Dukeyman, Baltimore club pioneer and DJ, has died
The news was first shared on social media over the weekend
Dukeyman, the pioneering Baltimore-born producer, club DJ and sound engineer born Ronald Hall, has died.
The news was confirmed on Saturday (18th February) in a Facebook post by Wayne Smith, a close friend of the artist. No cause of death has been disclosed at the time of writing. “This morning I got a call that I didn’t want," Smith wrote. "One of the people that keeps me go in life. He would ask me to come over and cook for him. I would go over his house and learn things in music, production, Designing videos, editing music, making my own path for promoting and everything.”
Smith went on to say that "the passing of Ronald Hall 'AKA' Dukeyman Tha God this is very hard for me. No we wasn’t blood family but I could call him at any time, moment and day for everything."
Hall first started making music back in 1987, and played a pivotal role in pioneering the sound of Baltimore club music during the 1990s, working alongside artists like Rode Lee and DJ Technics, D.J. Patrick, Dj Quest, Rod Lee and more.
Throughout his career, Dukeyman released music through labels such as Quiet, Baltimore Breakbeat, and Unruly Records. Stand-out tracks from his catalogue include ‘Best Friend’, ‘Doo Dew Rock’, ‘Shorty U Phat’, ‘Hear The Drummer’, ‘Hush Dat Fuss’, and ‘Gimme Some Mo’. The latter track samples Busta Rhymes' 1998 hit ‘Gimme Some More’. Give it a listen below.
Dukeyman remained incredibly prolific through the years, releasing new music regularly via his Bandcamp. Most recently, on 2nd February, he released the latest in a string of remix albums featuring reworks of artists like Muni Long, El DeBarge, Jamie Foxx and Jazzy Jeff. You can listen to that here.
Following the news of his passing, tributes for the late Baltimore club pioneer have poured in from across the scene. Read a few of those below.
