Benji Espinoza played a key role in promoting early Chicago house music to a global audience, both as founder of Quantum Distributors and by working in sales, distribution, and artist management for the pioneering D.J. International label. On Thursday, October 22, he passed away at age 57.

  • Footage from a 1988 D.J. International showcase in the Netherlands

In spring 1985, Espinoza was working at a record store called Baby O’s in West Chicago. House-music producers—among them Kenny Jason, Ralphi Rosario, Matt Warren, and Jesse Saunders—came to the shop to drop off their records in person. According to Espinoza, artists couldn’t seem to figure out how to provide stock in the quantities that stores wanted, which alienated many buyers.

  • The “Basement Key” mix of J.M. Silk’s “Music Is the Key”

With the “Music Is the Key” EP, released by Hurley and vocalist Keith Nunnally under the name J.M. Silk, D.J. International was born. “We just got promotion going on it, the record blew up, and we sold about 100,000 copies,” Espinoza said. The single peaked at number nine on the U.S. Billboard dance chart in September 1985.

Espinoza was adamant that house music began in Chicago, not in New York, because Chicago DJs were more in tune with Italo disco—it had a sparser, more synthesizer-driven sound than the disco and boogie records from New York City. “In New York, their BPM was slowed down, it was full production. It was like, ‘Where’s your cutting-edge sound?’ Eighty-two to ’83, Chicago was testing the Italo market, where they were getting a lot of the imports in, so that worked out perfect,” he explained. “That’s what Jesse Saunders was emulating.” While both disco and Italo were certainly influences on house, Chicago artists developed their own distinct stripped-down style.

The burgeoning house scene began to attract major-label attention almost immediately. J.M. Silk signed to RCA. Chip E. nearly got a deal with Sire. Espinoza helped sign Larry Heard to D.J. International after meeting him at record shop Importes Etc., and Heard’s group Fingers Inc. became one of the label’s biggest acts before moving to MCA. D.J. International established licensing and distribution deals with European labels such as Westside Records in Britain and BCM Records in Germany, further spreading the house sound.