Rare Groove - History and Development

History and Development

The term was coined by British DJ Norman Jay after his "The Original Rare Groove Show" on pirate radio station Kiss 94 FM (the progenitor of Kiss 100 London). The show was a collaboration with DJ Judge Jules and featured a mainly urban soundtrack from the 70's and 80's mixed with early house music.

The rare groove scene began when DJs presented an eclectic mix of music that placed a particular emphasis on politically articulate dance-funk recordings connected to the Black Power movement. Pirate radio stations and DJs participated in a "recovery, repackaging and retrieval" of obscure music that reflected, related to or translated inequalities of race and gender and the struggles of the civil rights movement. Music that had failed to gained acceptance in a previous time was given a "new lease of life" by DJs on pirate radio stations. Rare groove also provided a musical space where the 'symbolic capital' of the music became very important.

The longest-running rare groove radio show in the United States is "Soul Power" on WWOZ 90.7 FM (New Orleans) and wwoz.org, and is hosted by DJ Soul Sister (aka "Soul Sister"), who is cited as the "queen of rare groove." The show began in 1996.