Marshall Jefferson tagged us in a post last night with the news that Chicago House producer Derrick Harris (aka Sleezy D) has died of kidney failure. His family needs help dealing with the tragedy, and a GoFundMe has been established by Marshall himself.
Sleezy D is known for “I’ve Lost Control,” one of the first acid tracks to make it out of the Chicago clubs and into the world on wax (the actual “Acid Tracks” weren’t released until two years after they debuted at the Music Box). It’s dark and almost dystopian 303 bassline gave it a bite that DJs loved – and Ron Hardy, DJ over all DJs, loved to bits.
“With I’ve Lost Control, it immediately had people stampeding up to the dancefloor at The Music Box,” Jefferson told Music Radar in 2016. “The original version had the scream like every eight bars, people on the dancefloor would just scream along with it, because they knew it was coming.”
For years Sleezy D’s identity was a mystery – like a figure out of folklore, he appeared on this one track (which was heavily identified with Marshall Jefferson) and that was it. Jefferson always denied rumors that Sleezy D was an alias, and scores of Chicago House legends would tell stories in which Sleezy D played a part.
“Our brother Sleezy D, Derrick Harris, has died of kidney failure. On Sunday he checked himself into the hospital and two days later he was dead, just like that,” Jefferson said in a video.
The gofundme has a goal of $20,000.
“Derrick was the life of every single party he went to, dancing from the first song to the last every time,” Marshall wrote, “Anyone anywhere that calls themselves a raver has this man to thank for it.
“This campaign is to pay for his funeral expenses and provide help for his family for difficult times ahead.”
