The Basement Boys tell the story of house music in Baltimore

BALTIMORE-- House music has been a staple in Baltimore for the past 40 years, and it all began in a basement in West Baltimore.

 
That sound was made famous by the Basement Boys, who will be honored for their contributions at this year's AFRAM Festival.

The story starts in the 1980s, when three young men in their twenties who worked at record stores and made beats from their basement found a fascination with a unique sound that originated in Chicago.

Those men were Jay Steinhour, Teddy Douglas, and Thommy Davis.

"Thommy worked at Mondawmin, I worked at a location downtown at Park and Saratoga, and that was the hub for getting all the club music," Douglas said.

That's when that sound from Chicago made its way to Baltimore and into the basement of Jay Steinhour's home, birthing the longevity of house music hits like Gypsy Woman featuring Crystal Waters. 

"It's three of us, but there's a whole community behind us - a whole community that all along the way kept saying 'wow, y'all are doing this, y'all are doing this, y'all are doing this,'" Davis said. 

From the heart to the movement of your feet, you can feel the effect of house music. Feel good music with a beat that dares you to move to the rhythm of your own happiness with other hits like "100% Pure Love."

"I mean, it just took the whole world by storm, Europe and everywhere and they called it house music," Douglas said.

Now the Basement Boys will receive their flowers for house music at this year's AFRAM as Baltimore celebrates 40 years of this iconic sound that the Basement Boys could have never imagined.

 "When you see that you have a footprint on your hometown that becomes an international footprint - that means that you have made a mark, and that means Baltimore has made a mark," Davis said.