Yvonne Turner

DJ, producer and remixer Yvonne Turner was one of the only women instrumental in shaping New York’s early house scene, in fact her dub mix of Colonel Abrahams’s “Music is the answer “ is now rightly credited as one of the first house tracks alongside Jesse Saunders’s “on and On “ (Both came out in 1984) . yet her story has gone largely undocumented. Born in Harlem in 1953, she started DJing regularly by the late ‘70s, playing weekly parties in Flatbush and getting her musical education at The Loft. There, she says, she learned how “good music” should sound. It inspired her to start going to the studio and sharing her musical revelations with other people.

As a woman producer, she was often relegated to the small print on records, bumped to associate or co-producer status or marked as a mixer instead of a remixer. Many of the male vocalists she worked with got credit for the music. But Turner penned some acclaimed house tracks, such as “Set Fire To Me,” “Music Is The Answer” and the official remix of Whitney Houston’s “I’m Your Baby Tonight.” While Turner took a back seat for a few years, deciding to teach in elementary schools , she recently got back in the studio and wants to set the record straight about the history of house and her place—and many other women’s—within it. Yvonne & @bexxinthecity launched Strong Enough Entertainment, A multi disciplinary, inter generational, media company that curates & produces music as well as related arts . Strong enough represents a Collective of individuals deeply rooted in the New York City Dance Music Scene , reclaiming a lost legacy as well as mentoring and supporting new and young talent.