Steve W. "Silk" Hurley, Chicago House and Dance Song Revolution

    Steve W. Hurley or also famously known as J.M. Silk or Jack Master Silk, is a Chicago club DJ and house music producer who can be attributed to the rise in popularity of the house music sound in Chicago in the early 80s. In addition to being a DJ, he also wrote and made remixes for popular artists including Michael Jackson, Prince, Chala Khan, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, and many more. Silk is a 4-Time GRAMMY Nominee and has hit #1 in the U.K. National Chart for multiple weeks. 

    Steve W Hurley was a DJ and Remixer who got his start in the art after listening to his father’s love of jazz and R&B and borrowed his brother’s records to remix them into cassette tapes. However, his first real exposure to “incredible music” was when he snuck out of his house when he graduated high school to go to “The Loft”. There, he got exposed to people who could properly DJ and from there he made it his goal to learn how to DJ and experiment with it. As for how he created his projects, he often splits his tracks into pieces and combines them with either brand-new elements or other elements from other tracks. For Silk, he mentions how he draws inspiration from the dancefloor and its energy to shape how his tracks sound. In this way, Silk is able to imagine how to manipulate the emotions and feelings of those listening to his music and that's how he guides his creation.

    In the same way that Steve Hurley bridges the gap between his music and the people that listen on the dance floor, Makoto Fujimura comments how artists and creatives bridge the gap between communities using their art. In this way, Steve Hurley connects the feelings and emotions of not only the music but the emotions of everyone on the dancefloor together under a shared experience of music. In this way, his art of mixing and music creation is how he bridges his love of music and experiences from his past to share with his listeners. 

J.M. Silk's song "I Can't Turn Around" which is his #1 dance hit song!