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Our Take

Roy Davis Jr. is a professional recording artist specializing in house music. Davis grew up in Chicago, Illinois, and was turned on to house music at an early age by house pioneer Lil’ Louis. Davis began his own production company named “Phuture” in the late 1980s. In the 1990s, Davis teamed with Chicago vocalist Peven Everett and recorded the hit single, “Gabriel.” The track garnered large amounts of airplay in radios and nightclubs all around the world. The single sold over 250,000 copies, and has appeared on dozens of compilation albums including Desert Island Mix from Gilles Peterson. The song drove Davis into his current artistic direction of soulful & spiritual house music.

We recommend Roy for anyone looking for a funky house track. He’s perfect for club scenes in films and TV shows that need soulful house music.

It’s great to have Roy Davis Jr. music featured at Musync, as he’s considered a legend in the soulful house music scene.

Band Talk

Roy Davis Jr. Portrait

Roy Davis Jr. was born in Van Nuys California but moved to the southern suburbs of Chicago at the age of 1. He returned to his native state in 2003. Roy was introduced to dance music by late 1980s legends DJ Pierre, Farley Jackmaster Funk, and Lil’ Louis, he started DJing himself when he was bearly a teenager (12 or 13), spinning break-dance music, Italian disco, then house.

In 1993, when he was a junior in college, Roy Davis Jr. was asked to work as an A+R scout for Strictly Rhythm in NYC. He was subsequently hired to start his own sub-label called Red Cat Records. The label lasted for about a year and half, dissolving as Roy Davis Jr. became more in-demand as an artist and a DJ.

Roy’s 1998 “Gabriel” was hailed “Dance Tune Of The Year” by countless publications worldwide and sold by the truckload. Produced with vocalist and multi-talented musician Peven Everett, “Gabriel” is a certified soulful house music anthem that sounds as fresh as the day it was made. Credited by some with kick-starting the UK garage scene, it was a tune that would change Roy’s musical direction and take him back to his spiritual roots. It’s well known that Davis Jr. has deep religious grounding; in fact his honesty about his beliefs has set him up for criticism from his audience.

“Water for Thirsty Children” was released almost in tandem with “Chicago Forever” and represents another turn in Roy’s career, changing musical direction from soul and funk towards R&B. Davis sounds like he’s been making records like this for well over a decade—well before neo-soul became a buzz word. The second half of “Water for Thirsty Children” picks up the tempo significantly and is, as a result, much more party-oriented. Extended disco/house rhythms take over, remaining drenched in soul and funk. As always, love, spirituality, and positivity are constant themes. The album proves that Roy, unlike just about any other producer connected to house music, could be capable of avoiding house’s four/four thump completely for an entire hour and with much success.

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