Editing House music (section)

==Social and political aspects==
Early house lyrics contained generally positive, uplifting messages, but spoke especially to those who were considered to be outsiders, especially African Americans, Latinos, and the [[gay subculture]]. The house music dance scene was one of the most integrated and progressive spaces in the 1980s; the black and gay populations, as well as other minority groups, were able to dance together in a positive environment.<ref>{{cite news|title=A Brief History of House Music|url=http://www.complex.com/music/house-music-history|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201006081227/https://www.complex.com/music/house-music-history|archive-date=6 October 2020|access-date=12 January 2020|website=complex.com|language=en}}</ref>

House music DJs aimed to create a "dream world of emotions" with "stories, keywords and sounds", which helped to "glue" communities together.<ref name="rietveld" /> Many house tracks encourage the audience to "release yourself" or "let yourself go", which is further encouraged by the continuous dancing, "incessant beat", and use of [[club drugs]], which can create a [[trance]]-like effect on dancers.<ref name="rietveld" /> Frankie Knuckles once said that the Warehouse club in Chicago was like "church for people who have fallen from grace". House record producer Marshall Jefferson compared it to "old-time religion in the way that people just get happy and screamin{{' "}}.<ref name="Reynolds1998" /> The role of a house DJ has been compared to a "secular type of priest".<ref name="rietveld" />

Some house lyrics contained messages calling for equality, unity, and freedom of expression beyond racial or sexual differences (e.g. "[[Can You Feel It? (Larry Heard song)|Can You Feel It]]" by [[Fingers Inc.]], 1987, or "Follow Me" by [[Aly-Us]], 1992). Later on in the 1990s, independently from the Chicago scene, the idea of [[PLUR|Peace, Love, Unity & Respect (PLUR)]] became a widespread set of principles for the [[rave]] culture.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Maloney |first1=Liam |title=...And House Music Was Born: Constructing a Secular Christianity of Otherness |journal=Popular Music and Society |date=27 May 2018 |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=231–249 |doi=10.1080/03007766.2018.1519099 |s2cid=192022036 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03007766.2018.1519099}}</ref>