 Chicago house legend DJ SNEAK talks to ALASDAIR DUNCAN about the history of his home city and the importance of staying true to yourself. The experience of coming to America was an eye-opening one for the young Carlos Sosa. The boy who would grow up to be DJ Sneak was bewildered at having to learn a new language and culture, having being raised on a Caribbean island where everyone spoke Spanish. Chicago, though, was kind to Sosa, and now, more than two decades later, the city’s broad musical and artistic heritage is firmly tied to his own.
In the early 80s, Sosa spent a good deal of time hanging out with breakdancing crews, although his size - “I’m a big fellow,” he says, laughing - prevented him from joining in. For this reason, he was drawn to the artistic and musical aspects of the breakdancing lifestlye. “I carried the big boombox because I was the big guy. Music kind of sucked me in more, and I still like to do graffiti, but back then, that was my first taste of it …”
“In high school, in grade nine or ten, I saw my first DJ play,” he tells me, “and I was really drawn into it. I was fascinated with the idea that you could put certain songs together and make them sound better, or make a really great transition between the two. The DJ thing, a lot of people try to learn, but you either have it or you don't have it. I discovered that I had it so I had to go for it."
1983 was a potent time in the history of house music, and in Chicago, Marshall Jefferson, Farley Jackmeister, Ralphie Rosario and Steve Early were the heroes that Sosa and his crew looked up to, and emulated when creating a DJ style of their own. “They were all doing it whether it was in the clubs or on the radio. Back in the day we had a radio station that was really supporting electronic music – a lot of different kinds of early electronic music."
Sosa’s first taste of success as a DJ came when he began spinning discs at his friends’ house parties. From there, he spent several years as a wedding DJ before moving into retailing, selling vinyl and CDs to other dance music enthusiasts. Eventually, he made the leap into the professional life, getting club gigs and making records of his own. "I just kept riding the waves. It's like being a surfer, you just have to keep going with it, and if you go down, you just swim back up again."
Stylistically, DJ Sneak favours the jackin’ house style that Chicago is famous for, but will listen and play to styles across the board. “I’m into whatever - oldies, 50s, Latin music - everything except trance. I’m really open to anything except bad, commercialised music.”
After nearly twenty years in the business, Sosa’s biggest priority is staying true to himself, and to the underground that gave him his start. “When I move on – when there's no more Sneak – people will remember me, they'll say, that dude right there, he knew what he was doing, he kept it real to himself."
DJ Sneak plays at Uber, West End, on June 3.
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