Traxman is both an originator and a curator. He is also a producer whose hands are deep in the soil of Chicago while his mind remains locked on the sound of tomorrow. A foundational figure in the ghetto house, juke, and footwork genres, he has spent the last three decades shaping the sound of a city that thrives on reinvention by bridging Afro-diasporic rhythms, sample-based beats, and the kineticism of urban culture. On Thursday, February 20, Traxman will bring the best in juke and footwork to Bucharest as Control Club teams up with TekLife for a night with him, DJ Spinn, and Loefah.
Emerging from the windy city's west side, Traxman came up in the '90s. At the time, ghetto house was the city's underground heartbeat, chopping disco and funk into repetitive, high-BPM drum patterns designed for continual motion. The labels fueling this scene pushed music that reflected the energy of its environment: fast and unfiltered. During this time, Traxman was in the trenches with early records on Dance Mania, Ghettophiles, Moveltraxx, and BTB.
As juke and footwork emerged from ghetto house, the formula changed. Producers pushed the BPMs to 160+, breaking rhythms apart, turning kick drums into percussive bursts, and layering chopped-up vocals in the call-and-response traditions of African American music. Dancers adapted accordingly, and suddenly, an auditory-physical dialogue played out in Chicago's dance circles. Traxman's tracks like Get Down Lil' Momma, Let's Get Diz Party Crackin', and Pacman Juke became anthems.
As a core member of Ghetto Teknitianz alongside DJ Rashad and DJ Spinn. The crew later became Teklife, a collective that would bring footwork well beyond Chicago. At the same time, he was laying the infrastructure for the next generation, founding G.E.T.O DJZ (with DJs Pablo Diskobar and Shawn Madness). He would also relentlessly release projects on other labels like the traditional house-inspired Corky Strong project K Town Born Holy City Raised (2013). His experimental collaborations also took off, with the Japanese label Melting Pot releasing Da Corky Strong Show, Vol. 1 in 2014 and a full-length project, Slash Time, with DJ Fred in 2015.
At his core, Traxman is a crate-digger of soul, funk, house, blues, and hip-hop. This musicality was realized in Da Mind of Traxman (2012), his debut album for Planet Mu. Tracks like Footworkin' on Air and Setbacks were immersive chaos, with jazz samples and soul interwoven into its fragmented structures. His follow-up, Da Mind of Traxman Vol. 2 (2014), refined these ideas. By the time he dropped the monumental Tekvision (2017), he had found a way to honor footwork's street-level battle origins while expanding its vernacular.
Tekvision Vol. 2 (2019) saw Traxman collaborate with newer-generation producers, including DJ Fulltono and Will Engine. His release schedule maintained a near-constant stream of digital projects, EPs, and collaborations. In 2023, Tekvision Vol. 3 dropped, while in 2024, the Grimy Acid EP, a split release with Slick Rick da Master, explored a stripped-down acid house reminiscent of early Chicago rave culture. In 2025, he returned to Planet Mu with Da Mind of Traxman Vol. 3, which includes tracks dating back to 2005.
Thanks in part to Traxman, footwork now operates globally, with producers in Japan, Europe, and beyond spinning it in new directions, fusing jungle, IDM, and experimental. It is now an unquestionable cultural force. As long as it exists, Traxman will be there, holding it down for Chicago, keeping it raw and real.
