Footwork, also called juke, or Chicago juke, is a genre of electronic dance music derived from ghetto house with elements of hip-hop, first appearing in Chicago in the late 1990s. The music style evolved from the earlier, rapid rhythms of ghetto house, a change pioneered by RP Boo, DJ Rashad and DJ Clent. It may draw from the rapid rhythms and sub-bass frequencies of drum & bass. Tracks also frequently feature heavily syncopated samples from rap, pop and other sources, and are often around 160 bpm. The term juke music may be used as a synonym for footwork music, or may be used to differentiate between footwork and the closely related proper juke music born in the 1990s from ghetto house together with footwork music, and somewhat predating it.
Footwork is also a style of house dance, closely associated with juke and footwork music, and typified by very fast and chaotic feet moves.
Etymology The name "footwork" given to the genre refers to the footwork dance that accompanies it and is characterized by very fast structured dance footwork. The arguably first mention of the term "footwork" within the ghetto house scene of Chicago was WaxMaster's "Foot work" track in 1995. Footwerk and footwurk are two other forms of the term sometimes used to describe this genre.
The name juke is of unclear origin. It is believed to have originated from West African languages and came to Chicago use via Gullah. The term "juke" is believed to come from the Gullah word joog or jug, meaning rowdy or disorderly which itself is derived from the Wolof word dzug meaning to misconduct one's self.
The term juke, as being applied to particular styles of ghetto house, came into use from DJ Puncho and Gant-Man in the late 1990s by releasing tracks such as "Juke it" in 1997. Some originators of the footwork, notable example being DJ Clent preferred to call footwork music project house and were consciously avoiding the term juke, which was associated with DJ Puncho and Gant-Man. However, the term "juke" came to dominate the whole ghetto house scene, including footwork, often being used as a blanket term to denote any style derived from ghetto house and even its progenitor, ghetto house, was at times called "juke" too. In this regard, any style of music derived from ghetto house in the 1990s would be called "juke" music, or be described as belonging to "Chicago juke scene".
The terms footwork and juke, as referring to the fast syncopated genre of electronic dance music derived from ghetto house, may be used interchangeably. Apart from simply being synonyms, there is also a strong tradition to distinguish these two terms, where juke is constrained to the earlier years of the genre, with footwork in this sense being a more chaotic, complex and abstract offshoot of proper juke music, that brought wider attention in the late 2000s. Sometimes, the combined terms juke and footwork (or footwork and juke) are used to describe the single musical scene or musical movement, born from Chicago ghetto house. In this regard, as one review summarized, the situation with terms is analogous to jungle (music genre) vs. drum'n'bass dispute, where some people consider the terms to be mere synonyms, while others prefer to call jungle a proper progenitor of drum'n'bass.
History Footwork music first appeared in the late 1990s to early 2000s as a faster and increasingly abstract variant of ghetto house. The genre evolved to match the energy of footwork dance, a dance style born in the disparate ghettos, house parties and underground dance competitions of Chicago. RP Boo, a former footwork dancer, is generally credited with making the first songs that fall within the canon by releasing songs such as "Baby Come On" in 1997 which is oftentimes considered the founding track of footwork. According to RP Boo, the first sign of the genre's emergence happened, when ghetto house first started to be played at a faster speed when a group of ghetto house DJs from the Chicago West Side started playing ghetto house records at 45 RPM instead of standard 33 RPM. Among other people involved in the creation of the footwork sound were DJ Rashad (with his 1998 track called "Child Abuse" (with DJ Thadz)) and DJ Clent (with his 1996 track "Hail Mary" (with DJ Slugo) and 1998 track "3rd Wurle"). During that time, in 1998, DJ Clent formed a crew of him and the likely minded producers, namely, DJ Spinn, DJ Rashad, RP Boo, DJ C-Bit, Majik Myke and others, called "Beatdown House" of from whom footwork originated. As DJ Clent put it, around that time footwork pioneers tried to consciously distance themselves from the "juke" label, which was being used to denote fast four-to-the-floor ghetto house music and was more closely associated with DJ Gant-Man and M Puncho, rather than with Beatdown House, who pioneered more abstract, sparse and menacing proper footwork music; however, despite their effort, the word "juke" started to be used as a label for footwork music as well.
Other early proponents of the genre included DJ Diamond (Karlis Griffin), DJ Roc and DJ Nate.
During the 2000s, footwork relied heavily in its distribution on a peer-to-peer mixtape exchange in Chicago public schools, which is why the earliest works in the genre are often hard to obtain. Other channels producers used around that time for distribution of their tracks included free-to-use media sharing platforms of the day, for instance now-closed imeem.com, MySpace and YouTube. Some of the earliest tracks of footwork only gained exposure after European labels started re-releasing them throughout the 2010s.
Around 2007 footwork gained some brief exposure on MTV and the Internet, with the release of such tracks as Kanye West's remix "Pro Nails" by Chicagoan rapper Kid Sister (2007), which showcased half-time/full-time tempo switch, typical for the genre, albeit at a slower tempo. At the same time the footwork dancing was showcased in Twista's juke track Pimp Like Me from his 2007 album Adrenaline Rush 2007 produced by Cuzzo and Tight Mike, and which also gained airplay on MTV Video. Music video for Pimp Like Me also featured scenes of footwork dancing.
