Heavee

Rooted in Chicago, footwork producer Heavee crafts a synth-laden style that fuses juke rhythms with eccentric, game-derived melodies. Long tied to the Teklife circle, he has partnered with DJ Rashad and DJ Earl while delivering his first album, WFM, in 2018. On Hyperdub he has pursued bolder experimental routes, most recently with the 2024 set Unleash.

Participation in the Animosity footwork dance crew during 2007 brought him into contact with established figure DJ Earl, who urged him to begin producing. Footwork pioneer DJ Rashad soon took the newcomer under his wing as a mentor. Evening security work financed those early efforts. Wider attention followed when a joint track with DJ Rashad, “It’s Wack,” appeared in Grand Theft Auto V. Building on that placement, he issued the EPs Altitude in 2013 and B L I S S in 2014. After keeping a lower profile for several years, he surfaced on Fractal Fantasy’s 2017 compilation Visceral Minds 2.

His debut full-length, WFM, arrived on Teklife in 2018 and included contributions from DJ Paypal and Gant-Man plus an unreleased collaboration with DJ Rashad. Never Normal Records put out a cassette edition of the first two volumes in Heavee’s continuing Trakpak EP series during 2021. The 2022 Hyperdub EP Audio Assault represented his first pronounced shift toward purple textures and video-game soundtrack aesthetics. The same label released Unleash in 2024, a wide-ranging album that draws from Detroit techno, Chicago house, jazz, and hip-hop.