Footwork is music in motion - fast, chaotic, relentless. But "Da Mind of Traxman Vol. 3" is something else entirely. It’s not just about movement; it’s about memory, intuition, and an almost supernatural ability to warp time itself. Corky “Traxman” Strong has always been a historian as much as a producer, weaving deep knowledge of Chicago house, funk, jazz, and soul into the dizzying polyrhythms of footwork. Now, after a decade-long wait, "Da Mind of Traxman" reopens for business, and business is booming.

Let’s get something straight: Traxman isn’t just a veteran of the Chicago scene - he "is" the scene. A pioneer of ghetto house, juke, and footwork, his fingerprints are all over the genre’s DNA, from the raw energy of Dance Mania in the '90s to the genre-bending experiments of Teklife. His self-released edits could fill a museum, flipping everything from James Brown to Aphex Twin into rapid-fire, stuttering dancefloor chaos. And while others in the footwork world have drifted towards abstraction or ambient textures, Traxman is still here, still chopping, still keeping the essence alive.

The third volume of "Da Mind of Traxman" arrives after years of scattered releases, DJ gigs, and mentorship, with Planet Mu’s Sinjin Hawke stepping in as executive producer. The goal? To curate a definitive statement from a producer who never stops making tracks. The result is a 15-track distillation of footwork’s past, present, and future - raw, unfiltered, and packed with the off-kilter rhythms and hyperspeed edits that made Traxman a legend.

Opener "Kill Da DJ" (with Bobby Skillz & Sinjin Hawke) doesn’t waste time easing you in. It’s a battle cry, a percussive assault of chopped vocals and clattering drums that sound like they’re fighting for dominance. "Trax Da Prophet" is pure swagger, a reminder that Traxman’s command of rhythm is second to none, while "I Want U to Ghost" takes a more ghostly, melancholic route - footwork as spectral, as a series of echoes trapped between the past and the future.

Then there’s "House of Werkz", a track that pulls footwork right back to its house music origins, its jittery vocal loops a hypnotic nod to the days of warehouse parties and jacking rhythms. "Where They At" (featuring DJ Twan) strips things down to the bone - a skeletal, metallic groove where every snare hit feels like a warning shot.

Traxman is known for his humor, and "I Bet U Think This Track Is About U!!" is a perfect example, its sassy, chopped-up vocal sample clashing against the skittering drumwork. "It Never Rains" (again with DJ Twan) slows things down, bringing a touch of mournful R&B to the footwork template, while "Tha Wolf" is pure chaos - footwork as combat sport, a flurry of kicks and hi-hats that barely let you catch your breath.

Despite its dancefloor energy, "Da Mind of Traxman Vol. 3" isn’t just a club record - it’s a love letter to Chicago’s musical history. There are echoes of jazz’s rhythmic fluidity, house music’s hypnotic pulse, and funk’s irrepressible groove. You can hear the crate-digging instincts of a producer who knows his samples like a second language, flipping, twisting, and bending them into something futuristic yet deeply rooted in tradition.

In a world where footwork has been dissected, deconstructed, and intellectualized, "Da Mind of Traxman Vol. 3" is refreshingly raw. It doesn’t try to fit into any narrative or prove a point - it just "is". This is footwork in its purest form: urgent, soulful, unpredictable, and utterly alive.
For those who have been waiting since 2014, the message is clear: Traxman never left. You just had to keep up.