Hood Politics Records

Hood Politics Records is the house and techno label DJ Susan started in 2017. the label's own SoundCloud bio reads "Label By: DJ Susan", and EDM Identity, in an April 2023 artist spotlight, says he established the label in 2017 and calls it "his ever-expanding Hood Politics label". the first catalogue number is HP001, the "Label Showcase" compilation, out on 6 September 2017 per Discogs, with Nutty, DJ Susan, More Than Friends, Dylan Payne and Memo Rex on it. Dance Music Northwest covered that first release the same day, and that launch coverage described the crew this way: "Hood Politics is a collective of producers and DJs based out of San Diego with a shared appreciation for the upbeat and carefree attitude of house and techno." where the label is based is told two ways, and we print both. that 2017 coverage says San Diego, and MusicBrainz files it as San Diego too, while the label's own site today says it is "based in Chicago, IL". San Diego at the start, Chicago on its own site now. the name is "Hood Politics Records" on the label's own site title, on Beatport, on Discogs and as Deezer's label field on 297 of its albums. the label shortens itself to "Hood Poli" in its own mixtape titles, and the label wall here lists it as Hood Politics.

the A&R is Sherm. Forbes, in December 2023, put his jobs in one sentence: "He hosts a podcast series dubbed Sherm in the Booth, moderates Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) panels and acts as A&R for Hood Politics Records." Sherm In The Booth is his own podcast on his own site, not a label series, and it already sits on this site's podcast list. there is a second imprint, Peak Dial Records, for bass music, linked from the label's own site navigation. the label's own lines are a motto and a self-description rather than a genre, so we don't tag one: the SoundCloud bio opens "Feeding The Streets" and sends demos to the label's tstack page, and its link page carries "Good Vibes, Worldwide".

the releases worth naming, after "Label Showcase", are DJ Susan's "Susie's Weapon" (2018), with a John Summit remix, Franky Wah's "Disco Inferno EP" (HP023, 2018) and the "Hood Poli Summer of Love" compilation (2021), which Beatport lists. the series, such as it is, is a mixtape rather than a show. the label's own SoundCloud carries two support mixes, "Hood Poli Party Support Mixtape" from 27 December 2024 and "Hood Poli Miami Support [MMW 2025 Mixtape]" from 21 March 2025, the second tied to its Miami Music Week run, and that one is the player below. on the club side the label throws "Hood Politics Records Takeover" nights, which show up in Resident Advisor's event listings.

among the artists we track, John Summit is here as the remixer of DJ Susan's "Susie's Weapon" (2018), and the rest are on their own releases. DJ Susan is on the catalogue from "Label Showcase" (HP001, 2017) and "Droppin' Knowledge" (2017), Franky Wah is here for "Disco Inferno EP" (HP023, 2018), NightFunk for "Clap Tracks" (2018), Chapter & Verse for "Fever" (2020), Sandor for "The Music" (2020) and "Oceans" (2022), PEACE MAKER! for "Babylonia" (2021), "Latency" (2022) and "Drama Theme" (2023), and the newest are Cave Studio's "Shady", Infinne's "VoOdOo" and SQWAD's "Gold Chain", all 2026. 22 artists we track have released on it, a confirmed floor from a catalogue sweep, not the full roster: BLUPRNT, Bruno Bona, Cave Studio, Chapter & Verse, DJ Susan, DONT BLINK, Edris Omar, Franky Wah, Gio Lucca, Gold Lemonade, GS5, Infinne, John Summit, LOVRA, Max Styler, NightFunk, PEACE MAKER!, Rafael, Redux Saints, Ribguga, Sandor, SQWAD