We recently connected with Dj Thadz and have shared our conversation below.

Dj Thadz, appreciate you joining us today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

I started producing dance music when I was 16 years out. I grew up listening to techno music which was kinda ironic being a black kid living in the hood. As I got older and started going to high school, I got influenced by Ghetto House Music producers Dj Slugo, Dj Deeon, and at the time Paul Johnson and Stacy Kidd was doing Ghetto House. I bought so many tapes that I would use all my lunch money and wouldn’t eat of the rest of the week at school. I worked at a local roller rink (Markham) djing on Saturday nights. Each Saturday I would sell $2 Mixtapes of my own music and people would line up to buy them at the end of the night. That’s when I knew I wanted to pursue music professionally.

Dj Thadz, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

inspired by Chicago Ghetto House/ Juke and Chicago Footwork Music, by artists like Dj Slugo, Dj Deeon, Paul Johnson and Stacy Kidd. I was given a oppertunity by Ray Barney the owner of Chicago’s legendary label “Dance Mania” to release a vinyl album. Introduced to him thru Paul and Stacy, I secured my first Dance Mania deal (DM198). Going forward I was given the opportunity to release several more records on Dance Mania with producers Dj Skip (DM 247), DJ Chip (Go To The Mo) DM255 and JukeALator (DM277). Sadly Dance Mania had to shut down for unknown reasons, that’s when it inspired me to start my own label ClownHouse Muzik. My label released the early recordings of the late DJ Rashad, Dj Spinn, Dj Clent and myself. Being an iconic figure in the Chicago dance music scene, I went on the give some of the biggest “Juke/Footwork” events known in worldwide. The biggest Chicago footwork tournament known to date “King Of The Circle” which birthed one of the worlds finest footwork dancers known worldwide “King Charles”. This event had 2-3000 people in attendance and was even filmed for DVD. Now recently founded a new label “Dance Mania Legends” with Dj Slugo and Dj Phats, releasing our new vinyl titled “Dance Mania Legends” were are looking to bring back the original ghetto house sound.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

the most rewarding part of being a artist is the ability to create music for people to dance to and enjoy, sometimes we need to unwind and just let things flow. I feel that my music give people a vibe that’s full of energy.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

Yes, when I was 19 I was able to get a book called “All about the Music Industry” from there I was able to learn and secure major distribution deals for my label. Most importantly, it teaches me the lingo and what to say and do.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.clownhousemuzik.com
• Instagram: @djthadz
• Facebook: djthadzmusic
• Twitter: @djthadz312
• Youtube: djthadz
• Other: TikTok @djthadz

Image Credits
James Yoro