Facts About Chicago Juke Music



“Is There A Difference between Chicago Booty House, Ghetto Tech, & Juke Music? The answer is Yes, there is a HUGE difference. And in this post I will break it down for you. Quick advisory, I am the first DJ/Producer to actually say this, but there are enough videos, interviews, songs, & facts online to support my theory. I will also go as far as giving you links to prove it. Enjoy.” - DJV

Booty House, also known as Ghetto House, is the bastard child of Chicago House Music. People called it ‘Ghetto House’ because, unlike Chicago House it used blunt profanity & pornographic gestures in their vocals. Booty House was the original name of the style, but Ghetto House was the term people associated the style with. All in all, they are both one in the same and it is the reason why Ghettotech and Juke exist. Without the style known as Booty House or Ghetto House, there is no such thing as the dance styles known as Jit, Juke-ing, Bob-ing or Chicago Footworking. So to clarify any confusion from the beginning, Booty House & Ghetto House are the exact same style, just different names. Ghettotech is the first to emerge from it, while Juke Music is the last style to come from Booty House.

1. Ghetto/Booty House: You should know by now, that House Music was made in Chicago. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_house)  It became very popular very fast and has now become the second hottest style of music in the World (Hip Hop/Rap still being number one www.billboard.com/charts#/?tag=logo). Little does the World know, that of all the genres to come from Chicago House Music, one genre still remains unknown to the majority. (It really is the black sheep of the group, the outcast, and it’s name is smeared and thrown around in confusion) That’s Booty House. Like the original style of Chicago House Music, Booty House, consists of solid kick drums that hit on the 1, analog synthesizers, and sampled soul/funk percussion's. Unlike Chicago House Music, Booty House added more to the track. For one, it’s played faster (137-155bpm), second, it infused the use of 808 drum beats, 909 claps, toms, and anything on a drum-machine that would fatten up the sound. Third, while House tracks up North were being sung, Booty House vocalist down South were rapping & chanting, using one word phrases to fill up the empty gaps between a song, And last and most important difference when comparing House Music to Booty House, is the quality in which the vocals are recorded. Call it Ghetto, but the majority of vocals on a Booty House track sound very generic, muddy, & cheap.

Here’s a sound sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMQM4Y33Qn8&feature=related

Correct Way To Dance? The original way to dance to Booty House is by break-dancing: Moves such as pop locking, head spinning, flares, swipes, & anything associated with the art of B-Boying & B-Girling was, and still is, the proper way to dance to Booty House (Remember, Juke Music wasn’t around yet and foot working was still developing). The most popular way to dance to Ghetto/Booty House is by booty shaking, now known as “Juke-ing” or “Juking”. Yes, the ones who couldn’t break-dance started a new style of dance & has now become a Chicago standard. Juking today is no longer just sticking your butt out and making it bounce or shake, it’s literally bumping & grinding on the dance floor (and I mean on the actual floor). No, let me rephrase, Juke-ing happens ANYWHERE, within any four walls of any club, house party, or school gym in Chicago. I’ve seen people against the wall, on top of bars, stages, and even in mid-air. When Juking, you grab a partner and do the craziest sex position (with clothes on obviously) and bump or do it as fast & as hard as you can to the tempo of the beat. Juking is NOT JUKE. “Juke-ing” is a dance, “Juke” is a style of music. Juking can be done to all 3 styles of music (Ghetto/Booty House, Ghettotech, & Juke). Recently, from the dance style known as Juke-ing came the dance style known as Bob-ing or Bob. It grabbed the concept of Juking and made its own style. But that style doesn’t compare to the vast popularity of Detroit Jit or Chicago Footwork. So it’s still low key compared to the two.

Here is a video of Juke Dancing and Booty House (Notice the Tempo & Sound)

Here is a video of the style known as Bob (Notice the Tempo & Sound)

Here is the proper way to dance to the original Booty House: (Notice The Speed of The Dance)

2. Ghettotech/Ghetto Tech (which is the same thing): This was the first style to emerge from Ghetto/Booty House. It started in Detroit, not Chicago. It sound is very similar (almost identical) to its father, but plays the synthesizer for a longer period of time. You know how they differentiate Vocal House & Deep House? Well, Ghettotech is the Deep House of Booty House. It uses less vocal sampling and puts more emphasis on beats and melodies. Another key difference is the tempo in which it plays. Ghettotech can go anywhere between 155-165bpm. Another way to understand the sound difference between Booty House & Ghettotech is by simply grabbing a house record, putting on the turntable, and playing it at 45-RPM. That fast, almost chipmunk type of sound, is very similar to the Ghettotech style (just not as annoying). This style was the first to blow up into the Music Mainstream. Today, Ghetto Tech is how most websites, record pools, & digital music sites label the genre Ghetto House, Booty House, Juke, & Ghettotech. But this is why people get confused: They never gave Booty House or Juke its own official Mainstream title. They decided to just smash it all under one term; “Ghetto Tech”. What’s making things even more complicated is, these new House producers and artists are making slower tempo (125-135bpm) tracks and calling it “Ghettotech” when it sounds nothing like Ghettotech, Booty House, or Juke. Here are some Examples: Crookers, LMFAO, 3OH!3. They are not Ghettotech.

