Dance Mania: Ghetto Madness

Almost a full year after they issued Hardcore Traxx, the Strut label released this follow-up of predominantly later, mid- to late-'90s productions from Jesse Saunders' Chicago-based Dance Mania label. This tends to focuses on the rawer, more physical, more vulgar side of the label's output, though DJ Deeon alone exemplifies the label's range between the frenetic battering of "The Freaks" ("Work it, work it!") and the slippery techno-funk of "1112." Additional blunt-force highlights come from Jammin' Gerald, Parris Mitchell, Tyree, and the Vaughan Mason-sampling Wax Master Maurice. Among the handful of earlier tracks is Steve Poindexter's crucial "Computer Madness" (1989), technically a Muzique release. The compilers could have just as easily included "Work That Mutha Fucker" from the same EP. ~ Andy Kellman