About Derrick Carter
Derrick Carter is an American house DJ born in Compton, California in 1969 and raised in Chicago, where he began DJing at the age of nine, spinning disco records at family reunions before moving into the city's club scene during its formative house era in the late 1980s. He co-founded the label Classic Music Company, building a catalog and reputation tied closely to Chicago's house lineage, and became known through decades of touring as one of the genre's consistent presences in clubs internationally. Carter's DJ mixes, including a Pride 2021 set released on Apple Music, showcase the deep, soulful strain of house he has championed throughout his career, distinguishing his sets from more commercial dance-floor trends. His path from sneaking into Chicago clubs as a teenager to becoming one of the city's defining underground DJs has been documented extensively in outlets including Time Out Chicago and Red Bull Music Academy. Carter remains active as a DJ, producer and label figure, continuing to represent the original Chicago house sound through both his catalog on Classic Music Company and his ongoing club and festival appearances across the international house music circuit.