'Knowing That History': HoneyLuv Announces 4 Tha Luv Label

Taylor character traits Her early exposure to house music legends like Frankie Knuckles and CeCe Peniston to her late mother. When Character, known professionally as HoneyLuv, decided to quit her job as a drone engineer in the Navy in 2020 and pursue music full-time, she says her mother was skeptical at first. But as the head of the house herself, her mother came to appreciate HoneyLuv's art.

Now, as HoneyLuv compares these classic cuts from the '80s and '90s to the latest house music releases, she says something is missing.

“A lot of labels don't have soul in their music,” says the 29-year-old artist, who has quickly become one of the genre's rising stars. “Especially the top ones that people go to Beatport.”

That's why she's launching a new label of her own this summer, 4 Tha Luv. “That's the main focus,” says HoneyLuv. “Having that essence of what it was in the beginning before advertising [music] took over.”

HoneyLuv, which is known for its success in the tech house “365 (Thr33 6ix 5ive),” is among a subset of black artists reclaiming dance music and aims to pay homage to the creators of the Chicago-born sound he loves.

“4 Tha Luv is about the love of house music, which means loving what started it – loving both the people who made it, loving the LGBT community, loving the black community that created this music and knowing that story,” says HoneyLuv. .

The label, two years in the making, follows the launch party of 4 Tha Luv, which debuted on March 21 during Miami Music Week. With New York House veteran Dennis Ferrer, underground dance trio Mason Collective, Afro-house newcomer Kitty Amor and soulful house DJ Will Clarke on the line-up, HoneyLuv says she chose artists who play what they feel rather than artists who target to the audience. .

It's all part of her vision to pay her dues to the founders of the genre and pave the way for newcomers to house music. “That was another reason it fueled me,” says HoneyLuv, reflecting on why she's starting her company. “That might be something that really makes people think differently about house music — because when you think of it, you think of Calvin Harrises and Diplos.”

Before house music was a commercial phenomenon, its beat pulsed in Chicago's underground clubs frequented by black and queer parties in the 1980s. HoneyLuv drew on these historical roots during her 4 Tha Luv set, incorporating affirming vocals and a pounding drums, along with salsa rhythms that gave a nod to Miami's Latin culture. Playing to an intimate crowd in Wynwood, she laid down a remix of Trick Daddy's “Take It to da House” and excerpts from her recently released track “This is My Life,” featuring house music megalomaniac Roland Clark.

HoneyLuv says she freestyles from a playlist of songs when she's on stage, rather than relying on a set list: “I feel like if I plan something, it just doesn't feel natural.”

House music pioneers such as CeCe Peniston and Frankie Knuckles are still HoneyLuv's idols, and she has collaborated with genre veterans such as Clark and Harry Romero. For Ferrer, HoneyLuv is like family and he sees them flying the flag for the next generation of house music.

“We all need caretakers and people who keep things from one generation to the next, like guardians,” says Ferrer Rolling rock. “So it signals a new generation of gatekeepers. It takes everything from the past and brings it forward.”

HoneyLuv's efforts to break barriers have not gone unnoticed. A few months ago, he lit it up its cover DJ MagDecember issue, who called her a “fresh face” with an “old soul” and took home the magazine's Breakthrough Producer Award. In early 2023, he was included in BBC Radio 1's Dance Future Stars list and in In 2022, she was named an “Up Next” artist. with The New York Times. On March 29, he released “Right Spot,” a deep Chicago track about a woman's pleasure (followed by a Ferrer remix on April 5).

Before her label announcement, she was scheduled for an opening set at the Ultra Music festival, a moment she had been celebrating for years: “I remember when I first started DJing, I did a [Instagram] story and I was like, 'Ultra Here I Come,'” he says. Due to severe weather and strong winds, the Miami festival closed its first day this year and postponed its start to the second day, leading to the cancellation of HoneyLuv's set.

“I was really sad about it. I just wanted to show my versatility in what I could play,” he says. “Next year, that's all I can hope for [for].”