Todd Terry

More than any other producer, Todd Terry defined New York house during the ’80s, a varied sampladelic smorgasbord blending the sounds of classic disco, the more introspective Chicago sound pioneered earlier in the decade, and plenty of hip-hop attitude and sampling piracy. This free-wheeling, breakbeat-driven sound became a major influence on U.K. rave and hardcore, and his collaborations with rappers, particularly  on 1988’s “I’ll House You,” popularized hip-house outside of Chicago. He topped U.S. club charts and scored U.K. pop hits with numerous singles as  and , then achieved his biggest mainstream success with his ubiquitous 1995 remix of ‘s “Missing.” He continued delivering high-profile remixes and scoring hits with garage house anthems like 1996’s “Keep on Jumpin'” and 1997’s “Something Goin’ On” (both featuring  and ), then unexpectedly shifted from song-oriented material to dark drum’n’bass with his 1999 full-length Resolutions. He remained as productive as ever well into the 21st century, constantly releasing house tracks on numerous labels (including his own Sound Design, , and ), and occasionally venturing into hip-hop and electro with releases like 2013’s Todd Terry vs. That Trap Shitt.