Legendary ghetto house pioneer DJ Funk has died at the age of 54. Born Charles Chambers, the Chicago-bred producer had stage four cancer according to a GoFundMe, although an official cause of death has not been revealed. His friend and collaborator, DJ Slugo, confirmed the tragic news to PEOPLE Magazine.
“He was one of the pioneers of the sound we call ghetto house music in Chicago,” shared DJ Slugo in a statement to the outlet. “We love and miss you my brother, and I won’t let our sound die.”
DJ Slugo also shared the news across social media. In a clip uploaded to Instagram, he noted “RIP DJ FUNK,” while driving to DJ Funk’s music.
In the GoFundMe campaign launched by the family last month, they detailed Chambers’ medical plight, seeking funeral funding ahead of the producer’s death. As of Friday morning (March 7) the fundraiser had reached $34,668 of a $40,000 goal.
“Dj Funk, a talented artist who has brought so much joy and inspiration to so many through his music, is now facing the heartbreaking reality of planning for his final farewell,” explained the family.
“He has been bravely battling stage 4 cancer and now doesn’t have much longer left. We are raising $10,000 to cover funeral arrangements and give him the tribute he deserves. This is a challenging time for the family and any support you can provide whether through donations or sharing this post would mean the world to us. Thank you.”
According to PEOPLE Chambers was born in 1971, and began performing at underground parties in the 1990s. He has collaborated with Slugo, DJ Deeon, and Traxman and produced several EPs including House The Groove, House Trax II and The Original Video Clash. In 2006, he launched Funk Records, where he released multiple mixtapes and worked with the likes of Jeff Mills, Houz’mon, Deeon, and more.
His 1994 EP Street Traxx II included the first use of the name “ghetto house,” according to Vulture. He is widely recognized for his tracks “Work Dat Body,” “Run,” and “Pump It,” and was named on Daft Punk’s 1997 track “Teachers,”
“If I don’t have an open casket, I would like ‘Run,’ but I really don’t want a funeral,” he shared with The Guardian in 2015 of songs he’d want played at the time of his death. “I’d like to have a party so people remember all the good times and aren’t sad. Then at the afterparty there’ll be a lot of booty shaking with all my music played.”
VIBE sends our condolences to the friends, family, and fans of Charles Chambers, known professionally as DJ Funk.
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