Juke is a frenetic electronic dance music genre born from Chicago's South and West Side ghetto house scenes in the late 1990s and early 2000s, characterized by its aggressive 150-160 BPM tempos, chopped vocal samples, and relentlessly syncopated drum programming. Pioneered by producers like RP Boo and DJ Rashad, juke strips dance music down to its purest kinetic energy—raw, repetitive, and built explicitly for the competitive footwork dance battles that gave its faster descendant its name. Where footwork would later accelerate beyond 160 BPM and gain international art-world cachet, juke maintains a grittier, more street-level aesthetic with its sample-heavy construction, often pulling from R&B, soul, and old-school house records to create hypnotic, warped loops beneath machine-gun hi-hats and booming 808 kicks.
Unlike the rolling breaks of drum and bass or the industrial thrust of hardcore breaks, juke prioritizes rhythmic fragmentation over sustained momentum—every four bars feels like controlled chaos, deliberately disorienting yet meticulously structured for dancers who translate these jagged patterns into acrobatic floor moves. While techno explores hypnotic repetition and electronic music serves as an umbrella term, juke is viscerally physical and unapologetically local in origin, emerging from a specific cultural moment of Chicago youth innovation. Contemporary producers like Jlin and DJ Rashad (before his untimely death) have pushed juke's boundaries into experimental territories, but the core remains unchanged: stripped-down, sample-based brutalism designed to make bodies move in ways no other genre demands.
Juke is essential listening for anyone interested in how regional electronic music scenes create entirely new rhythmic languages—a reminder that the most radical innovations often come from the underground, not the festival main stage.
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List updated:
| #53 | ByVarious Artists | Released:1997 | |||
| #65 | ByLeatherface | Released:2004 | footworkjuke | ||
| #59 | ByJuke Baritone | Released:2007-08-28 | |||
| #37 | ByDJ Rashad | Released:2007-08 | juke | ||
| #26 | ByKid Sister | Released:2010-01-11 | juke | ||
| #32 | ByKuedo | Released:2010-02-15 | |||
| #49 | ByDJ Spinn & DJ Rashad | Released:2010-07-24 | |||
| #79 | ByFive Star Hotel | Released:2010 | |||
| #83 | ByFive Star Hotel | Released:2010 | |||
| #99 | ByKuedo | Released:2011-01-31 | |||
| #3 | ByMachinedrum | Released:2011-07-25 | |||
| #31 | ByDJ Diamond | Released:2011-08-08 | |||
| #89 | ByYheti | Released:2011-10-31 | juke | ||
| #41 | ByFracture | Released:2012-04-06 | drum and bassjuke | ||
| #16 | ByTraxman | Released:2012-04-09 | |||
| #95 | ByDrrty Pharms | Released:2012-04-11 | |||
| #67 | ByJap Mutation Bootyism | Released:2012-04-29 | juke | ||
| #66 | ByDJ Clent | Released:2012-05-06 | juke | ||
| #46 | ByDJ Rashad | Released:2012-06 | |||
| #76 | ByDJ Chap | Released:2012-08-20 | |||
| #50 | ByYoung Smoke | Released:2012-09-24 | |||
| #8 | ByiTAL tEK | Released:2013-02-04 | juke | ||
| #55 | ByDane Chadwick | Released:2013-02-24 | dubstepjuke | ||
| #42 | ByDJ Clap | Released:2013-03-26 | |||
| #33 | ByCosmin TRG | Released:2013-04-26 | |||
| #91 | ByTeams | Released:2013-06-18 | |||
| #22 | ByMark Pritchard | Released:2013-06-24 | electronicjuke | ||
| #7 | ByDJ Rashad | Released:2013-07-22 | |||
| #82 | ByKuedo | Released:2013-09-16 | |||
| #5 | ByMachinedrum | Released:2013-09-23 | |||
