home? Check Out 7 Destinations Rich In Black House History
Visit these destinations to discover and understand the power, reach and enduring history of Black House music.
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As many of you know, house music has always been popular in its black and marginalized communities, and like many other genres of music, it was born at a time when collective frustration was high. Although many identify the genre with the 1980s, house music was born after the civil rights movement through evolution and revolution.
In the 1970s, many black people finally began to enter the mainstream and were recognized for their contributions to pop culture. However, in New York, the epicenter of ethnicity, blacks and browns were impoverished. Queer communities found new ways to fight for liberation after the Stonewall riots, and as members of other marginalized groups, including Hispanics and Africans, developed an underground subculture to communicate as a respite from the harsh realities they faced. However, parties, music, and culture began to take over as white America took over, and house music dance floors quickly became some of America's most progressive venues. .
The first documented house music originated in New York in the 1970s. Black teenage DJs Frankie Knuckles and Larry Levan attended after-disco parties in the basement of the Ansonia Continental Baths Hotel. Their style of music, a mix of soul, rock, disco, rhythm and blues, became so viral that Chicago promoters invited the DJ to the newly opened Warehouse club in the Windy City, and the rest is history. House music soon became so popular that demand in record stores soared, and record companies began hiring DJs to create dance mixes of their artists' top tracks.
Since then, the New York-born, Chicago-bred style of black music has found its way around the world, peaking in the UK and Ibiza, where it continues to grow in popularity. Other cultural centers in Detroit, New Jersey, and Baltimore also developed their own styles of house and club music that can be heard in many popular songs today.
Do you want to delve into a genre with years of history? Check out our breakdown of Black House music and its subgenres below, where to go to pay tribute, get a broader historical context, or dance to your present-day frustrations.
New York, New York
New York's underground clubs, from the Continental Baths to the Gallery and Paradise Garage, have danced to mainstream house music mixes. It's not hard to find house music in New York these days. it is alive and you can find it in any other club. Try visiting when popular DJs like Black Coffee play at The Brooklyn Mirage, or check out Lambda Lounge, one of the city's few black gay bars.
Chicago, Ill.
If you know house music, you know that Chicago is the best place for it. Today, Chicago continues to be more involved in the mix of house music and dance, with powerful sounds coming from various parts of the city. In 2004, the city renamed the stretch of Jefferson Street that once housed the iconic Warehouse club Frankie Knuckles Way, in honor of house music pioneer DJ Knuckles. On June 21, the warehouse was declared an official monument by the city. You also can't mention Chicago house music without mentioning The Chosen Few DJ's annual weekend picnic, which attracts thousands of house music fans in the summer.
Detroit, Michigan.
In Belleville, Michigan, high school friends Juan Atkins, Derrick May and Kevin Saunderson formed The Belleville Three, creating a sound defined by their use of synthesizers such as the Korg MS-10 and MiniKorg-700S. In 1982, Atkins and Rick Davis recorded the electro single "Clear" under the name Cybotron, which is considered the first pro-techno track. Detroit techno started from there, reaching all corners of the world. While in Michigan, take the Detroit Techno Tour to visit all the attractions, social clubs and venues that have helped make Detroit a global techno phenomenon.
Ibiza, Spain
It is now known that in the early 1980s, Detroit techno pioneer Derrick May sold Knuckles the Roland TB-303 electronic synthesizer, which eventually spread to the UK. When British house DJs like Paul Auckland first visited Ibiza's Amnesia club, they heard acid house and Balearic house, styles that came almost directly from Detroit techno. The legendary Amnesia is still open, so when you're in Ibiza, take the time to visit this venue that has been famous for club music for five decades. Try to be in Ibiza when one of the island's clubs is playing the best black DJs like Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Afrojack or Black Coffee.
Manchester, United Kingdom
One of the first big hits in house music history was when Farley "Jackmaster" Funk and Jessie Saunders' "Love Can't Turn Around" reached number 10 in the UK Singles Chart in 1986. In 1987, influential American DJs including Knuckles. , toured the UK, where house music remained more prominent than in the US, and soon took over the country's dance scene. When the palace ruled Britain, it was home to Manchester's Hacienda nightclub, now demolished and converted into Hacienda flats. Visit Fac251 - Factory Manchester today to hear the best house music in the UK.
Baltimore, Maryland.
Baltimore club music, derived from house music, began in the 1980s as a fusion of breakbeat, hip house, Chicago house, British hardcore rave and Miami bass. Go to any gathering in the DMV area and you'll hear B'more club music on the lawn, at concerts and parties as often as in the clubs. Visit Morgan State University in Baltimore on your weekend and you'll be bombarded with TikTok stars who have gone viral creating dances and themes based on Baltimore club songs for fans to join in on.
New Jersey
Widely considered the second coming of Baltimore music, New Jersey club music rose to prominence in the 2000s as a leader in club music and a producer of much of the music heard today. Newark's Brick Bandits, DJ Wallah, DJ Lil Man, DJ Frosty, DJ Jayhood and DJ Fade carried the sound on their shoulders, creating smoother transitions using the same basic Baltimore club format. , but with more elements. When planning a trip to New Jersey, visit during the Summer House Music Festival and check out the Weequahic Park House Music Festival, Lincoln Park Music Festival, or even the Roselle House Music Festival for some of New Jersey's best music. New Jersey club and house music continues. . form the gender
Noel Simon Walker is a New York-based writer specializing in beauty, fashion, music, travel and cultural anthropology. He has written and produced visual effects for several popular publications including The Recording Academy/The Grammy, The Fader, Billboard, OkayPlayer, Marie Claire, Glamour, Allure, Essence, Ebony and more.
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