Sleezy D

Derrick Harris was a Chicago Music producer and pioneer of house music and acid house. He is known for the song "I've Lost Control", which was released as a 12" single on the Trax Records label, issue number TX 113. The song used a Roland TR-808 and a Roland TB-303 bass synthesizer to create the signature modulated waveform sound which would directly inspire Acid House. The track is arguably the first to use this particular sound, and rose to cult underground popularity thanks to DJ Ron Hardy's Music Box club in Chicago. Harris died on 13 June 2019, from kidney failure. Close friend and production partner on "I've lost Control", Marshall Jefferson, paid tribute to Harris, who he called a "true pioneer". "Derrick was the life of every single party he went to," writes Jefferson, "dancing from the first song to the last every time. Anyone anywhere that calls themselves a raver has this man to thank for it." "He checked himself into the hospital and two days later was dead... just like that", Jefferson reflected afterwards. Harris is survived by his three sons, and did not have health insurance to cover his funeral. A crowd funding campaign was launched by Jefferson on GoFundMe, to help cover those costs.