I'm a sucker for grass-roots electronic music scenes. Being in a part of the Midwest that is more defined by towns than cities, it's fascinating to me how the sounds and niches change from one place to the next. Lately, the juke sounds pushing forth from Chicago are meshing incredibly well with the burgeoning interest in hip-hop-flavored dance music that is extending beyond the imperfect catch-all "trap" label.
These videos come from Tribe National crew, the dudes responsible for the utterly massive Juke World Order, Vol. 1 compilation, which dropped last week. While the editing is a little amateur and effect-heavy, you don't get better, more honest and authentic documentation of a growing urban subculture from the ground up — juke is alive and well, making impressions on a new generation of fans the world over. The second video features the track "Rife" by a Japanese producer called Satanicpornocultshop, just one of several Japanese juke producers that has been getting love from the Tribe crew. Both videos feature Tribe National members juking it out in their stomping grounds, showcasing both a huge battle and every day practice. They're scenes we all recognize, a celebration of a sound that people really feel at their very cores, and that's relatable no matter the genre.
Much like moombahton and numerous other stylings to follow it, juke/footwork is equal parts a scene on the Internet as it is in real life — the Internet is bringing juke to shores the world over that had never really seen the likes of it before, inspiring real-life scenes, followings, crews, producers, DJs, friends, et al. It's no question one of the more bizarre genres to emerge, but damn if it don't bang. Can't wait to see what the year ahead brings.
