# DJ Deeon

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**Deeon Boyd** (October 5, 1966 – July 18, 2023), known under his stage name **DJ Deeon**, was an American [Chicago house](/source/Chicago_house) DJ, credited with pioneering [ghetto house](/source/Ghetto_house) and helping create the [Dance Mania label](/source/Dance_Mania_(record_label)).[2]

## Early life

Boyd was born in [Chicago](/source/Chicago) in 1966. Growing up in a housing project in the [South Side](/source/South_Side,_Chicago), he became interested in [electronic music](/source/Electronic_music) after listening to "Numbers" by Kraftwerk off their 1981 album *[Computer World](/source/Computer_World)*, later discovering house mixes on [WBMX](/source/WBMX).[3]

## Career

Boyd started DJing in 1980, with Boyd being influenced by [Kraftwerk](/source/Kraftwerk), [John Rocca](/source/John_Rocca), and [Soulsonic Force](/source/Soulsonic_Force).[4][5] He helped with the creation of the [Dance Mania](/source/Dance_Mania_(record_label)) label with Ray Barney as well as creating the sound of [ghetto house](/source/Ghetto_house) in the Chicago area.[6]

Boyd released his debut [EP](/source/Extended_play) in 1994, named "Funk City".[7] After "Funk City", he released "Freak Like Me" in 1996, which is regarded as his most successful work.[7] Boyd would continue to release music regarded as classics in the house genre, such as "Bomb 96", "2 B Free", "Wicked", "Back 2 Skool", "House-O-Matic" and "The Freaks".[7][8] He was named in the [Daft Punk](/source/Daft_Punk) song "Teachers" from their 1997 album [Homework](/source/Homework_(Daft_Punk_album)).[9]

In 2015, the record label [Numbers](/source/Numbers_(record_label)) reissued four tracks from Boyd in the EP Deeon Doez Deeon!.[10] In 2016, a remix of his track "Freak Like Me" by Lee Walker featuring [Katy B](/source/Katy_B) and [MNEK](/source/MNEK) was released on [Defected Records](/source/Defected_Records), reaching #80 on the [UK Singles Chart](/source/UK_Singles_Chart).[11] In 2021, Boyd released Destiny on the label [Teklife](/source/Teklife), with the proceeds of the project going to [DJ Rashad](/source/DJ_Rashad)'s family after his death in 2014.[12] Starting from May 5, 2023, Boyd released four EPs over the span of 2 days, those EPs being "Bad Robot", "Glasgow to London", "My CPU" and "Space Age Digital Pimp".[13]

## Personal life

In July 2020, Boyd launched a crowdfunding campaign for his health issues, having no income from gigs due to the [COVID-19 pandemic](/source/COVID-19_pandemic) and no disability benefits due to his previous touring.[14] In June 2022, he revealed through his [Facebook](/source/Facebook) account that he had gone through [amputation](/source/Amputation) and [pneumonia](/source/Pneumonia) and was in an [intensive care unit](/source/Intensive_care_unit). A [GoFundMe](/source/GoFundMe) had started to cover his medical costs.[15][16] On July 18, 2023, he died of undisclosed causes.[17]

## Artistry

Boyd's style has been described as minimal and raunchy, a staple of the [ghetto house](/source/Ghetto_house) genre.[9] He personally described his work as "Get-freaky-with-a-stranger music. Girls kissing girls music. Stress-relief music."[7] He was known for using the [Roland TR-909](/source/Roland_TR-909) drum machine as the main backbone of his tracks, the instrument "pushed to the breaking point, asked to provide a waterfall of drum sounds".[18]

## Discography

### Singles and EPs by DJ Deeon

- *Funk City* (EP) ([Dance Mania](/source/Dance_Mania_(record_label)), 1994) – incl. "House-O-Matic"[7]
- "Freak Like Me" (1996)[7][19]
- Work This M.F. (EP) (DiKi, 1997) – with DJ Puff[20]
- "Feel Good" / "Akceler 8" (Caution, 1998)[20]
- "2 B Free"[7]
- "Let Me Bang" (Databass, 2003) – incl. "Ride This MF"[19]
- "The Freaks" (Juke Trax, 2005)[7]
- "Wanna Go Bang" ([Drumcode](/source/Drumcode_Records), 2022)[19]
- "Bad Robot" (2023)[13]
- "Glasgow to London" (2023)[13]
- "My CPU" (2023)[13]
- "Space Age Digital Pimp" (2023)[13]

### Music with contributions by DJ Deeon

- "Work It" by Dance System – DJ Deeon contributed vocals[7]

## References

1. Sfetcu, Nicolae (May 9, 2014). [*Dance Music*](https://books.google.com/books?id=_JaKAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA181). p. 181.

