The History of House Music
With the new releases of Drake’s seventh studio album Honestly, Nevermind and Beyoncé’s single "Break My Soul," house music seems to be the trending sound of the summer. Join L’OFFICIEL as we take a look into the history of the disco-inspired genre.
The ’70s were a roaring time for music. Disco had taken over in the '60s but was slowly starting to fade. In the underground Chicago scene, DJs started creating something new with old disco sounds. Characterized by a steady 4/4 pulse and 120 bpm, house music was born. The term house comes from a club in Chicago called Warehouse. The addicting sounds of house then later spread to boisterous cities like New York and London and a new trend was set. House music quickly became the soundtrack of raves and even influenced new subgenres like techno music.
Many producers kept the dance genre alive during the '80s, like Frankie Knuckles and Ron Hardy who were major names in the Chicago dance scene, mixing their knowledge of hip-hop, disco, and dance to create a perfect blend of sounds. Knuckles was often referred to as the “Godfather of House Music.”
House music is the soundtrack for many communities—mainly marginalized. Black, brown, and LGBTQ+ communities would gather in underground clubs like the Warehouse and dance the night away. House music dance parties were used as safe havens for those who often felt like outsiders in the mainstream nightlife, allowing music to create a sense of belonging and bring people together.
Despite its insane popularity in the '70s and '80s, make no mistake, this genre has not made its departure yet. House music is still very prevalent in today's sound as well. Artists of today are sampling older house music hits. House artist Robin S.’s first breakout single "Show Me Love" was recently sampled by Beyoncé for her new single "Break My Soul." The 1993 anthem was one of house music's first standalone hits that popularized the genre, but Queen B is not the first artist to sample this song and certainly won't be the last.
Sampling isn’t the only form of house music still around today. Techno music as a genre is one of the largest genres of music in the industry, evidenced by the numerous music festivals around the world dedicated to electronic dance music (EDM). There are also still prominent house DJs making a name for themselves in the industry. Kaytranada, a well-known DJ currently running the New York dance scene, recently DJed the afterparty for the Jacquemus Fall/Winter 2022 show.
Canadian rapper Drake has also tapped into the dance genre recently and recruited producer/DJ Black Coffee to help take this project on. Drake's seventh studio album Honestly, Nevermind is a culmination of house-inspired beats and up-tempos. Coffee is also featured as a producer on one of the rapper's previous albums, More Life.
It seems like we can also expect a full house album from Beyoncé as well. Based on the powerhouse singer's recent single, fans are expecting her new album Renaissance to be a house-inspired project. House and dance music's reign will not be letting up anytime soon—its recent "resurgence" is proof of that—but no matter how wide its sound spread, the genre will continue to be kept alive by the communities that created it.
