CELEBRATING THE LIFE, LEGACY OF DJ DEEON BOYD AND HIS CONTRIBUTION TO HIP HOP
WHEREAS, DJ Deeon Boyd joined Ray Barney as a lead creator of the record label Dance Mania.; and
WHEREAS, DJ Deeon Boyd's style has been described as minimal and raunchy, a staple of the ghetto house genre.; and
WHEREAS, he was known for using the Roland TR-909 drum machine as the backbone of his tracks, with the instrumentals "pushed to the breaking point, asked to provide a waterfall of drum sounds."; and
WHEREAS, DJ Deeon Boyd released his debut EP "Funk City" in 1994; and
WHEREAS, he released his most successful work "Freak Like Me" in 1996; and
WHEREAS, he continued releasing a train of house classics including "Bomb 96," "2 B Free," "Wicked," "House-O-Matic," "The Freaks" and "Shake What Ya Mama Gave Ya."; and
WHEREAS, DJ Deeon Boyd is named in the Daft Punk single "Teachers" from their 1997 Homework LP album; and
WHEREAS, in 2015 the record label Numbers released four DJ Deeon Boyd tracks on the "Deeon Doez Deeon!" LP; and
WHEREAS, the Numbers label in 2016 released a Lee Walker remix of DJ Deeon Boyd's track "Freak Like Me" featuring Katy B and MNEK released on Defected Records and reaching No. 80 on the UK singles charts; and
WHEREAS, DJ Deeon Boyd also amassed a ghetto tech following.; and
WHEREAS, DJ Deeon Boyd in 2021 released the "Destiny" LP on the Teklife label, with the proceeds going to DJ Rashad's family after Rashad's death in 2014.; and
WHEREAS, DJ Deeon Boyd released the four EPs "Bad Robot," "Glasgow to London," "My CPU" and "Space Age Digital Pimp' over two days starting in May 5, 2023;
WHEREAS, in 2020 DJ Deeon Boyd suffered a number of physical and financial setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic and unfortunately passed away on July 18, 2023 after several bouts with cancer; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that I, Dennis Deer, Cook County Commissioner 2nd District on behalf of President Toni Preckwinkle, the Cook County Board of Commissioners and on behalf of the over five million residents of Cook County, on this date September 21, 2023 do hereby recognize that Cook County celebrates DJ Deeon Boyd's life and accomplishments in modern black music and appeals in his memory to the Chicago Federation of Musicians, American Federation of Musicians, local, state and federal governments.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy of this Resolution be tendered to the family of DJ Deeon Boyd, and a copy is spread upon the official proceedings of this Honorable Body.