1. Twells, John (May 29, 2017). ["FACT mix 603: DJ Deeon"](https://www.factmag.com/2017/05/29/dj-deeon-dance-mania-fact-mix/). *[Fact](/source/Fact_(UK_magazine))*

1. [""No one was doing the type of music we were doing": An oral history of Dance Mania"](https://www.factmag.com/2014/03/04/oral-history-of-dance-mania/2/). *[Fact](/source/Fact_(UK_magazine))*. 4 March 2014. p. 1.

1. McNamee, Kai (July 18, 2023). ["DJ Deeon, influential and iconic Chicago house music DJ, dead at 56"](https://www.npr.org/2023/07/18/1188380514/dj-deeon-influential-and-iconic-chicago-house-music-dj-dead-at-56). *[National Public Radio](/source/National_Public_Radio)*

1. ["Fifteen Questions Interview with DJ Deeon"](https://15questions.net/interview/fifteen-questions-interview-dj-deeon/page-1/). *Fifteen Questions*. August 11, 2018. p. 1.

1. Martin, Lauren (2015). ["Do you like house?"](https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/23279/1/dance-manias-ghetto-madness-strut). *[Dazed](/source/Dazed)*

1. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (July 18, 2023). ["DJ Deeon, star of Chicago house music scene, dies aged 56"](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jul/18/dj-deeon-star-of-chicago-house-music-scene-dies-aged-56). *The Guardian*

1. Duran, Anagricel (July 18, 2023). ["Chicago House star DJ Deeon dies aged 56"](https://www.nme.com/news/music/chicago-house-star-dj-deeon-dies-aged-56-3470025). *New Musical Express*

1. Monroe, Jazz (July 18, 2023). ["House Innovator DJ Deeon Has Died"](https://pitchfork.com/news/house-innovator-dj-deeon-has-died/). *[Pitchfork](/source/Pitchfork_(website))*

1. ["Numbers to reissue '90s ghetto house classics from Dance Mania producer DJ Deeon"](https://www.factmag.com/2015/02/25/numbers-to-reissue-90s-ghetto-house-classics-from-dance-mania-producer-dj-deeon/). *[Fact](/source/Fact_(UK_magazine))*. February 25, 2015.

1. ["FREAK LIKE ME"](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/lee-walkerdjdeeonkaty-bmnek-freak-like-me/). *[Official Charts Company](/source/Official_Charts_Company)*

1. Middleton, Ryan (June 18, 2021). ["DJ DEEON RELEASES DEBUT TEKLIFE EP 'DESTINY'"](https://www.magneticmag.com/2021/06/dj-deeon-debut-teklife-ep-destiny/). *Magnetic Magazine*

1. Ross, Gemma (May 9, 2023). ["DJ DEEON RELEASES FOUR EPS IN TWO DAYS"](https://mixmag.net/read/dj-deeon-surprise-releases-four-new-records-over-two-days-news). *Mixmag*. Retrieved July 25, 2023.

1. Middleton, Ryan (July 28, 2020). ["DJ DEEON LAUNCHES CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN TO BATTLE HEALTH, ECONOMIC HARDSHIPS"](https://www.magneticmag.com/2020/07/dj-deeon-launches-crowdfunding-campaign-battle-health-economic-hardships/). *Magnetic Magazin*

1. ["GoFundMe launched for DJ Deeon amid ongoing health issues"](https://djmag.com/news/gofundme-launched-dj-deeon-amid-ongoing-health-issues). *[DJ Mag](/source/DJ_Mag)*. July 27, 2022.

1. Buckle, Becky (July 27, 2022). ["GOFUNDME SET UP FOR DJ DEEON AMID CONTINUING HEALTH ISSUES"](https://mixmag.net/read/gofundme-set-up-for-dj-deeon-following-hospitalisation-news). *[Mixmag](/source/Mixmag)*

1. Bain, Kaite (July 18, 2023). ["Ghetto House Pioneer DJ Deeon Has Died"](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/dj-deeon-dead-ghetto-house-chicago-dies-1235373448/). *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*

1. [*CMJ New Music Monthly*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Jy0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=RA1-PA25). No. 20. [CMJ](/source/CMJ). 1995. p. 48.

1. ["DJ Deeon, ghetto house pioneer, dies · News"](https://ra.co/news/79310). *Resident Advisor*. Retrieved 2023-07-20.

1. ["Ghetto house legend DJ Deeon has died"](https://www.thefader.com/2023/07/18/ghetto-house-legend-dj-deeon-has-died). *The Fader*. Retrieved 2023-07-20.

## External links

- [DJ Deeon](https://soundcloud.com/djdeeon) on SoundCloud

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [DJ Deeon](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Deeon) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DJ_Deeon?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.