Moodymann is the stage name of Kenny Dixon Jr., an American DJ and musician based in Detroit, Michigan. He works in acid jazz, Detroit techno, house and techno, and is identified as a Detroit house and techno DJ.

Career

Moodymann owns the record labels Mahogani Music and KDJ Records. He is also a member of 3 Chairs. His debut album, Silentintroduction, appears in 1997 on Planet E Communications and brings together tracks that first appear on his KDJ Records label. He follows it with Mahogany Brown in 1998, Forevernevermore in 2000 and Silence in the Secret Garden in 2003.

Later releases include Picture This, issued as a free download in 2012, ABCD in 2013, his self-titled album Moodymann in 2014, Sinner in 2019 and Taken Away in 2020. In December 2020, he appears as himself in Grand Theft Auto Online as one of the resident DJs at the Music Locker nightclub.

Style and influences

His productions are described as hybrid recordings that combine analogue and digital methods, including live playing alongside live use of buttons and machines. His sample-based work draws on artists such as Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Chic, as well as gospel music, and his rhythms stay rooted in disco.

Notable incident

In January 2019, he posts a video showing Highland Park police holding him at gunpoint in a parked car on his property. The police say he does not show proof of ownership or ID, and he is arrested, then later released after an investigation shows that he owns the property.