Disco D

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Disco D
David at age 24
Background information
Birth name	David Aaron Shayman
Born	September 21, 1980 St. Louis, Missouri, USA
Origin	Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Died	January 22, 2007 Washington, D.C., USA
Genre(s)	Hip hop
Occupation(s)	Music producer Composer
Instrument(s)	DJ mixer
Years active	1995 - 2007
Label(s)	Booty Bar Ghostly International Gringo Louco Tommy Boy Muzik/Mixconnection GTI Recordings
Associated acts	Daisha
Website	DiscoD.com

David Aaron Shayman, better known by his stage name Disco D, (September 21, 1980 – January 22, 2007) was an American music producer and composer. He rose from being a teenage DJ prodigy in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he helped DJ Godfather popularize the Detroit electronic music called "Ghettotech," to being a pioneer of the burgeoning mobile music art form. Known for his turntable dexterity and multi-genre set performances, Disco D's most notable production was the track "Ski Mask Way" on American hip-hop artist 50 Cent's The Massacre album.

Contents 1 Early years 2 Career 2.1 Education and career 2.2 New York operations 2.3 Mobile music pioneer, 2005 2.4 Kevin Federline work 2.5 Return from Australia 2.6 Other work 3 Discography 4 Notes 5 See also 6 External links

[edit] Early years

Shayman was born on September 21, 1980 in St. Louis, Missouri, United States to Deborah and James Shayman.^[1][2] Initially brother to one sister, he eventually gained three stepsisters and one stepbrother.^[1] At age 6, Shayman moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan.^[2]

[edit] Career

Disco D balanced an impressive production and performance career that began at age 15 and ended at age 26 when he lost his long battle with depression and bipolar disorder. ^[3] However, in this short amount of time, his work resulted in a string of high-profile productions that included two Grammy nominated albums with releases totaling in excess of 17 million in sales.^[1] In addition, his performance career led to tours throughout Europe, South America, and Australia.^[1]

[edit] Education and career

Disco D's prodigious career began in 1995 at age fifteen while a student at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor.^[1] As a high school student, Disco D DJ'd many local parties as well as at The Blind Pig[1]. In November 1996, Disco D was born.^[2] By 1997 at age 17, Disco D was performing nationally as a DJ, had established his first production company, and released his first 12-inch single.^[1][3]

In 1998, Disco D began studying at the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.^[1]. While he outwardly pursued management studies, David remained keenly interested by the sciences. Had he not discovered turntables and entered the music industry, some might argue that he would have become a great biologist (as a teenager he worked in a genetics lab at the University of Michigan). Always passionate about the latest scientific discovery, it was a dream of his to make a trip to the North Pole. His music career continued to flourish between 1998 to 2002 while at the University of Michigan.^[1] For example, in 1999, Disco D was a key player in the 1999 founding of Ghostly International, having co-produced the pioneering record label's first single, "Hands Up for Detroit" in October 1999 (billed with Matthew Dear as Daisha, a Shayman alias).^[4][5] In addition to finding his own GTI Recordings ("Ghetto Tech Institute" Recordings), Disco D eventually began releasing music on the Bad Boy Bill's Muzik/Mixconnection label and the Tommy Boy label.^[3] During this period, Disco D also became known for his turntable dexterity and multi-genre sets.^[3]

[edit] New York operations

After graduating from the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan in 2002 at age 22, Disco D took his operations from Detroit to Brooklyn, New York with a goal of producing beats for major Hip Hop artists.^[6][1] In his Williamsburg neighborhood home recording studio,^[7] Disco D started Booty Bar Records, a ghetto tech-centered record label and popular club night act that toured nationwide.^[6]

In the summer of 2002, Disco D released "Booty Bar Anthem EP," which featured tracks such as "You Need Another Drink" and "Keys to the Whip."^[6]

Disco D also branched out as a producer of hip hop, R&B, and dancehall tracks for mainstream artists. By June 2003, Shayman worked with electro-clash diva Princess Superstar and remixed artists ranging from 50 Cent and B.G. to Lords of Acid and Da Brat's single, "Boom."^[6]

In early 2003, Disco D produced and promoted his mix CD, A Night at the Booty Bar. Developed as a play on A Night at the Playboy Mansion (2000) by Dimitri from Paris, the tongue-in-cheek lyrics of this CD mix are bolstered by rump-shaking rhythms and its collaboration with Princess Superstar.^[6][8]

At some point, Disco D became engaged to Luciana Vendramini, a Brazilian model who had appeared on the December 1987 cover of the Brazilian issue of the Playboy magazine.