Radio station Afropop Worldwide remarked on the genre and its developments in 2011, saying that:
In 2014, one of the most well-recognized figures in footwork and the leader of Teklife, DJ Rashad, died of drug overdose, shortly after releasing a critically acclaimed footwork and juke album Double Cup on Hyperdub. This has put a strain on genre's development, particularly in Chicago, where at the same time youth started to prefer to listen to drill music instead. However, as DJ Taye of Teklife and RP Boo noted, footwork, at the time it was declining in Chicago, found new exposure elsewhere in the world, particularly in Europe. After 2013, RP Boo toured worldwide so consistently that he could afford to quit his full-time job at a home repair store in Chicago, something he could not afford doing during footwork's formative years.
Characteristics Footwork songs are generally around 150–165 BPM with beat-skipping kick drums, pounding rapidly (and at times very sparsely) in syncopation with crackling snares, claps, and other sounds reminiscent of old drum machines. The overall feel of the rhythm in more experimental tracks in the genre may sound intentionally undanceable for a casual listener. Vocal chops from unrelated genres, such as contemporary R&B and pop music are common and may also be up- or down-pitched. The production style is often markedly lo-fi, much like baile funk.
The tempo of footwork tracks may switch back and forth, alternating hi-speed full-time and half-time sections. The overall mood of the genre is said to be hypnotic, dark and abstract. The genre makes marked heavy use of sub-bass and its fast and repetitive rhythmic atmosphere is said to be reminiscent of the early jungle music.
Along with "juke" being used as a synonym for footwork music, a strong tradition in the juke and footwork scene is to differentiate proper juke music from proper footwork music, the former being fast (around 150-160 BPM) four-to-the-floor ghetto house music, somewhat predating footwork (proper juke music being said to originate around the early or mid-to-late 1990s), while proper footwork music (originating in the late 1990s) being a more rhythmically abstract musical form than proper juke with beat skips, alternating full-time to half-time tempo, and thus departing from house music entirely. Both variants (juke music and footwork music) use the same BPM of 150 to 160 and heavily rely on cutout sampling techniques.
International growth Europe
In Europe, juke has been popular in European clubs, particularly in Paris, Brussels, and Spain for years. UK label Planet Mu's compilations Bangs and Works Volume 1 (2010) and Bangs and Works Volume 2 (2011) have brought the work of Chicago DJs to a wider audience, drawing some media attention and becoming the first internationally recognized juke compilations. The liner notes for Vol. 1 noted:
Apart from Bangs and Works, Planet Mu has also been releasing original albums by Chicago footwork artists, for example Da Trax Anthology by DJ Nate (2010), which are oftentimes sourced from shelved tracks from the 2000s Myspace and imeem.com era.
The Hyperdub label has been a supporter of juke music, releasing much of DJ Rashad's material. Deeon has released two projects on the famous French Ghetto music label Booty Call Records in 2013
The early attempt to emulate juke sound in Europe was the infamous "Footcrab" by Addison Groove, coming out in 2010 on Loefah's SWAMP 81 label. "Footcrab" took inspiration from footwork, however the sound of "Footcrab" was slowed down to match the tempo of UK bass genres, around 140 BPM. "Footcrab" drew some criticism to be parting ways from the raw nature of juke roots in Chicago and only emulating the sound of juke on a "child-like" surface level and the production on "Footcrab" was deemed "cheap". Notwithstanding the criticism, "Footcrab" put Addison Groove on forefront of the UK Bass scene in the United Kingdom. His subsequent full-length album called Transistor Rhythm released on Modeselector's 50 Weapons label, while retaining the influence of footwork, shifted more to the earlier days of the genre and to the sound of its immediate predecessor, ghetto house, including ravey synths at much slower tempos that footwork, around 120–140 BPM. However, the album was also met with mixed to negative reviews.
Apart from isolated releases like those by Addison Groove and handful of others, footwork/juke did not meet wide native acceptance in the United Kingdom. Mike Paradinas, the head of Planet Mu label explained this by making two points: first, in his words, was that British party culture is markedly different – relying on illegal substances and drinking – it would have hard time to catch on rather athletic footwork dancing, and second, in his words, is that historically British artists were generally reluctant to appropriate whole cultures, instead trying to either make their own domestic trends or to add a distinct spin to an existing culture, the thing that did not happen to footwork in Britain.
Since Paradinas’ isolated comments, a thriving Chicago Footwork scene has developed across the UK — particularly in London. Today, footworkers can attend classes led by Tiger Heslop, a dance teacher and member of Creation Global, an international collective of dancers and producers focused on Chicago Footwork. After Werks is a London-based monthly social event for Chicago Footwork dancers, DJs, producers, and enthusiasts. The London-based footwork party promoter Tropical Waste has regularly teamed up with After Werks to bring DJs such as RP Boo, DJ Earl, and Heavee — among many others — to the UK, where they are joined by UK footwork dancers.