♪ ♪ [Megan B/Ducky Dynamo] Baltimore has always been Black culturally rich.

Just seeing something that we have, that is positive in this city coming out of this city, like, it's ours.

(club music playing) Club music is essentially a mixture of Chicago House Music and Miami Bass music.

Think back to the '80s and '90s, and what those sounds sound like; especially Miami bass.

You know, like that bounce-- that hop, but then with, musically we have the sonic lyricism, so to speak, of Chicago, and house music, and how smooth it is.

The first club song came out in actually, I believe it was '91.

You know, so it is a very young genre.

You know, and even hip hop itself is what, 40 something, approaching 50.

A lot of the music is built around the dancing, a lot of the dancing is built around the music.

You can hear its influence in so much stuff, especially when you break into the mainstream level looking at like the mid-2000s.

For it to have that much impact and weight and be so young, and then go through the, I guess inner turmoil story that club music has been able to go through, just the past couple years, it's like...wow, there's a lot to unpack here.

[K-Swift] Make some noise out there!

[Male voice] Aw yeah!

[Meagan B/Ducky Dynamo] Club music isn't dead, we just lost a lot of momentum.

The parties were everywhere, you know, our club scene was thriving.

When K-Swift passed in 2008 that had a really huge toll on our club community in probably every way you can imagine.

Not just because of who she was as a DJ, it was the radio.

She was on our 92Q, our radio station.

Like, there was a point in time when in Baltimore, you could not go outside without hearing something that was the club music.

So, when she passed, everything stopped.

And my focus now is working with everybody to reignite the culture, get people to see what is good here...musically, artistically, and all of that, based specifically on the Baltimore Club scene and bring it back around because it's such a huge part of our culture that it's missed.

(club music playing) Many people don't see past the club, it is so much bigger than that though.

This is Baltimore, the greatest city in America but - it's not the safest place all the time, it's not the most secure place, it's not the most steady place.

Not too many good stories really do come out of Baltimore.

You know, we are here and we are Black, and we are happy, and we are surviving, and we are thriving, and it's beautiful.

We take care of each other and that's real.

It doesn't get talked about enough.

(club music playing) D.C. was able to signify go-go as the city's "official" music.

Culturally, this is a big deal.

My main point is the recognition - I need people to see us, I need people to see me.

I want this story told.

It's like, we're trying to prove the point that we are actually a valid thing and we are actually a legitimate influence in today's culture everywhere, in Black culture everywhere.

(club music playing) Eventually, it's going to pop off.

Baltimore club music will be lit again in a way that everybody sees it.

I know the work that 10 and 20, 30 people - no exaggeration, are literally doing in their own homes - trying to cultivate this culture.

Not just their own pockets, not their own catalog - we care about this culture and this community.

I can't see that going overlooked for too long.

So for the future of club music - oh naw, we're here.

Club didn't die, it just went home.

This is our city, this is our sound, we never let it go.

(club music playing) ♪ ♪