Ghetto House Pioneer Houz'Mon's Back with a Typically Rough, Raw and Club Ready New EP

By now even your dad's got bang into Dance Mania all over again. Just yesterday we walked past his house and saw him shirtless, in the garage, blasting out DJ Milton's remix of "Denial #69" by DJ Flint, drenched in sweat and quite simply loving the living fuck out of his life.

Without the pioneering work of Rickey D. White, AKA Houz'Mon, it's likely that your dad'd still be in the shed trying to get to grips with the latest Macconie and Radcliffe approved slab of tastefully dull indie, rather than rushing his tits off to DJ Funk's back catalogue. The producer, selector, and label owner's one of the key figures in the ghetto house scene and he's back with a brand new set of complete screamers.

The Resurrection EP's a barnstorming collection of hypermanic ghetto house anthems that bang hard and fast. It's even more exhilarating than plunging yourself into a washing machine at the very end of a big, big night out. In a good way, obviously. To celebrate that release, we're bringing you an exclusive listen to our favourite cut from the record, the warped Chicago classicism of "It's U" —a slamming cover of a Windy City original from back in the day.

Check out the track and a chat with the man himself below.

THUMP: Can you tell us a little about "It's U" and the Resurrection EP as a whole? Why did you decide to re-issue the music now?
Houz'Mon: First of all, there was a track back in the mid-80s called "It's You" produced by ESP, that came out on Underground Records. I loved that track so much that I wanted to do a Ghetto Houz version of it. In 1988 I released a track called "Brothers and Sisters House on the 13th Street" on that label, and DJ International, the famous Chicago imprint, own it. So I asked the founder, and my mentor, Rocky Jones if I could use the Underground logo. I wanted to dedicate this EP to him as a thanks for giving me my first record deal.

You're known for bringing DJ Funk through under your wing. He's a pretty wild guy. Have you got any fond or crazy memories from back in the day?
In 1993 my best friend Jammin' The House Gerald introduced me to a friend of his. The guy was DJ Funk at that time Funk wanted to release some of his music but didn't know of anyone who could help him, so one night I'm DJing at the Factory night club and he walks up to me. "I've heard you release your own records and you've got the label Beat Boy's Records, could you help me release a record?" I was happy to help, so I took Funk under my wing and the rest is history. He's a wild guy, but a really cool person and we talk on the phone and hang out and still help each other out. He never forgot what I did for him and often calls me the godfather of Ghetto Houz. My craziest memories involve us going to pawn shops and buying old gear, or heading to Gramophone record shop in Chicago. We were like two kids in a candy store. If you want more memories, well, we'll have to do a second interview.

There's been a real resurgence of interest in Dance Mania and the whole ghetto house sound in general, and DM are even reissuing their back catalogue. Have you noticed that much?
Yes, I've noticed that. A lot of current DJs want to buy the old classic releases on the label. I've spoken to Ray Barney who owns the label about it too. It's truly nice to know that there a fans out there who still love those records and that sound.

Apart from the EP what's coming up for Houz Mon?
The next project I am working on is called "Ghetto Acid". I've already released the first two volumes on digital and vinyl and the third is out in July. Ghetto acid is born!

Houz'Mon's Resurrection EP is out soon on Orchid Records

Houz'Mon is on Facebook // SoundCloud