my gawd, the children will never know just how GOLDEN the era of dance/house music was in the mid-1990s. yes, artists like gloria estefan, janet jackson, whitney houston, mariah carey, madonna, deborah cox, amber and ultra naté all helped to take the sounds of gay nightlife to mainstream radio, there were songs that were never made that crossover. songs that were only heard in the queerest of spaces were sung by the queerest of DJs who were regarded as therapists and spiritual guides. am i being hyperbolic- yes — and no. one of the songs that reigned supreme in new york clubs was the urban exchange’s “wannna drop a house (on that bitch).” and this was in large part due to the pulsating remix by junior vasquez, who was the resident DJ for the once legendary night club the sound factory. breaking out in the underground scene in early 1995, “wanna drop a house” featured the vocals by new york singer heather leigh west. however, she was not credited. that would not happen until the song’s re-release in remix form over a decade later. i remember dancing on the podium at woody’s to this song every wednesday night. it was the only place i could dance to the song as it was not released on CD and cassette single in the US in 1995. i would not get my hands on the junior vasquez remix until the advent of limewire. thirty later, “wanna drop a house (on that bitch)” is still a bop! And if you have read “wicked” the book, then you know that nessarose probably deserved a house to drop on her.
#louiesmixtape #1990s #housemusic #musichistory #90smusic #lgbtqi