For the uninitiated, ballroom house (also called vogue house) might seem abrasive or confusing — some combination of chanting and rapping over a fast-paced, rap and R&B influenced house beats with a repeating “crash” sound originated by “The Ha Dance” by Masters at Work. This is music made primarily for people in the underground ballroom scene to vogue to, having evolved and gotten faster alongside the dance’s evolution. But within the somewhat tight parameters of this genre, a slew of creative forces, be they the commentators, DJs or ballroom participants, almost all of them queer and trans people of colour, have found unlimited possibilities.
Perhaps the biggest crew of musicians working in ballroom today is Qween Beat, and despite having dozens of hits and hugely successful independent careers in ballroom, the supergroup’s offical debut album Qweendom dropped only this week. From the short, chant-centric “Some Type of Way” by Gregg Evisu XL and Jay R Neutron to tracks revisiting classic ballroom sounds like “Legendary Children” from Byrell The Great, there’s something for every era and every category of ballroom here, as well as for those whose interest in the scene left off with Paris Is Burning.
Press play and let it on out! Get into Qween Beat and Qweendom here.
Jonathan Valelly is a writer, editor and community artist living in Toronto. He’s also a member of ballroom’s House of Xclusive Lanvin and Father of the kiki ballroom scene’s House of Constantine. He is the Assistant Editor of Broken Pencil.