DJ Funk

While Detroit artists like DJ Assault and DJ Godfather specialized in what is often referred to as ghetto tech, Chicago-based icon DJ Funk specialized in ghetto house. He first rose to prominence in the late '90s with a series of EP releases for the prolific Dancemania label. At the same time, he circled the Midwest as a DJ, spinning primarily pitched-up, pornographic-themed dance music. He became known for his mixing as much as for his track selection -- he would rarely let his tracks play out for longer than two or three minutes. A multitude of DJ Funk mix tapes spread across the Midwest, as well as a few independently released mix CDs. However, DJ Funk's reputation was primarily confined to the Detroit/Chicago axis and the Midwest rave scene. Unlike the Detroit booty artists, DJ Funk didn't really have a scene to call home and was somewhat of an anomaly. As a result, many saw him as a novelty artist. Nonetheless, he continued DJing and producing, starting the Funk Records label and moving on to higher profile, nationally distributed mix albums like Booty House Anthems (1999). ~ Jason Birchmeier