Genre Breakdown: Chicago House
House music is a giant among music genres. It was huge in the 80s after the fall of disco, but it has been experiencing a modern resurgence lately. Chicago house, which started in underground gay clubs, is known for its continuous beats comprised of engaging kick drums, magnetic piano scales, and exuberant soul samples. House music continues to spawn dozens of subgenres, dominate multiple festival lineups, and influence music to this day.
Why Do They Call it House Music?
Two major characteristics have massively shaped the history of house music: the Chicago house setting and its production method.
Before the birth of house music, it’d be remiss not to mention its predecessors. After Disco Demolition Night, a massive televised destruction of disco records at a baseball stadium—disco music was pronounced dead. Around this time, Bronx DJ Frankie Knuckles moved to Chicago and became the first musical director of a gay black club known as the Warehouse. He took his influences with him, pulling attributes from New York hip-hop and disco to make house music, which Knuckles would also refer to as “disco’s revenge.”
Remote production was another widely regarded reason for the Chicago house music name. Previously, most music was produced in studios, which were expensive and not always accessible. The Roland Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer of electronic instruments, released the TR-909 (a successor to the 808 that revolutionized hip-hop). Today, the 808 is more widely renowned, but the 909’s affordability and accessibility had its own role in marrying music and technology.
Both the 808 and 909 used analog synthesis, but the 909 used real cymbals and hi-hat samples. The improved 909 still didn’t do well enough commercially, making its adjusted price an affordable option for aspiring producers. The 909 put sampling into the hands of many. For what used to be an expensive production method, musicians could produce their music in the “house.”
Chicago house musicians would take vocal samples like Loleatta Hathaway’s "Love Sensation" and put their spin on it. Popular remixes would be played in clubs, on the radio, and spread throughout the country before reaching international markets. Chicago house would later evolve and transform into different subgenres like Detroit techno, Jersey club, and more.
Modern Chicago House
With globalization and increased accessibility of all music, house music is a mainstay genre that encompasses millions of songs over the globe. It spun off into so many different styles that bypass regional lines. As the home of house, Chicago house music is also mainly referred to as “classic house” and seen as the umbrella term for all the subgenres it hatched.
House music has a storied past, but its legacy continues today. Arguably, it is even more popular with its style incorporated into music spanning all genres. You’ll hear Chicago rap legend Kanye West sample Mr. Fingers' “Mystery of Love” on “Fade” or British house DJ Chris Lake’s “I Remember,” which uses Chicago’s Hot Mix 5 DJ Ralphi Rosario’s “You Used To Hold Me.”
Most recently, house music has been thrust into the mainstream yet again with recent releases by Drake and Beyoncé. Drake’s Honestly, Nevermind and Beyoncé’s Renaissance pull from old-school house records, artists, and producers. Drake enlisted the production of South African DJ Black Coffee and Gordo (Carnage’s house rebrand) for his seventh studio album. It was an unexpected turn for the Toronto rapper, who dedicated the album to the late Virgil Abloh, an avid house music lover. Despite the album receiving mixed reviews, Drake envisions more artists trending towards traditional house influences.
Beyoncé’s latest studio album has a whole list of accredited producers and writers. Her first single, “Break My Soul,” contains elements from Robin S’ “Show Me Love” and Big Freedia’s “Explode,” both acknowledged as house pioneers with their emphatic vocals. The rest of the album serves as a tribute and love letter to the genre, recruiting producers like Chicago house DJ Honey Dijon, Chicago hip-hop producer No I.D., Skrillex, and numerous other Beyoncé collaborators to create a cohesive house project. Similar to Drake’s dedication, Renaissance honors Beyoncé’s recently passed gay uncle, who introduced her to house music when she was young.
House Music’s Future
Chicago house music is deeply rooted in American music history and reaches even farther than that. Cheap music equipment birthed a genre that reinvigorated music production and served as the voice of marginalized individuals. A style of music that carried on disco’s legacy took the world by storm and influenced music charts since its creation.
The progression continues today as the scene is constantly growing, evolving, and transforming into sounds previously unimaginable by those late 70s Chicago clubgoers. With some of music’s most influential stars co-opting a mainstream rebirth of house-inspired music, expect a new era of house coming out of the woodwork.
