DJ International is Back, and Ready to Change the World a Second Time

There are very few people in the world who can claim to have had the kind of impact on global culture that DJ International founder Rocky Jones has. Having taken a long sabbatical from the music world, Rocky (and DJ International) is back to once again change the face of the music industry.

For those of you not in the know, Rocky was the owner of the legendary “Warehouse” club in Chicago from which the "House" genre derives its name; his label, DJ International Records, was also the first label to publish what would become known as House music, a genre of music that exploded on the global scene in the mid to late eighties and is still going strong; elements of House and its sub genres have now become as much a part of mainstream culture as hip-hop or rock.

Back in the eighties, the established record labels (in the US) did everything they could to stop House music, blocking DJ International from airplay and exposure the moment the label started churning out hits that were rivaling Madonna's and Prince’s record sales. Their actions, while successful in the US, served no other purpose than to drive the label more underground and to find its market abroad where it was picked up with great enthusiasm, triggering the house music phenomenon that swept across the UK and, subsequently, the rest of Europe and the world.

Now with online distribution and marketing, the strangleholds of the majors imposed in the past have lost their relevance – offering a new lease on life for the original old school label. With that in mind, Rocky decided to kick the DJ International hit factory back into gear, signing on a number of new artists, including reggae/hip-hop star Max-a-Million, who is set to release his new track "Wine" (mixed by the legendary Joe Smooth) shortly – which I fully expect to tear up dance floors from LA to Milan sometime in the next few months. Just remember where you heard about it first!

Back

Yannick Lord is a Los Angeles based Fashion, Glamour, Commercial and Lifestyle photographer with a passion for music, art, design, entertainment and technology. Please feel free to explore these pages for more news, reviews and, of course, my photography.