Here is a sound sample of real Ghettotech Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=biNC35mu7tI&feature=related

Correct Way To Dance? Ghettotech created a new style of dance, its called “Jit”. To Jit, you move all the parts of your body in a unique way to the rhythm of the beat. Jit is not Juking or Foot Working. Even though it looks like they are dancing to modern day Juke Music it’s not! Chicago & Detroit have two different music styles and two different ways in how you dance to them.

Here’s a video of the dance style known as Jit:

3. Juke: This is the last style to come from Booty House Music. Juke is also known as juke-ing, juking, and mixes, and those names are misleading. “Juke-ing” or “Juking” is a form of dance, not a style of music. “Mixes”, is what music shops sell to people that have this kind of music. People get confused because it’s still underground. Again, there’s no Mainstream title. It’s also hard to find the correct genre online. Plus, it is common sense to name something after what you see or hear when you don’t know the name of something. That’s what people are doing. When they go to a mall in Chicago or a mom & pop music store, they buy a CD that has Ghetto House, Booty House, Ghettotech, or Juke and call it by what they think it is: mixes, juke mixes, footwork music, or juking music. So what is the difference between Juke & the other two? I believe the difference is huge! First, let’s start with what they share. They have the same concept, tempo range, idea, and poorly recorded vocals (although Juke is actually making a breakthrough effort in trying to change that). From here, it gets a little complicated, but simple to understand in a family matter. Ready? Like his father, Juke was born in Chicago, not Detroit. Juke is like his brother in the sense that he plays faster then his father (155-165bpm), and from the two, Juke talks more then his brother, but not more than his father. In Short, Juke is the newest, Ghetto/Booty House is the most vocal & slowest (as far as tempo), & Ghettotech is the quietest of them all. Get It? Now, the biggest differences between Juke and the other two styles is how it plays. Ghetto/Booty House & Ghettotech play on the one (just like today’s House Music), but Juke plays more of its bass lines and percussions' on the Eight & Sixteenth Note (It’s very abstract and I’ll show you a sound sample in a second). To keep you on beat, it uses Toms or rapid sounding 808-thumps that land every so often on the 1. To keep its groove, a Clap lands on the 2 Another major difference between the other two styles is the use of Drum Machine sounds over old soul/funk samples. As a matter of fact, Juke doesn’t sample soul & funk drum percussion's anymore. That alone is a major difference in sound. It’s kind of like the new Hip Hop vs The old Hip Hop. The sound of Hip Hop Beats made in the past sound very different to the Hip Hop Beats made today. That’s because it’s all drum machines…where’s the sampling? In that same sense, Juke Music is that; The new school, the new generation. Juke Music doesn’t sample old school breaks or funk percussion's at all. They make their own.  Yes, Juke makes 100% original melodies, vocals, & drum patterns. It’s even trying to bump up the sound quality in Vocal’s with new effects and processors. Ghettotech is even taking interest in the new way Juke is being made and they are slowly taking that step into no longer sampling. But regardless of its production, Ghetto/Booty House, Ghettotech, & Juke is Original House Music.

Here’s a sound sample: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkpxVwSdEcU&feature=related

Correct Way To Dance? This is the fastest growing style of dance in America since break-dancing and it’s called “Footwork” or “Footworking”. Chicago grabbed Break-dancing foot work and made its own. Then, once dancers mastered footwork-ing, they added body shaking (not booty shaking entirely, and definitely not Juking). The dance almost looks like Detroit Jit, and that’s why people get it confused, but it’s not. The major difference between Jit and Footwork is the movement of the feet. I even think it’s harder to Footwork then it is to Jit because you do all three dance styles in Footworking. From the styles Ghetto/Booty House, Ghettotech, & Juke, you Breakdance, Jit, Footwork, & sometimes find yourself Juking on the floor to get an audience applause.

Here’s a video of the dance style known as Chicago Footwork:

I Hope this post helped organize the mess that was created and still around. I should think about organizing some new videos & music so people can furthermore understand the difference between the three. For now, you can buy my latest Ghetto/Booty House & Juke Mix titled. Juke-a-Licious. I produced the whole CD (I’m one of the few producers left in Chicago that still makes original Booty House Music). It’s available on my official website or on iTunes, Amazon, ,Rhapsody.com. (Just Search DJV or go my site to get linked there): http://www.djvmusic.com


Bonus: Watch This Cool Video On the Birth of House Music, Booty House & Juke

Home Sweet House (2009) from John Pappas on Vimeo.

Posted by DJV at Friday, March 05, 2010 11:50 AM
Categories: Music, Facts, Videos
Tags: DJV Ghetto Tech Hip House Juke Juking Jit Ghetto House Ghettotech Music Footworking Booty House Chicago Detroit
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