Electronic dance music is Black music.
We’ve been asking ourselves what we can do, as a company and as individuals. After making donations, speaking to our representatives, signing petitions, attending protests, and examining our own business model and hiring practices, what should we do next as a music platform?
We have always believed in education as a foundation of our role in the music community. The mass movements for justice for the lives of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and countless others coincided with LGBTQ+ Pride Month this year. In response, we decided to revisit our series from 2019, exploring the gay and predominantly Black venues where house, garage, and Jersey club music were born. The truth about these venues, as you will read, is that many were subjected to regular police raiding and surveillance. Take a tour through Chicago, New York, New Jersey, and more as we revisit the iconic venues where much of electronic music was born.
The Continental Baths: The gay bathhouse that birthed electronic music legends
The Continental Baths was one of the most iconic gay bathhouses in history where two future electronic music legends, the late and great Larry Levan and Frankie Knuckles, cut their teeth.
Read more on the Continental Baths.
The Warehouse: The gay club where house music got its name
The Warehouse was a club in Chicago that is famously known as the birthplace of house music.
Paradise Garage: The exclusive NYC club where “garage” got its name
The Paradise Garage was home to one of the greatest DJs of all time and a sound that would define a genre and a generation.
Read more on the Paradise Garage.
Club Zanzibar: The place where the Jersey sound and voguing flourished
Club Zanzibar is Newark’s historical music venue where the Jersey sound and voguing flourished.
June 8, 2020