| #2 | ByDJ Rashad | Released:2013-10-19 | |||
| #18 | ByTeengirl Fantasy | Released:2013-11-25 | juke | ||
| #63 | ByMiko | Released:2013-12-09 | juke | ||
| #23 | ByWHY BE | Released:2013-12-29 | |||
| #94 | ByKuedo | Released:2014-05-19 | |||
| #54 | ByBukiko | Released:2014-05-20 | footworkjuke | ||
| #52 | Byyeongrak | Released:2014-06-03 | juke | ||
| #14 | Bycakedog | Released:2014-09-11 | jukefootwork | ||
| #64 | ByMelt Unit | Released:2015-01-21 | |||
| #9 | ByJlin | Released:2015-03-20 | |||
| #57 | ByCurrent Value | Released:2015-03-23 | |||
| #60 | ByFVLCRVM | Released:2015-04-18 | |||
| #25 | ByMachinedrum | Released:2015-05-08 | jukefootwork | ||
| #17 | ByNozinja | Released:2015-06-02 | juke | ||
| #62 | ByDalljub Step Club | Released:2015-06-24 | |||
| #48 | ByKuedo | Released:2015-07-31 | |||
| #45 | ByKuedo | Released:2015-09-11 | |||
| #12 | ByDJ Paypal | Released:2015-11-13 | footworkjuke | ||
| #72 | ByA.Fruit | Released:2015-11-27 | |||
| #73 | ByDJ Earl | Released:2016-01-13 | footworkjuke | ||
| #15 | BySatanicpornocultshop | Released:2016-01-23 | juke | ||
| #61 | ByTaso | Released:2016-01-26 | |||
| #71 | ByTaso | Released:2016-02-29 | |||
| #100 | ByFreshTillDef | Released:2016-03-11 | footworkjuke | ||
| #20 | ByVAPERROR | Released:2016-03-28 | |||
| #80 | ByTaso | Released:2016-03-31 | |||
| #24 | ByDJ Rashad | Released:2016-04-08 | |||
| #84 | BySwisha | Released:2016-04-08 | footworkjuke | ||
| #70 | ByAlis | Released:2016-04-23 | |||
| #75 | ByTaso | Released:2016-04-29 | |||
| #6 | ByDJ Camgirl | Released:2016-07-21 | electronicjuke | ||
| #35 | ByKuedo | Released:2016-10-14 | |||
| #86 | ByKuedo | Released:2016-11-04 | |||
| #87 | ByBody Mechanic | Released:2016-12-02 | |||
| #19 | ByCulprate | Released:2017-09-22 | |||
| #4 | ByZaphyre | Released:2017-09-25 | |||
| #27 | ByBurqa Boyz | Released:2017 | |||
| #30 | ByThe Glitch Mob | Released:2018-05-04 | |||
| #21 | ByRP Boo | Released:2018-07-01 | footworkjuke | ||
| #77 | ByDJ DR-660 | Released:2018-11-30 | juke | ||
| #10 | Byevaboy | Released:2019-01-28 | |||
| #29 | Byevaboy | Released:2019-01-28 | juke | ||
| #96 | ByFomorian Vein | Released:2019-02-26 | |||
| #90 | ByFomorian Vein | Released:2019-05-03 | |||
| #85 | ByDj FLP | Released:2020-03-17 | |||
| #40 | ByDJ Elmoe | Released:2020-06-19 | footworkjuke | ||
| #98 | ByKuedo | Released:2020-07-03 | |||
| #56 | Byloto retina | Released:2020-09-25 | |||
| #36 | Byperfect chao | Released:2020-10-09 | |||
| #69 | ByThe Dosadi Experiments | Released:2021-01-27 | |||
| #39 | Byevaboy | Released:2021-04-15 | |||
| #92 | ByNattymari | Released:2021-04-21 | |||
| #34 | Byperfect chao | Released:2022-03-18 | |||
| #43 | Byperfect chao | Released:2022-03-18 | |||
| #88 | ByVarious Artists | Released:2022-04-14 | jukefootwork | ||
| #97 | ByKenopro79 | Released:2022-04-22 | juke | ||
| #78 | ByThe Bobfather | Released:2022-05-04 | footworkjuke | ||
| #51 | ByKuedo | Released:2022-09-27 | |||
| #68 | ByKuedo | Released:2022-09-27 | |||
| #38 | ByKuedo | Released:2022-09-29 | |||
| #44 | ByKuedo | Released:2022-09-29 | |||
| #58 | ByKuedo | Released:2022-10-07 | |||
| #13 | ByAddison Groove | Released:2023-02-02 | juketechno | ||
| #74 | ByGohda | Released:2023-03-09 | |||
| #81 | ByThe Bobfather | Released:2023-04-07 | |||
| #1 | Byfemtanyl | Released:2023-08-27 | |||
| #11 | ByDJ BlackPower | Released:2023-10-31 | |||
| #28 | ByLILC4 | Released: | juke | ||
| #47 | By$LUDGEHAMMER | Released: | juke | ||
| #93 | ByDJ Fultono | Released: |