Adonis No Way Back

By the time the Jungle Brothers rapped about it in 1988, House Music had been bumping in NYC Clubs
for years. Even though the genre would go on to become a global phenomenon, House music had humble
beginnings in predominantly gay and black clubs in Chicago. Musically, House Music was inspired
by the eclectic dance records played by DJs Frankie Knuckles and Ron Hardy at Clubs like “The
Warehouse” and “Muzik Box”. With a growing club scene, labels like Trax Records and DJ
International played a major role in the development of the genre. Founded in 1984, Trax was an
important outlet for house music in its early days, releasing many classics including "No Way
Back" by Adonis, Larry Heard's "Can You Feel It," and the first so-called house anthem in 1986,
"Move Your Body" by Marshall Jefferson. This latter tune gave a massive boost to house music,
extending recognition of the genre outside of Chicago.
Adonis recorded many innovative and influential dance tracks. Born and raised on the West Side of
Chicago, Adonis was introduced to music at a young age. He played bass guitar with several jazz
and funk bands and was eventually introduced to House music by Gary B. After listening to Jesse
Saunders' "On and On", Adonis felt the drive to make better-produced music than what he had heard
and began recording.
Despite his formal training and lack of clubbing experience, Adonis made waves on the dancefloor
when he recorded several of the best Chicago house singles of the 1980s, including "No Way Back,"
"Do It Properly" and "We're Rockin' Down the House." He was 19 years old when he made the dystopian
classic "No Way Back," one of Chicago house music's most iconic tracks. "No Way Back" was a smash
hit for the Trax label, according to some estimates, the single sold over 100,000 copies. The
lyrics —"Release my soul / I've lost control / Too far gone / Ain't no way back" — seemed to
perfectly encapsulate the feeling of being lost in music with no way out. Adonis' cold, minimalist
vocal delivery — no ornamentation, or obvious emotion — made "No Way Back" sound effortlessly
cool, and utterly terrifying. The stripped-down track, devoid of extraneous flourishes, still
sounds ruthlessly modern.