Daniel Woodis, better known by his stage name DJ Class, is an American DJ from

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. A veteran of the

Baltimore club Baltimore club, also called Bmore club, Bmore house or simply Bmore, is a fusion of breakbeat and house genres. It is often referred to as a blend of hip hop and chopped, staccato house music. It was created in Baltimore, Maryland, United States ...

scene, he started his career in the early 1990s and gained attention with his Unruly Records releases, including the local hit "Tear da Club Up". In 2009, DJ Class scored his most commercially successful single to date with "I'm the Shit", which was remixed by several artists and subsequently became a top 40 ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' chart hit upon being re-released by

Universal Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an i ...

Musical career

Early productions

Born in

, DJ Class debuted as a DJ and producer in the early 1990s and became closely associated with the emerging

scene. He released his debut single in 1991, gaining underground fame with his productions for the Baltimore club label Unruly Records. Among his notable releases during were "Wuz Up Baby" (1995) and "Tear da Club Up" (1999), the latter of which became a Baltimore club staple years following its release.

Hiatus and commercial success

In 2000, DJ Class produced music for the soundtrack to the film ''

Cecil B. Demented ''Cecil B. Demented'' is a 2000 black comedy film written and directed by John Waters. The film stars Melanie Griffith as a snobby A-list Hollywood actress who is kidnapped by a band of terrorist filmmakers; they force her to star in their underg ...

''. After releasing the single "Next to You" in 2001, Class took a break from producing club music. During this period, he produced a gospel hip hop album entitled ''The Book of Daniel'' under the name D. Class. In November 2008, Class re-emerged with a new club single entitled "I'm the Shit" (entitled "I'm the Ish" in censored form). Prior to its release, he had e-mailed the track to Unruly Records owner Shawn Caesar, who responded favorably. The single initially gained airplay solely on Baltimore radio, but later crossed over to radio stations outside of the city. In December 2009, R&B singer

Trey Songz Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, '' I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, ''Trey Day'', ...

and hip hop producer

Jermaine Dupri Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, record executive, entrepreneur, and DJ. Early life Jermaine Dupri Mauldin was born on September 23, 1972, the son of Tina (Mosley) and Michael ...

released a remix of the song. The single's success eventually led to DJ Class and Unruly Records signing a deal with

in January 2009. Rapper

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cru ...

, a fan of DJ Class, recorded a remix of the song with him in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, and another remix featuring

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

was recorded in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

. Other artists who have contributed to remixes of the song include

Pitbull Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...

, Estelle,

Paula Campbell Paula Campbell is an American R&B singer from Baltimore, Maryland who first gained prominence as a contestant on ''Baltimore Idol.'' Biography Campbell was raised on the west side of Baltimore, and attended Frederick Douglass High School. Ar ...

, Mullyman and PenDragon. In April 2009, Universal Republic Records released "I'm the Shit" digitally to the

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

. The same month, the Lil Jon remix entered the ''

Hot Rap Songs Hot Rap Songs (formerly known as Hot Rap Tracks and Hot Rap Singles) is a chart released weekly by '' Billboard'' in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stat ...

chart, where it peaked at number 22 and remained for three weeks. It also peaked at number 26 on the ''Billboard''

Rhythmic Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics * Rhythmic (chart) The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, and ...

singles chart. Class was later named the Best Club Music Producer of the year by the ''

Baltimore City Paper ''Baltimore City Paper'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland, founded in 1977 by Russ Smith and Alan Hirsch. The most recent owner was the Baltimore Sun Media Group, which purchased the paper in 2014 from Ti ...

'' and followed "I'm the Shit" with the singles "Dance Like a Freak" and "I Don't Give a Fuck". In 2010, he produced the Pitbull single "

Watagatapitusberry "Watagatapitusberry" is a collaborative effort by Black Point with American recording artist Pitbull, released on March 9, 2010 as the lead single from his fifth studio album, ''Armando'' (2010). The song features guest appearances from Dominica ...

"; the following year, he was featured on the single "Favorite DJ" by record producer

Clinton Sparks Clinton Charls Sparks (born September 18, 1975) is an American Disc jockey, DJ, record producer, songwriter and singer from Boston, Massachusetts. He initially started his career as a rapper, dancer, producer, and DJ who gained notoriety by maki ...

Discography

Singles

;Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Class, DJ Living people Musicians from Baltimore Record producers from Maryland African-American DJs American hip hop record producers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century African-American people