10 Black artists making waves in the dance music scene

Exron Music is celebrating Black History Month, and there would be no dance music we know today without Black musicians who pioneered the scene and the artists today who continue to make waves in the industry.

Dance music is deeply rooted in Black history, tracing back to jazz. The dance we know today was pioneered by Frankie Knuckles in Chicago in the 70s. Blending disco and soul together, birthing what we know today as house music. Over the decades, dance music has ebbed and flowed across the music circuit, amassing a global fan base that today gathers at shows, festivals, small venues, friends’ living rooms, and underground warehouses to celebrate dance music. Exron Music has explored several Black artists who are either pioneers of their own sound or paving the way for those who follow.

Carl Cox

Carl Cox is a British techno titan who helped define the UK’s acid house explosion in the late 80s and never let go of the throttle. A three-deck mixing pioneer whose own name is an Ibiza institution, he has held down legendary residencies and continues to headline the world’s biggest festivals, such as Ultra Miami. Founder of Intec Digital and a longtime ambassador for global rave culture, Cox blends driving techno with classic house in marathon sets built on stamina and control. The grin is iconic. Oh yes, oh yes.

Honey Dijon

Honey Dijon is Chicago house royalty turned global tastemaker. Mentored by legends like Frankie Knuckles and Derrick Carter, she sharpened her sound in New York before becoming a fixture across Ibiza, Paris, and the world’s most elite clubs. A Grammy-winning producer and in-demand remixer, she has collaborated with fashion houses and soundtracked runways while still keeping one foot firmly in the underground. Her sets fuse disco, acid, and deep house with razor precision.

Jon Casey

Jon Casey is a South African–born, US-based bass artist who has quietly become a producer’s producer in the modern trap and experimental lane. With releases on Deadbeats, Wakaan, Subsidia, Quality Goods Records, and Sable Valley, he’s earned the kind of co-signs that actually matter. His sound is razor-clean, low-end-obsessed, and engineered to cut through festival systems from EDC to Lost Lands.

Green Velvet

Green Velvet is Chicago house music mischief at full volume. Born Curtis Jones, he helped define 90s second-wave house with cult staples like “Flash,” “La La Land,” and “Answering Machine,” records that still hit with an absurdist charm. Decades deep into his career, he’s remained a festival and club mainstay, weaving between underground rooms and global stages as a headliner and mentor to younger artists. His sets are vocal-forward and unmistakably Chicago.

Seth David

Seth David is a dubstep artist pushing modern bass forward with intention. Also hailing from Chicago, he’s built real momentum in a genre that has not had many Black voices. His sound blends nostalgic hip-hop rhythm with high-impact bass. Seth David has released music on MorFlo Records and has played at Electric Forest, North Coast, and Red Rocks. As his bookings grow and his catalog expands, he’s not just participating in the bass scene; he’s actively carving out a footprint for fellow Black bass artists.

Black Coffee

Black Coffee is a South African house powerhouse who turned Afro-infused deep house into a global language, inspiring dozens of artists to follow in his footsteps with a slow-build, big-release sound. A Grammy winner and Ibiza residency mainstay, he’s headlined the world’s biggest stages while keeping Afro-centric rhythm at the center of his sound. His productions are expansive, restrained, and emotionally layered, the kind of drops that unfold instead of exploding. From Durban to global dominance, he has shifted the listening of the masses to appreciate the build, not just the drop.

TroyBoi

TroyBoi has quietly built one of the most recognizable catalogs in global bass, anchored by his breakout hit “Afterhours” with Diplo and Nina Sky, a track that still moves rooms years later. The British producer has amassed hundreds of millions of streams and maintained a consistent festival presence at EDC, HARD, Beyond Wonderland, and North Coast without chasing trends. His sound draws on trap, house, and international rhythms in a way that feels deliberate rather than diluted, creating a sound that is uniquely his own.

Linksa

Linska is a UK house producer and DJ who has been steadily rising, with crisp, dancefloor-ready productions that blend modern grooves with underground credibility. The funky basslines in her tech house style set her apart in a genre dominated by white men. Her singles have earned support from tastemakers, helping her secure sets at Beyond the Valley and Lightning in a Bottle, amongst others. She moves between crisp drums and rolling basslines with intentional precision. Linska is making waves in tech house and charting new territories for Black women in house music.

MoodyMann

Moodymann is Detroit house at its most unapologetic and true form. Through his two imprints, KDJ and Mahogani Music, he built a catalog that blends jazz, soul, and stripped-back groove into something raw and unmistakably his. Crafting his artistry alongside other Detroit house mega-names like Carl Craig and Theo Parish, Moodymann is a Movement staple, a Detroit legend, and a global club fixture, even appearing in the video game Grand Theft Auto. His influence has shaped generations without ever chasing the mainstream.

kaytranada

Kaytranada is a Grammy-winning producer who reshaped modern dance music with his signature genre-blurring production style. Blending house, hip-hop, and R&B, he built a catalog that lives equally on festival stages and in headphone rotations. From his 2011 Boiler Room set, which is widely regarded as legendary among dance music fans. He collaborates seamlessly with some of the largest names in music, including Anderson. Paak, Pharrell Williams, Chanel Tres, and Kendrick Lamar. His groove is instantly recognizable from the first beat.

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