Part of the phenomenon of House Music in the early and mid 1980's
within the club sense, was the devastation of AIDS within Urban
Communities. It was in the false narrative of what AIDS was, the
exploitation of images it created, the unknown, numbers of Deaths that
created a fear within communities and the faces associated with
AIDS changed the perception of the club scene. Including dancing. The
idea of dancing "with" someone changed into dancing "on" someone and if
you did that, you were going to potentially die. This on an intrinsic
level deconstructed the "sharing of energy" that was at the heart and
soul of House Music; the foundation of its Spirit and Spirituality and
Afro-Centric expression. Those that over came the desire to separate and
stayed true to the music and culture, the words and essence, maintained
House Music's core values and survived the devastation both socially and
physically. They became the guardsmen and gatekeepers of the music both
past and present. Music such as RAP and HipHop began to embrace the
separation during this time and the divisions within the Music Industry
as well as the fear that came with marginalizing people by expression
with AIDS and Homosexuals overall, the music reflected this in culture,
interactions and attitude. The Music Industry embraced that separation
as did RAP and HipHop (with a few exceptions) the fear and hate within
its Art while House Music rejected it outright. On the level of Price Points and Investment, it was in the best interest of the Music Industry to fuel and fan the flames of fear in HipHop and RAP because it was easier to control and misdirect this agenda into profit. Not so much with House Music. The message remained consistent thus its absence of fear allowing for it to be free of control and continue to evolve into its inner and existentialist connection to it fans. It was in essence, allowed free will to stay pure.
