Article by: Grant Soffer
Photo Credit: Bill Bernstein
House music continues to stand the test of time, and is rapidly growing into one of the most popular genres of music before our very eyes. While we all know that house music has been a staple of the dance music community for years, it is starting to make waves in the pop world, with several artists dropping house-inspired songs and albums. Drake and Beyonce are some of the most recent artists to be added to that ever-growing list.
Earlier this month, Drake released his most recent surprise album, Honestly, Nevermind that features several house-inspired tracks such as “Massive” and “Calling My Name.” While the album has been met with very mixed reviews, it is certainly a different spin on Drake’s typical style. This album will likely be appreciated more over time as other artists will drop similar albums to further blend the rhythms of rap and house music.
Beyoncé also recently released her latest single, “Break My Soul” which not only is an energetic, upbeat, house track, but has beautiful lyrics as well that focus on staying strong through adversity. Beyoncé and Drake are just two examples of pop artists dabbling in house music on their latest releases. Lady Gaga and Dua Lipa have also released house tracks since the beginning of the pandemic, embracing the genre.
House music has been around for around 40 years, as it was created in the early 1980s in Chicago, primarily with its roots running deep in the black and gay communities. House music carries a significant cultural weight that Drake and Beyoncé recognize and are embracing and putting at the forefront of music in general. It’s important to recognize the historical significance of the origins of the genre as it gains popularity. House music is said to have be born specifically in a Chicago club called The Warehouse, with a resident DJ said to be “The Godfather of House,” Frankie Knuckles.
The EDM community has had mixed opinions about pop artists dabbling in and experimenting with house music, with some embracing the pop-house wave and others being resistant to the change. There is still so much potential for house music to continue to grow and evolve in so many different ways. This trend is something to be excited about as it opens the door for house music and EDM to continue to gain popularity across the world, bringing in an influx of new listeners, new artists, new songs, and even possibly new sub-genres of house music.
One way or another, we all have our origin story of how we discovered and fell in love with house music. Drake and Beyoncé pushing the boundaries of their respective genres will inspire many of their fans to listen to and explore house music on a deeper level and we should all be genuinely excited for the possibility of an influx of new house music fans. We can’t wait to welcome these new fans with open arms and of course, plenty of great song recommendations.
Moon Lvnding’s playlist curators have been hard at work creating genre-specific playlists including our Lunar Tune’s House Playlist that is updated weekly with the greatest house tracks released every week.
