The Rise of Jersey Club: The New Sound Taking Over The Dance Scene
The electronic dance music genre known as "Jersey Club," has taken the world by storm. Jersey Club stems from Newark, New Jersey, and has influenced countless fans and dancers with its fast-paced beats, playful melodies, and powerful bass. It has become a part of the global club scene. Jersey Club is a rich and nuanced genre that speaks to the hopes and dreams of the communities it has evolved from.
Jersey Club, formerly known as “Brick City Club,” has been around since 1999. It is a fairly new genre of music but has spread from New Jersey to New York and Philadelphia. Jersey Club is known for its remixes of R&B and hip-hop songs. The culture and community around this music are growing rapidly, with well-known artists such as Drake and Lil Uzi Vert creating music with Jersey Club samples.
The Fader magazine spoke with DJ Tameil and Tim Dolla, the creators of the genre, about the evolution of Jersey Club, how it has become such a significant part of Newark's identity, and why the rest of the world is finally catching on.
“It went from a city to a state, from state to national, and is now an international underground sound. I honestly can't say where the sound is heading but I can say it’s going to keep progressing and eventually become accepted into pop culture.”
Tim Dolla said this in June 2014 and sadly passed away in July 2022. He was only 39 years old, but in his lifetime, he created a movement.
Earlier in his career, Tim Dolla would make MySpace diss tracks and challenges between rival DJs and producers in Newark. Over about 20 years, his work has evolved into being a part of sounds for TikTok dances, Drake albums, and music evolving across the rest of music culture.
DJ Tameil is another Jersey Club pioneer. He drew influence from Chicago house music, as well as Baltimore club. Tameil was also the first Jersey artist to produce club tracks. DJ Tameil was running the early stages of Jersey Club music, which ended up sparking feuds with other jockeys trying to come up in the scene. These ‘other jockeys’ happened to be the Brick Bandits, which included Tim Dolla.
After the Brick Bandits decided to diss DJ Tameil, the two teams feuded for a couple of months. The Brick Bandits and Tameil’s team went back and forth, arguing and fighting for months. Before things got out of hand, DJ Tameil arranged a meeting with The Brick Bandits.
"They're really out here about to fight. We already got the Blood and Crip thing going on down here, and now this,” says DJ Tameil. After the meeting, the crews teamed up. DJ Tameil figured he wouldn’t respond to the insult by releasing a record because he didn't want to help the Brick Bandits get a name. They decided to continue going back and forth because it was good publicity.
“The name changed to Jersey Club (from Brick City Club) because when newer producers started to produce these tracks they weren’t all from Newark,” says DJ Tameil.
Growing up in the heart of New Jersey, I heard this Jersey Club music from the age my peers and I were allowed to have phones. From the sixth grade to this day, I hear Jersey Club every day. As a music lover, I embrace this change in sound.
In high school, on Fridays, my peers would meet in the parking lot after school. Everyone would gather, and we would blast Jersey Club from whoever’s car had the loudest sound system. From 2016 to now, when I hear Jersey Club, it gives me the joy and freedom I felt being released from school on Fridays.
Jersey Club has always been a part of my life. It’s grown me closer to the people around me and has given me a better understanding of the culture I come from. Now that Jersey club is a part of mainstream music, I realize that the sky's the limit in Jersey Club and although it has been around for two decades, it is just beginning to finally grow.