House Music Is Black Music

I had the opportunity of visiting Philadelphia for the first time back in February of this year.

My girlfriends and I went to Black Soul Summer’s “Vibe Check” event, held every first Saturday at Silk City Diner. To my surprise, the venue was filled with beautiful, Melanated people dancing to House Music the entire night. The DJ played mixes of current bangers while guests gyrated. I watched everyone sweat as they laughed and embraced one another. It was a spiritual, primitive, and freeing experience, almost ritualistic.

My night in Philly had me asking the question, “Why don’t Black Folks listen to House Music?” This may be because I’m from Alabama, but growing up in the South, House music was referred to as “White People Music.” Personally, I believe the closest thing we had to House was Atlanta’s Kilo Ali, a pioneer of the ‘90s Southern Bass music scene. But where did House actually originate?

House music originated in the early 1980s in Chicago, primarily by Black DJs in underground clubs. The Warehouse, where DJ Frankie Knuckles played, is the namesake of the genre. Knuckles, often called the Godfather of House, was a Black, gay man, central to the scene. Over time, House spread from Chicago to NYC.

House music and the Black LGBTQ+ experience are synonymous. Ball culture, particularly in NYC, used House as the soundtrack to voguing and performance. It was created as a safe space for queer self-expression when mainstream spaces were hostile. House was a response to the decline of disco and a refuge for marginalized communities: Black, Latino, and queer folks who found joy and liberation on the dance floor. Black artists laid the foundation, but often didn’t get the same commercial recognition as white or European DJs in the global EDM boom.

We are not one trick ponies. House music is Black music! Tapping into our innate power to channel through sound and movement comes natural to us, regardless of the region or genre. Our music encompasses our joy, pain, resistance, AND resilience. No matter where we are in the world, our connection to Source is eternal. “You cannot reclaim what already belongs to you.”

The genre continues to evolve while staying deeply rooted in Black innovation and soul. Contemporary Black house artists like Honey Dijon, Kaytranada, Channel Tres, The Blessed Madonna, and Black Coffee are keeping the legacy alive.

I think it’s time we start respecting and embracing what is rightfully ours.

Do you listen to House Music?