In spite of his moniker, Disco D would have been more likely to play "Y.M.C.A." if someone had remade the 1978 hit disco song with offensive lyrics.^[6] However, as he grew, he was interested in all types of beat music. Disco D spent time in Brazil with his fiancée to become more familiar with Funk Carioca, a type of dance music from Rio de Janeiro with deep rapid beats and aggro vocals that is derived from and superficially similar to Miami Bass.^[8][9] By 2005, Disco D covered a wide range of music, such as Jamaican dancehall music and Maryland's Baltimore Club music.^[8] "I really try to rep ass-shaking music as a whole," Disco D was fond of saying.^[8]

[edit] Mobile music pioneer, 2005

Prior to 2005, most ring tones were based on polyphonic or even cruder monophonic tones because that was what most cell phone handsets could play.^[7] However, with snippets of existing songs and compositions generating more than $2 billion in annual worldwide revenues in 2005 as ring tones, cell phone handset manufacturers began producing handsets capable of replaying the upper and lower notes from a song's melody without tinny-sounding bleats.^[7] In early 2005, retailer Best Buy turned music Disco D had written for one of its commercials into a ring tone and offered it on the Best Buy website.^[7] From this, Disco D was one of the first to recognize the business potential in composing original ring tone material exclusively for cell phones and collaborated in 2005 with veteran music producer Eddie O'Loughlin, and singer/songwriter Dee Robert as pioneers in the new mobile music art form to produce original ring tones for Jamba!.^[7]

[edit] Kevin Federline work

In 2005, Disco D produced Y'all Ain't Ready, the first single from Britney Spears' then-husband Kevin Federline.^[10] In October 2005, Disco D made his way to Australia to play at clubs such as Honkytonks in Melbourne, where he was best know for A Night at the Booty Bar.^[8] In November 2005, a sample of this single was posted on Disco Ds website, which brought almost immediate criticism upon Federline's single.^[10] Although the less-than-one-minute sample was quickly removed from the site, it resurfaced on Stereogum.com.^[10][11]

On January 1, 2006, Federline released the single "PopoZão," which Disco D produced. However, none of Disco D's efforts appeared on Federline's debut album Playing with Fire when it was released on October 31, 2006.^[9] In addition, virtually all references to Federline were deleted from the Disco D's website at that time.^[9]

[edit] Return from Australia

On returning to the United States from his 2005 Australian trek, Disco D went public about his struggle with manic depression.^[9] "A lot of people who have suffered from similar experiences thanked me for being so open," he said.^[9] In late 2006, Disco D launched the new Brazilian urban label Gringo Louco with Braza, a bilingual supergroup composed of three of the biggest rappers from Brazil.^[3] Disco D committed suicide in the early hours of January 23, 2007.^[12] In response to his passing, Ghostly International CEO Sam Valenti IV stated,

"Dave was an inspiration and a mentor to me. No one worked harder or wanted to seize life more than him. He was a relentlessly creative, passionate and ambitious artist whose passion for music illuminated everything he touched."^[3]

[edit] Other work

Disco D produced tracks for mainstream artists such as AZ ("City of Gods" from A.W.O.L.), 50 Cent ("Ski Mask Way" from The Massacre), Nina Sky ("Turnin' Me On"), Trick Daddy ("I Pop"), Chamillionaire and Lil Scrappy. He also wrote the music for VH1's "Hip Hop Honors" and also recorded commercial tracks for Best Buy, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and Xbox.^[3]

[edit] Discography

• Detroit Zoo, by Disco D vs. Paradime (November 21, 2000) ASIN B000055YV4
• Straight Out Tha Trunk, GTI Recordings (October 23, 2001) ASIN B00008L3XS
• Booty Bar Anthem EP, Booty Bar (Summer 2002)
• A Night at the Booty Bar, Tommy Boy Records (April 23, 2003) ASIN B00008L3XS

[edit] Notes

[edit] See also

• List of University of Michigan arts alumni
• Jamba!

[edit] External links

• Official site
• Michigan Daily - Interview with Disco D
• riotsound.com - Interview with Disco D
• All Hip Hop - Article about Disco D's death
• Dave Shayman article

Persondata
NAME	David Aaron Shayman
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Disco D
SHORT DESCRIPTION	American Music producer and composer
DATE OF BIRTH	September 21, 1980
PLACE OF BIRTH	St. Louis, Missouri, United States
DATE OF DEATH	January 22, 2007
PLACE OF DEATH	Washington, D.C., United States